Mechanical Response of Engineering

Materials: EMch 315

Stress Concentration Factors

Lecture 8
Chapter 2.11 : Mechanical Response of Engineering Materials

Stress Concentration Factors

Geometric discontinuities cause an object to
experience a local increase in the intensity of a
stress field. The examples of shapes that cause these
concentrations are: cracks, sharp corners, holes and,
sudden changes in the cross-sectional area of the
object. High local stresses can cause the object to
fail more quickly than if they were not there.
Engineers must design the geometry to minimize
such stress concentrations.

Stress Concentration Factors

A hole in a component)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_concentration

De Havilland Comet

Two de Havilland Comet passenger jets broke up in mid-air and

crashed within a few months of each other in 1954.
As a result systematic tests were conducted on a fuselage immersed
and pressurized in a water tank. After the equivalent of 3,000 flights
investigators at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) were able
to conclude that the crash had been due to failure of the pressure
cabin at the forward Automatic Direction Finder window in the roof.
The failure was a result of metal fatigue caused by the repeated
pressurization and de-pressurization of the aircraft cabin.
Another fact was that the supports around the windows were riveted,
not bonded, as the original specifications for the aircraft had called
for. The problem was exacerbated by the punch rivet construction
technique employed. Unlike drill riveting, the imperfect nature of the
hole created by punch riveting caused manufacturing defect cracks
(due to stress concentrations) which may have caused the start of
fatigue cracks around the rivet.

Stress Concentrations
Consider a bar loaded with a
uniaxial force P

s=

Wt

t
P

W
Stress uniformly
distributed on
cross-section

Stress Concentration
If we were to reduce the cross-section of the bar by drilling a hole
through it,

t
P

W
2r

We might calculate the stress in the bar to be: s = __________

The normal area is Wt and we reduced this area by
Area lost by drilling hole

2rt.

Stress Concentration
This calculation assumes a uniform
stress distribution.

hole

In reality, the stress distribution is not uniform -- high stress is present

at the edge of the hole.

hole

Stress Concentration
Calculations based on uniform distribution of stress members having stress
concentrators have led to disastrous failures for highly stressed components. The
error is that the stress at the edge of the hole is not the nominal stress it is a much
higher stress. This higher stress is obtained with one of the following equations and
knowledge of the Elastic stress concentration factor Ks.

(uses net cross-section)

(uses gross cross-section)

Where sw is the far field stress and snom is the nominal stress.
The stress concentration factor is a function of the geometry of the
stress concentrator.
Specific values of K for various geometries are generally reported in
handbooks related to Stress analyses.

Where to find Stress Concentration Factors (K)

Stress Concentration Factors, On-Line

http://www.knovel.com/web/portal/brow
se/display?_EXT_KNOVEL_DISPLAY
_bookid=583
Petersons Stress
Concentration
Factors, 2nd edition

Stress Concentration
Stress concentrators include:
shoulders
gooves

holes
Groove in
a shaft

keyways

threads
surface finish
2nd phase
in a metal

inclusions

1. Stress concentrations occur at sections where the crosssectional area suddenly changes. The more severe the changes,
the larger the concentration
2. For safe design, it is only necessary to determine the max.
stress acting on the smallest cross-sectional area.
3. The Concentration factor K is independent of material
properties, it is function of the geometry only, and can be read
out from an appropriate graph.

Stress Concentration

Problem
Given P = 20,000 lbs, d = 0.4 in,
w = 1 in, calculate the maximum
stress in a bar similar to that
P
shown.

snom =

1
P

1
0.4

The maximum stress occurs at the edges of the hole

Concentrated local stress =

K s (graph) =
so the stress at the edge of the hole =
maximum stress =

Ks (snom)

Stress Concentration
t
P

W
2r

Also Ks is 3 when W >> r

0.05

Stress Concentration

Problem
Given P = 20,000 lbs, d = 0.4 in,
w = 1 in, calculate the maximum
stress in a bar similar to that
P
shown.

1
P

1
0.4

snom =

20,000 =
(1-0.4)1
The maximum stress occurs at the edges of the hole

Concentrated local stress =

K s (graph) =
so the stress at the edge of the hole =
maximum stress =

Ks (snom)
2.45 (r/w = 0.2)

Stress Concentration
A more generalized case
Consider an infinitely large plate with a cylindrical hole through it, in
this case W>>r. The plate has a working stress sw. Where sw = TS/4.
The factor of four is a _______________.

sw
Width an order
of magnitude or
greater

W
t
2r

Where working
stress is tensile
strength (TS) of
material by 4.

