Comparative study on peak stress multipliers for perforated flat plate with various loadings

• The peak stress multipliers (PSM) for perforated flat plate are comparatively investigated.
• Both analytical and numerical methods are established and employed in studying the PSM.
• The effects of geometric and loading parameters on the PSM are analyzed in depth.
• The finite element model provides conservative agreement with obtained analytical results.

In this study, a mathematical approach is proposed to calculate the stress distributed around the circular hole of perforated flat plate. This analytical method allows an accurate evaluation of the stress state in the perforated plate. Besides, finite element analysis is carried out to determine the stress for perforated plate with different ligament efficiencies, various biaxiality ratios. After that, one dimensionless parameter named as peak stress multiplier (PSM) is analyzed with varying the ligament efficiency and biaxiality ratio for both numerical and analytical method. Through rigorous analysis, some important conclusions are summarized on the PSM. It is found that the PSM is not located at centric hole, and the one predicted by FEM is conservative.