Stress Concentration

Localization of high stresses due to the the geometrical discontinuities present in machine
components or abrupt changes in the cross-section of the machine components is called
Stress Concentration .

In design of machine elements, following three elementary equations are used :




These equations are based on the assumptions that there are no geometrical
discontinuities in the cross-section of the component and also the members cross-section is
uniform throughout.

However in practice, Discontinuities and abrupt changes in the cross-section are
unavoidable due to various features of the machine component such as oil holes and
grooves, keyways, splines, screw threads and shoulders.

Under these circumstances the stresses calculated near discontinuities have been found
much higher than the stresses calculated by elementary equations.
J
r M
and
I
y M
A
P
t b
b
= = = t o o ,
Experimental Evidence of Stress Concentration
Using Photo-elasticity technique
Figure shows the stress concentration introduced by notches and fillets in a flat bar
subjected to bending moment.
The stress effects were measured using photo-elastic techniques, and the resulting
fringes indicate the stress distribution in the part when loaded.












At the right end of the part where the cross-section is uniform, the fringe lines are
straight, of uniform width, and equispaced. This indicates a linear distribution across this
portion of the bar.

But at the fillet where the width of the part is reduced from D to d, the fringe lines
indicate a disruption and concentration of stresses at this sudden change in geometry.

The same effect is seen at the left hand end around the two notches.

This is the experimental evidence of the existence of stress concentrations at any
change in geometry.

Such geometric changes in a part are called stress-raisers and should be minimized.














Theoretical Stress Concentration Factor:
Stress concentration factor is defined as:

Kt = Highest value of actual stress near discontinuity
Nominal stress obtained by elementary equations
for minimum cross-section










where and are the nominal stresses calculated for the particular applied
loading and net cross-section, assuming a stress distribution across the section that would
obtain for a uniform geometry.



) 1 (
max
max

|
|
|
|
|
|
.
|
=
=
nom
ts
nom
t
K
or
K
t
t
o
o
nom
o
nom
t
For example in the Figure below



The stress at the notches would be then













The nominal stresses are calculated using the net cross-section which is reduced by the
notch geometry ,i.e. using d instead of D as the width at the notches.















I
Mc
nom
= o
I
Mc
K
t
=
max
o
Stress Concentration under Static loading:
a) Ductile Material:

Ductile materials yield locally at the stress-raiser while the lower stressed material far
from the geometrical discontinuity remains below the yield point.

When the material yields locally , its stress-strain curve becomes nonlinear and of low
slope, which prevents further significant increase in the stress at that point.
As the load is increased , more material is yielded, bringing more of the cross-section to
that stress.
Only when the entire cross-section has been brought to the yield point will the part
continue up to the fracture point( according to - curve).
Thus, it is common to ignore the effects of stress concentration in ductile materials
under static loading.

b) Brittle Material:

Brittle materials do not yield locally , since they do not have a plastic range. Thus Stress
concentration do not have an effect on their behavior under static loads.
Once the stress at the stress raiser exceeds the fracture strength , a crack begins to
form.

This reduces the material available to resist the load and also increases the stress
concentration in the narrow crack. The part then quickly goes to failure.

So, for brittle materials under static loads , the stress concentration factor should be
applied to increase the apparent maximum stress according to equation (1).



Stress Concentration under Dynamic loading:
a) Ductile Material:

Ductile materials under dynamic loading behave and fail as if they were brittle.

So, regardless of the ductility or brittleness of the brittle material, the stress
concentration factor should be applied when dynamics load (fatigue or impact) are
present.

While all materials are affected by stress concentration under dynamic loads ,some
materials are more sensitive than others.

For such materials, a parameter called notch sensitivity q is defined for various
materials and used to modify the geometric factors Kt and Kts for a given material
under dynamic loads.