Stress Concentration
The tangential stress

at the hole is given by

3

3sW

s
2r

sW
x

As x , s tends to ___.
At the edge of the hole, or x = r, s = ____. In this case, the stress
concentration factor, Ks = ___.

Stress Concentration
A more typical example of a stress concentration factor would be a
flat plate with an elliptical flaw in it. (more realistic situation)

Defects in materials more typically have elliptical geometry

(Flaws, inclusions, voids etc.)
r = radius of curvature of
sw
the ellipse edge (crack tip)

2b
2a

Stress Concentration
The geometry of the ellipse is defined by its major and minor axis
lengths 2a and 2b or by one axis length and the radius of the

curvature r (measured at the sharp tip). For this case, the stress
concentration factor is given by
a
r

Ks = 1+ 2
and when r << a, then
Ks = 2

a
r

Example
Estimate the stress concentration factor for the smallest sharp
surface flaw that one could hope to observe nondestructively in a
weld of a nuclear reactor vessel.
Assume the geometry of the flaw is an ellipse with sharp edge.
Current non-destructive evaluation procedure limits the size (amin) of
the flaw to 0.001 inch or larger

Now if the flaw has been generated during welding of the vessel or by
in service by fatigue or corrosion, the sharpest possible flaw (r) will
be 2-3 interatomic spacing ~ 10 Angstrom.
r = 10 A = 10 x 10-8 cm = 4 x 10-8 inches
when r << a
Ks =

a
r

= 316 (huge)

Stress Concentration: Brittle vs Ductile

materials
If a true brittle material fails in elastic range, large safety factors are
needed in the design of a components to prevent catastrophic failure

In case of ductile material the large stresses at notches or at sudden

changes in the geometry will cause permanent local deformations,
the resulting stresses will redistribute themselves (relax) and no
catastrophic flaw will occur. So safety factors will not be much
stringent.

Stress Concentration
a
Since Ks r the local stress increases as the crack becomes
K as a and r
longer and sharper.

In general we have seen that

1
Ks r
Therefore, if we were to double the radius of curvature, for any type of geometry, we
would reduce the stress concentration factor by 29%.

K1
1/ 2r0
1
=
=
K1
1/ r0
2
Condition 0
r0

Condition 1

= ; K1 = 0.707
r

~ 71% Of K0

r here is
double r0

Prevention of stress concentrations

A counter-intuitive method of reducing one of the worst types of
stress concentrations, a crack, is to drill a large hole at the end of the
crack. The drilled hole, with its relatively large diameter, causes a
smaller stress concentration than the sharp end of a crack. This is
however, a temporary solution that must be corrected at the first
opportune time.

In-class problem
You are designing a member with a U shaped notch identical to the
one seen in the sketch below. Your member has the following
dimensions: D =2.25 in, d =1.5 in, h =0.25 in, r = 0.3. From the
information presented on the graph determine:

a. The stress concentration factor, Ks.

D/d =
r/d =
Ks =

D
(from graph)

U
d

b. The maximum tolerable bending moment, Mb for the member if the

maximum stress smax is not to exceed 85 ksi.
Ks = smax / snom
snom = 6Mb / hd2

snom = smax / K
s
Mb =

Stress Concentration
Stress concentrations apply to all loading types.
Generalized expressions are as follows:

Axial loading

P
s Ks
A

Torsion

Ks

Bending

Tc
J

Polar moment of inertia of

cross-section

s b Ks

Mc
I

Moment of Inertia of
cross section about
neutral axis

Bar of circular
cross-section
with U-groove
loaded in tension.

Petersons Stress Concentration Factors:

Second Edition, W.D. Pilkey, editor.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1997, pg. 99 .

Bar of circular
cross-section
with U-groove
loaded in bending.

Petersons Stress Concentration Factors:

Second Edition, W.D. Pilkey, editor.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1997, pg. 122 .

Bar of circular
cross-section
with U-groove
loaded in torsion.

Petersons Stress Concentration Factors:

Second Edition, W.D. Pilkey, editor.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1997, pg. 128 .

Homework Problems
Reading Assignment:
Ch 2 sec. 2-11

II.
12

Ks

0.01

Use

Ks

Tc
J
1
r

Answer (B): ~0.01387

13
II.
Consider this an infinite plate.
Max. Ks is 3 or from the graph
2.85.

Answer: 58,333-61,403 lbs

You will need it for HW 2-13