Load transfer from a web to two parallel sheets

This paper deals with the elastostatic transfer of a tensile load from an infinite strip-shaped web of uniform rectangular cross section to two identical parallel sheets of infinite extent. The web is perpendicular to the sheets and is continuously bonded to the latter along finite portions of its “top” and “bottom” edges. The sheets are treated within the two-dimensional theory of generalized planes stress. On the other hand, two alternative models for the web are considered: (a) the web likewise is regarded as a two-dimensional continuum within the conventional theory of generalized plane stress and (b) the web is idealized as a one-dimensional elastic continuum. In either case, an integral equation with a Cauchy-type singular kernel is obtained for the density of the bond force between the web and the sheets. This equation, in turn, is reduced to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. Numerical results for the axial force in the web and the bond force are presented for several combinations of the governing material and geometrical parameters.