Stress concentration around a hole in a radially inhomogeneous plate

The stress concentration factor around a circular hole in an infinite plate subjected to uniform biaxial tension and pure shear is considered. The plate is made of a functionally graded material where both Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio vary in the radial direction. For plane stress conditions, the governing differential equation for the stress function is derived and solved. A general form for the stress concentration factor in case of biaxial tension is presented. Using a Frobenius series solution, the stress concentration factor is calculated for pure shear case. The stress concentration factor for uniaxial tension is then obtained by superposition of these two modes. The effect of nonhomogeneous stiffness and varying Poisson’s ratio upon the stress concentration factors are analyzed. A reasonable approximation in the practical range of Young’s modulus is obtained for the stress concentration factor in pure shear loading.