3-D FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF PLATE WITH SMALL NOTCH SUBJECTED TO BIAXIAL LOADING

The actual three-dimensional stress and strain fields near a curved boundary are very complex. In the present paper, the through-thickness variations of stress and strain concentration factors for plate with small central notch, circular notch or double U-notch, subjected to uniaxial and biaxial loading have been analyzed by using three dimensional finite element method (3D FEM). The influence of the notch radius and plate thickness on the elastic stress and strain concentration factors has been studied. It is found that, the maximum stress and strain concentration factors occur on the mid plane of plate only in the case of thin plate. However in the case of thick plates,the sites of these maximum values are found near the plate surface. Furthermore, this site is more close to the plate surface in the case of small notch radius and/or large plate thickness. The stress and strain concentration factors increase with decreasing the biaxial ratio at the plate interior,while, the opposite trend is found at the plate surface.