L. E.

HULBERT
Senior Research Engineer,
Accurate Calculation of Stress
Solid and Structural Mechanics Research,
Battelle Memorial Institute,
Columbus, Ohio
Distributions in Multiholed Plates
F. W. NIEDENFUHR This piper discusses the application of the point-matching technique in obtaining the
solution of many problems involving multiholed thin plates undergoing generalized
Professor,
plane stress. The stress f unctions appropriate to plates with symmetric groups of holes
Department of Engineering Mechanics,
The Ohio S t a t e University, are described. A large number of problems solved by a computer program are described
Columbus, Ohio and compared with published results. Problems are solved also for which there are no
known published results. Two interesting new problems are discussed in detail.
The results show the power and flexibility of the technique. The extension of the methods
to permit the solution of problems in the deflection of thin, multiholed plates and shallow
shells is discussed.

Introduction
Mi.u l t i h o l e d thin plates and shells are important ele-
ments in most aerospace structures. Thus the study of stress 0 0 - ® Q
concentrations caused by various groups of holes is of great im-
portance in aerospace design. Unfortunately, the application of
the standard analytical techniques to obtain practical solutions
of problems involving many holes is very difficult, even though
the development of the appropriate series solutions is relatively

© %0 9
straightforward. The difficulty lies in calculating the coefficients
of the series to satisfy the boundary conditions.
The purpose of this paper is to show how the point-matching
technique can be used to obtain the numerical solution to such
problems with relative ease on a digital computer. W e will con- /
sider the solution of problems involving tliin plates undergoing
generalized plane stress. However, the technique can be used

V
to solve problems in the deflection of thin multiholed plates and to
solve problems involving multiholed thin shallow shells for which
the series solutions are known.
Fig. 1 Illustration of t w o types of rings of circles
For brevity, we shall restrict our attention to one type of
problem: That of an infinite plate or a finite circular plate con-
taining holes arranged in a symmetric array about the origin. doublets. Each hole of this set is the image of its neighbor in the
W e will further restrict our attention to the ease of single-valued symmetry axis between the two holes. Both sets of holes have
displacements, zero body forces, and boundary conditions speci- six-fold symmetry about the origin. 2 The region containing such
fied in terms of the surface tractions at each point of the boundary. groups of holes will be either the infinite plane or a finite circular
However, it should be noted that the computing program used in plate with its center at the center of the ring of holes. There
this research was designed with the capability to solve many other may be also a circular hole at the center of the ring of holes.
tj'pes of plane stress problems. These include problems with The centers of the inner ring of M holes in Fig. 1 are located at
body forces and dislocations, problems for which the boundary the points:
deformations are prescribed, and problems of the mixed type zi.t = 6i exp (2ikir/M), k — 0, . . . M — 1 (1)
where both displacements and surface tractions are given. The
program can also be used to solve problems involving nonsyni- where: &i is the radius of the circle through the hole centers.
metric groups of holes. Problems of these types will be discussed The centers of the ring of hole doublets are located at
in subsequent papers.
2A-7T
Zi.t = b2 exp + A k = 0, 1, . . . M - 1, (2)
M
Statement of the Problem
and at their conjugate points 2,,*. &2 is the radius of the circle
We will be concerned in this paper with problems involving two
through these hole centers. /?2 is the angle between the x-axis
types of groups of holes. These are illustrated in Fig. 1. The
and the radius vector to 22,0.
inner ring of circles is constructed so that the centers of the holes
W e will formulate the problem in terms of the Airey stress
lie on the symmetry axes. The outer group is a ring of hole
function <j>. The stresses are derived from <j> b y the relations:

1 This paper is based, in part, on a dissertation presented by the b2<j> b2(f> b2<j)
o\, = (3)
first author to the Department of Engineering Mechanics of The Ohio by2' bx2' c)xby
State University in March, 1963, in partial fulfillment of the require-
ments for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The first author
At each point of the region, <f> satisfies the equation
would like to thank the Battelle Memorial Institute for providing
him with half-time support under a Battelle Fellowship during much
of the research.
Contributed by the Machine Design Division and presented at
V44>
\bx2
+ by2'
4> = 0. (4)

the Winter Annual Meeting, New York, N. Y., November 29-Decem-

b e r 3 , 1 9 6 4 , o f T H E A M E R I C A N S O C I E T Y OF M E C H A N I C A L ENGINEERS. 2 The basic symmetry element in Fig. 1 is the wedge-shaped region

Manuscript received at ASME Headquarters, July 31, 1964. Paper between the positive o-axis and the 30-deg line (shown as a dashed line
No. 64—WA/MD-15. in Fig. 1).

