Stress Concentration Effects in Short Cylindrical Vessels With Holes Subjected to Tension: A Complete Account

Whenever regular geometric discontinuities are present the so called stress concentration factors concept is widely used in both analysis and design of loaded components especially when subjected to fatigue, frequently the working condition of vessels. However, recent observations suggest that the influence of member length on the magnitude of the stated factors was not considered in previous analyses. In this work, this observation was studied in the context of cylindrical vessels and it was found that in this case, as well, length could be a critical factor when computing stresses developed as a result of externally applied loads. Accordingly, the values of the finite element calculated theoretical stress concentration factors are computed, for the case of short circular cylinders with circular holes subjected to axial tension, in the context of elastic shell theory, and are presented in a fashion similar to existing published results. It is shown that significantly larger stress concentrations appear for shorter members. The transition length concept defining the threshold between long cylinders and short cylinders is discussed in the context of this study and reported as well.