Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
The distribution of stress in a flat plate having a circular cut-out and subjected to known forces at its outer boundary is of considerable practical importance. Assuming that (i) the plate is thin, so that the problem is one of plane stress, and (ii) the material of which it is formed is isotropic and obeys Hooke's law, exact or approximate solutions have been obtained for a limited number of particular cases. Most of these solutions relate to a plate which is infinite in extent in one or more directions. The case of a plate of finite width and infinite length having a circular hole on the axis of symmetry was discussed by Howland, and by Howland and Stevenson. Wang gave an approximate solution for a perforated shear web, and Mindlin investigated the stress distribution around a hole near the edge of a semi-infinite plate under uniform tension.