Journal of Engineering for Industry AUGUST 1 96 5 / 331

Copyright © 1965 by ASME

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 At each point of the boundary, <p must satisfy the boundary M-l
Wn** = U„** - iV„** = Y - z2.k)(z - z2,k)~"+1
conditions:
i =0
<xz cos (ft, x) + rxy cos (n, y) + (Z - Z2,tXz - (11)
V<t> c ,n . ay
= o s (> * ) cos (n, y) = fx which has a somewhat more symmetric form. The complete
bxby
stress function for a ring of hole doublets is then:
(5)
Txy cos (ft, x) + c „ cos (n, y)
& = C*U* + X) [Cn*^* + Dn*Un*]
b2<t>
= — — COS (n, x) + — — cos ( n y) = /„ n-1
oxoy Ox2 (12)

w h e r e / , a n d / „ are the x and y-components of the boundary trac- + E \En*Vn* + Fn*vn**}

71-1
tions and cos (n, x) and cos (n, y) are the direction cosines be-
tween the outer normal to the boundary and the x and y-axes, If the region contains a hole with center at the origin or circular
respectively. outer boundary in addition to a ring of holes, one or the other of
the following series is needed:
The Stress Function
For problems involving two or more rings of holes, it is neces- 0 3 = A0 log )' + £ (A-n + i'2B_„)r~nM cos nMd (13)
sary to construct a system of stress functions for each ring. In n= i
addition, if there is a hole with center at the origin and/or a finite
circular outer boundary, it is necessary to set up stress function <t>4 = Bor2 + Y, (A» + r'lBn)r"M cos nMd. (14)
series to take these boundaries into account. The stress func- n=1
tion appropriate to a given problem may be a combination of the
different types of stress functions. For a ring of circles with centers The stress functions given by (8), (13), and (14) have been
Zi.i given b y (1), the following Howland functions are appro- used to solve problems involving a ring of holes [3], a ring of holes
priate [1, 2], 3 with a central hole [2], and a ring of holes in a finite circular plate
[4]. A study of the papers by Radkowski [2] and Kraus [4] re-
JI/-1
veals the enormous amount of work necessary to solve problems
Wo = Uo- iVo = - Y log (z - zi.k) (6)
by the analytical approach where two of the stress functions must
k=0
be used in a problem. T o our knowledge, their approach has not
6," d"W0 been used to solve problems involving two or more rings of holes.
Wn = U n - iV„ = In contrast, solution of these problems by the point-matching
(n - 1)! dbf
technique is relatively straightforward.
(7)

