CALCULATION OF STRESS CONCENTRATION FACTORS OF PLATES UNDER TENSION VIA COMPUTER PROGRAM DEVELOPED

Stress concentration factors (SCFs) for some set of fixed geometrical and loading cases can be obtained experimentally, analytically, and computationally. In order to accomplish this, tables and charts that relate a geometrical ratio and a specific type of loading with their correspondent stress concentration factor are commonly available. Although these resources are abundantly accessible for the most common cases, their reading and interpretation processes often imply parallax error. To overcome this difficulty, the approximate or interpolated equations may be applied. However, the application of the adequate equation in a non-structured manner can be time consuming when there are several cases to be calculated within the context of a whole design. Thus, the study of two geometrical cases of plates under tension in elastic range enabled the comparison of SCFs obtained from three sources: (a) chart reading; (b) approximate proven equations; and (c) specific computer program developed by the author. In addition, the program provides the user with the nominal and the maximum stresses for both cases. Results provided by the software were then validated through the comparison with the approximate equations applied in the mathematical modelling of the experimental charts.