Determination of Stress Concentration Factor:
Experimental Methods:

Photo elasticity
Brittle Coating Method
Electric Strain Gages

Numerical Techniques:

Theory of Elasticity
Finite Element Analysis and Boundary Element Analysis



Figure shows an elliptical hole in a semi-infinite plate subjected to axial tension. The
nominal stress in this case is given by P/A. The theoretical stress concentration at the edge
of the hole was developed by Inglis in 1913 using the theory of elasticity and is given by:
c
a
K
t
. 2 1+ =
The charts of stress concentration factors for different geometric shapes and conditions of
loading were originally developed by RE. Peterson. Some of these charts are as follows:
2
0
* 4 / d
P
t
o =
2 /
64
.
4
0
d y
d I
I
y M
=
=
=
t
o
2 /
32
.
4
0
d r
d I
J
r T
=
=
=
t
t
h d
P
.
0
= o
h d w
P
). (
0

= o
Force-Flow Analogy:
Design to avoid Stress Concentration
A useful way to visualize the difference in stress states in contoured parts is to use the
force flow analogy.
Force flow analogy considers the forces ( and thus the stresses ) to flow around
contours in a way similar to the flow of an ideal incompressible fluid inside pipe or duct
of changing contour.
There is a similarity between velocity distribution in a fluid flow in a channel and the
stress distribution in an axially loaded plate .
The equation of flow potential in fluid mechanics and stress potential in solid
mechanics are the same.
Therefore, it is perfectly logical to use fluid analogy to understand the phenomena of
stress concentration..
When the cross-section of channel has uniform dimensions throughout, the velocities
are uniform and the streamlines are equally spaced.
When the cross-section of channel has uniform dimensions throughout, the velocities
are uniform and the stream lines are equally spaced. The flow at any cross-section
within the channel is given by Q = v da.
In a similar way, when the cross-section of the plate has same dimensions throughout,
the stresses uniform and stress lines are equally spaced. The stress at any cross-section
is given by P = da.
When the cross-section of the channel is suddenly reduced , the velocity increases in
order to maintain the same flow and the streamlines become narrower and narrower
and crowd together.
Similar phenomena is observed in stressed plate. In order to transmit the same force,
the stress lines come closer and closer as the cross-section is reduced. At the change of
cross-section, the streamlines as well as stress lines bend.
When there is sudden change in cross-section, bending of stress lines (in a similar way
as stream lines in fluid flow ) is very sharp and severe resulting in stress concentration
Streamlined shapes (i.e. rounding the corners) are used in channels like aircrafts and
boats to reduce the turbulence and resistance to flow.
Streamlining or rounding the contours of mechanical components has similar beneficial
effects in reducing stress concentration.
Reduction of Stress Concentration:
Additional notches and holes in tension member.

Fillet radius, Undercutting and Notch for member in bending.

Drilling additional holes for shaft.

Undercutting and reduction of shank diameter in Threaded members.
Additional notches and holes in tension member:

A flat plate with a V-notch subjected to tensile stresses is subjected to a high degree of
stress concentration.

The severity of the stress concentration is reduced by the following methods:

a) Use of multiple notches
b) Drilling additional holes
c) Removal of undesired material. ( Principle of minimization of the material)


Fillet radius, Undercutting and Notch for member in bending:
A bar of circular cross-section with a shoulder and subjected to bending moment is
shown in figure. Ball bearings, gears and pulleys are seated against this shoulder
The shoulder creates changes in cross-section of the shaft resulting in stress
concentration.
There are three ways to reduce stress concentration
a) Use of fillet radius
b) Undercutting
c) Additional notch

Drilling additional holes for shaft:
A transmission shaft with a keyway is shown in figure
The four corners of the keyway viz. m1, m2,n1,n2 are shown in figure.
It has been observed that torsional shear stresses at two points viz. m1 and m2 are
negligibly small in practice and theoretically equal to zero.
On the other hand it has been observed that the torsional shear stresses at two points
viz. n1 and n2 are excessive and theoretically infinite, that means even a small torque
will produce a permanent set at these points.
There are two methods to reduce the stress concentration at these points:
a) Rounding corners at points n1 and n2 by means of fillet radius
b) Drilling two symmetrical holes on the sides of the keyway. These holes press the force
flow lines and minimize their bending in the vicinity of the keyway.

Undercutting and reduction of shank diameter in Threaded members:
A threaded component is shown in Figure:
There are two ways to reduce stress concentration which results while passing from
shank portion to threaded portion of the component:

a) A small undercut is taken and fillet radius is provided for this undercut
b) The shank diameter is reduced and made equal to the core diameter of the thread.
Shank
Threaded portion