jfc = 0 \z - Zi'k> The Point-Matching Technique

The functions Uo and U„, which are the real parts of Wo and The point-matching technique has been used to solve a number
W„, have the desired symmetry properties. The stress function of relatively simple problems of various types. T o our knowledge,
derived from (6) and (7) can be written as: the earliest use of the technique was by J. C. Slater [5] to solve a
problem of calculating electron energy bands. Barta [6] was
apparently the first to use the technique in solving biharmonic
01 = CoUo + Y [C„ + r\J)n]Un (8)
problems. More recently, Conway [7, 8] has used the technique
n= l
to solve a number of simple problems in solid mechanics. Nieden-
where: fuhr and Leissa have used the teclmique to solve problems in tor-
sion [9] and plate deflection [10,11]. The approach also has been
z — Zl.t z — Zl.k
used to solve simple problems in steady-state heat flow [12] and in
Zl.it Zl.k laminar flow of gases [13, 14], An excellent comparison of the
point-matching technique with other methods was given by
T o obtain the stress function for the ring of hole doublets with
Shuleshko [15] for the torsion of a square bar.
centers given by (2), we will start with the symmetric analog of
All of these problems involve regions of fairly simple shapes.
(6):
The technique used in each case consisted of choosing a truncated
Wo* = Uo* - iVo* series solution of the problem and writing boundary equations
M-l equal in number to the number of coefficients in the solution.
= Y\ [log (z - Z2,h) + log (z - Zi.k)] These boundary conditions are written at a selected set of
k=o (9) boundary points. However, as pointed out b y Shuleshko, the
M-l overall accuracy of the solution obtained in this way depends on
= Y [l°g _ + l°g ~ 22,'.)! the location of the chosen set of points. For a problem with a
k=0 complicated region, it becomes difficult to choose a set of bound-
ary points that gives uniformly small residuals in the boundary
Then,
conditions over the entire boundary of the problem. Fortu-
hi" d"I70* nately, it is easy to overcome this difficulty b y choosing a larger
Wn* = U„* iV* = boundary point set than necessary, writing the boundary condi-
(ft - l j ! db2"
tions at this set of points and solving the system of equations for
M-l
the unknown constants by least squares. Apparently, this tech-
= Y - to.k)-" + (z - z2,k)-"] (10)
k=0 nique was first suggested b y Altmann [16] in 1958 and inde-
pendently by Lo [17] in 1960. W e found that satisfying the
Uo*, Fo*, U„*, and V„* represent sjonmetric harmonic functions. boundary conditions in the least squares sense eliminated the
W e could obtain a biharmonic function from (10) b y multiplying need to choose the boundary point set with care. With this
(10) b y r2 = zz. Instead, we will use the function approach, it is only necessary to pick a reasonably dense set of
3 Numbers in brackets designate References at end of paper. points.

332 / A U G U ST 19 6 5 Transactions of the ASME

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 Table 1 Comparison of solutions obtained by point-matching with solutions obtained by other methods
of the Problem Reported Results Point-Hatched Solution
Shape of the Region Boundary Loading Author Precision Reported
T.Eli Rep" P.M.

Circular Holes, I n f i n i t e Plata

3 holes on x-axla T - 0 at R - - Creen 1 8 x.xzx 2 * 10"' 0
"x °
2 holes on x - a x l * t HI • 0 In holes Lie," 3 . w"7 0
6-hole ring tkt
• 0 In holes Llng^ Unavailable 1,10-* -
Center hole • 6-hole ring tNT • 0 In holes Radkowski2 Ko numerical results -

Center hole + 6-hole ring tht

• 0 In holes Hew s o l u t i o n 1 x 10
+ 12-hole ring
Circular Holes, Circular Plate
3-hole ring or 4 - h o l e ring tkt - 0 In holes Kraus* Graph l x 10" 5 0
6-hole ring 6 conc. f o r c e s nomal to the outer Bulvol 2 " Graph6 2 x 10" 5
boundary oldvay between holes
0-07 °T aax

10'6b
;
Center hole + 6-hole ring TJJ^ = 0 In center hole, Hew s o l u t i o n 6 x
Tj-j - 0 In e c c e n t r i c holes
Center hole + 6 - h o l e ring t ^ - 0 , In a l l holes Kew solution 3 x 10 5

Honclrcular Holes I n f i n i t e Plate

E l l i p t i c h o l e , a/b - 2 tnt
3 0 In hole Tlaoahankc 21 Exact o.ooib 0.002 o_

E l l i p t i c h o l e , a/b - 4 9 0 In hole Exact 0.0015 b 0.003 o T ^

% • tkt

Star-shaped hole tKT » 0 In hole Wilson 2 2 Craph 0.01b 0

Hole forced by overlapping tnt » 0 In hole UM m 0.M 0-02 °T aax
circles

Problea shown In Pig. 7 " 0 In holes Haw s o l u t i o n 0.003

t RT -

Torsion of a Circular Cylinder With Circular Holes

3 equal c o l l n e a r boles T - 0 on a l l boundaries Lie" 5 x 10~* 0
Center hole + 6 - h o l e ring Tnx " 0 on a l l boundaries Lie * -• 1 x 10~6 0
"g^p I* the boundary value of (»T reported In the l i t e r a t u r e . op ^ la the valuo of o^ calculated by t computing prograa
These f i g u r e s were quoted In a paper 2 * describing the computing progran.
These reported result* were obtained by photoelastlc measurement.

