Reduction of stress concentration around a hole in a uniaxially loaded plate

The stress concentration around a circular hole in a plate can be reduced by up to 21 per cent by introducing auxiliary holes on either side of the original hole. But this approach of auxiliary holes creates two more regions of stress concentration in the plate. In the present study, the hole geometry has been modified to effect stress reductions as high as 22 per cent. The problem has been analysed numerically by the finite element method and experimentally by two-dimensional photoelasticity. It has been observed that by making the hole oblong in the direction of loading, a high order of reduction in stress concentration around the hole can be obtained.