Experimentally Determined Stresses at Geometric Discontinuities Using Simple Stress Functions

Abstract

Recognizing that the most serious structural stresses often occur at holes or notches, the ability to determine such stresses by combining recorded load-induced temperature information with simple stress functions is demonstrated. Purely theoretical/analytical or numerical stress analyses typically require knowing the external boundary conditions, something which is frequently unknown. Moreover, theoretical stress analyses tend to be restricted to simple, infinite structures. Stresses evaluated at the edge of geometric discontinuities by traditional experimental approaches can be very unreliable. On the other hand, the present technique provides accurate stresses at and in the neighborhood of a hole in an edge-loaded finite plate by processing the recorded temperature data with a simple, general stress function.