Numerical Results
The application, of the point-matching technique to problems

o oO ,
oo O , 0 »
having complicated regions required extensive but highly repeti-
tive calculations. Thus it was desirable to perform these calcu-
lations on a digital computer. The computing program was
written to permit the combination of any number of any of the
different stress functions (8), (12), (13), or (14), in order to obtain
the solution of a given problem. The only restrictions on the
generality of the program are imposed by machine capacity and
by the fact that the stress fimctions are written in the polar coordi-
-Q O ( K O , D
nate forms derived previously. We were, therefore, able to use the
same computing program to solve a wide variety of problems. O O O O
Many of the problems were deliberately chosen to correspond to
examples already given in the literature. Table 1 gives a com-
parison of the results reported and the solutions that we obtained
O O O
for different problems. This table also includes some new prob-
lems that we have solved. Fig. 2 The 19-hole problem
The first four columns in Table 1 give a description of the
problem, the reference quoted (if any), and the precision of the Two of the problems listed in Table 1 are of sufficient interest
reported values of a T . In column 5, e ma i is the maximum over to be considered in more detail. The first problem involves 19
the boundary of the residual error in the boundary conditions pressurized circular holes in the infinite plate. The region is
calculated for our solution to each problem and o'r,nwx is the shown in Fig. 2. The minimum distance between adjacent holes
maximum tangential boundary stress calculated from our solu- is equal to the common radius of the holes. The basic symmetry
tion. Although a rigorous error analysis of the point-matching element is shown enclosed between the 2-axis and the dashed line
technique has not been performed, our experience indicates that in Fig. 2. T o our knowledge, this is the first solution obtained for
emm is of the same order of magnitude as the maximum error in a problem with more than one ring of holes.
the solution. An interesting feature of this problem is that the stresses in the
The last column in Fig. 1 gives the maximum difference (if neighborhood of the central hole are within 1 percent of the
any) between our results and the reported values of the tangential stresses in the infinite tube sheet with 33 */> percent ligament ef-
boundary stress a T . If the results are the same to the number of ficiency (minimum web thickness = hole radius). This was
places reported or readable from the reported graphs, this established by a detailed comparison of the stress distributions
column contains 0. for this problem and the corresponding 7-hole problem ob-
We have not included the values of crr,mai in Table 1 since these tained by removing the outer ring of holes. This comparison in-
depend on the hole spacing. This spacing varied from problem to cluded interior as well as boundary stresses.
problem. It might be noted that the 7-hole problem corresponds to
We note that the biharmonic stress functions (8), (12), (13), the problem solved formally by Radkowski [2].
and (14) include all of the terms of the harmonic warping function The values of <rT on the center hole and first ring of holes are
for torsion problems. B y making a simple change in the com- given in Figs. 3 and 4 for both the 7 and 19-hole problems. Figs.
puting program we obtained a program for solving problems in- 5 and 6 give the values of o> on the outer ring of holes for the
volving the torsion of multiply connected cylinders. The last two 19-hole problem.
entries in Table 1 relate to two such torsion problems that we The region of the second problem is shown in Fig. 7. This
have solved. For these problems, trT is the shear stress ru, problem was chosen to illustrate the application of the Btress
tangential to the boundary. function (14). For this problem, we chose an expression of the

Journal of Engineering for Industry AUGUST 196 5 / 333

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 \\y /
\N //
j

\/ \
/ E c c e n t ic h o l e -

/
y
Center

/
hole

' o 30 60 90 120 60 180

0 30 GO 90 120 150 180

!• T? 1 >
^ ' / * ,
< / \v >
/ / '

Fig. 3 Boundary values of <rj-/p for 7 pressurized holes in the infinite

plate Fig. 5 Boundary values of ar/p on boundary 1*2,0 of 19 pressurized
holes in the infinite plate

