Photoelastic analysis of a thick plate with an elliptical hole subjected to simple out-of-plane bending

A three-dimensional photoelastic analysis using the stress freezing and slicing techniques was employed to study the stress distribution and the stress-concentration factors around an elliptical hole in a plate of finite thickness. The plate was subjected to simple out-of-plane bending. A special bending device was designed to produce uniform bending moment at the two opposite free edges of the plate. Six plates with various elliptical holes were studied. The stress variation across the plate thickness at the periphery of the elliptical hole was also investigated. The experimental results were correlated with the existing theoretical solutions.