[Plate fracture--a finite element for the calculation of notch tension around differently shaped plates]

A hole in a plate loaded by bending induces notch stresses in it's surrounding. This stress amplification depends on the shape of the hole. In the present paper this effect is studied by use of the Finite Element Method systematically. It was found that longer holes induce lower notch stresses than circular holes. Some tendency to find the optimate hole shape with lowest stresses is shown. Following this way the danger of plate failure by cracking may be reduced. The shape of the cross-section of the plate was fixed during this considerations.