STRESS-CONCENTRATION IN NOTCHED ANISOTROPICALLY FIBER-REINFORCED PLATES

As notches represent the most relevant sites of failure in a construction, a calculation of the stress distribution around holes is essential for the design of fibre-reinforced materials. Especially in the case of anisotropic materials the maximal stress concentration factor on the cutout is considerably higher than in conventional isotropic materials. In fibre-reinforced materials the stress distribution around holes is strongly dependent on the degree of anisotropy E(parallel-to)/E(perpendicular-to) as well as on the notch geometry and load parameters. The plain stress field around a notch of known geometry will be calculated by means of the method of conformal mapping and complex stress functions, based on thc mathematical model of an infinite anisotropic plate with various shapes of the aperture. For some standard types of notches and load cases, the stress concentration factor as a function of various construction parameters will be studied for fibre-reinforced materials used in lightweight construction. Particularly, the following construction parameters are considered: Hole geometry, fibre/matrix combination, load cases and directions orientation of fibres.