\ri,0 /

\ / k / V/

30 60 90 120 150 180

30 60 90 120 150

II 12 3 <4 15 6 >7
J \ > v
' /
Fig. 4 Boundary values of o r / p on boundaries T 0 and Ti.o of 19
pressurized holes in the infinite plate Fig. 6 Boundary values of crr/p on boundary r 3 , o of 19 pressurized
holes in the infinite plate

type (14) with the points z2,k and z2,t located at the centers of the Conclusions
semicircular ends of the holes. The holes are assumed to be The results quoted demonstrate the power and versatility of
loaded by unit pressure. The basic symmetry element is shown the point-matching technique. The efficiency of the approach is
enclosed between the z-axis and the dashed line in Fig. 7. such that the bulk of the quoted solutions were obtained in less
Fig. 8 gives the values of the tangential stress a T plotted than 5 min each on the I B M 7090 computing machine. The
against the angle between negative re-axis and the radius vector longest machine time needed was 22 min for the 19-hole
to the boundary point from the center of the semicircular end of problem.
the hole. As expected, the maximum value of o> occurs near the An interesting feature of this study was the use of polar stress
point of minimum web thickness. functions to solve problems involving noncircular holes. This

334 / A U G U ST 19 6 5 Transactions of the ASME

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 Fig. 7 Six noncircular holes

permits the use of the same computing program for solving

problems involving both circular and noncircular holes. It
should be noted that the solutions obtained for problems involving
noncircular holes converged more slowly, in general, than solu- Fig. 8 Boundary values of UT/P for 6 pressurized noncircular holes in
tions obtained for circular holes. However, the solutions re- the infinite plate
ported here were sufficiently accurate for practical purposes. It
is hoped that further study will lead to improvements in the
speed of convergence of the solutions and to the capability of
solving problems with even more irregular-shaped boundaries.
Matching Method to Shallow-Spherical Shell Theory," Journal of
The point-matching approach is applicable to the solution of Applied Mechanics, vol. 29, TRANS. ASME, vol. 84, Series E, 1962,
many other tj'pes of problems. The present computing program pp. 745-747.
can be modified easily to permit the solution of many other plane 9 F. W. Niedenfuhr and A. W. Leissa, "The Torsion of Pris-
two-dimensional harmonic and biharmonic problems involving matic Bars of Regular Polygonal Cross Section," Journal of Aero-
space Sci., vol. 28, 1961, pp. 424^26.
highly multiply connected regions. Examples of such problems 10 F. W. Niedenfuhr and A. W. Leissa, "Study of the Canti-
are (a) plane elasticity problems with specified boundary dis- levered Square Plate Subjected to Uniform Loading," J. Aerospace
placements; (6) plane elasticity problems with mixed boundary Sci., vol. 29, 1962, pp. 162-169.
conditions in terms of both displacements and boundary loads; 11 F. W. Niedenfuhr and A. W. Leissa, "Bending of a Square
Plate With Two Adjacent Edges Free and the Others Clamped or
(c) thermal and thermal stress problems; and (cl) transverse de-
Simply Supported," AIAA Journal, vol. 1, 1963, pp. 116-120.
flection of thin plates. 12 F. A. Fend, E. M. Baroody, and J. C. Bell, "An Apprnviinii.tR
The program has been modified to permit the solution of Calculation of the Temperature Distribution Surrounding Cooling
problem types (a), (b), and (c), However, it has not been Holes in a Heat-Generating Solid," BMI Report No. T-42, Battelle
Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 25, 1950.
modified, as 3ret, to permit the solution of problems involving the
13 E. M. Sparrow, "Laminar Flow in Isosceles Triangular Ducts,"
deflection of thin plates although this modification is straight- AIChE Journal, vol. 8, 1962, pp. 599-604.
forward. It will be carried out in the near future. 14 E. M. Sparrow and A. L. Loeffler, Jr., "Longitudinal Flow
The point-matching technique is also applicable to the solution Between Cylinders Arranged in a Regular Array," AIChE Journal, vol.
5, 1959, pp. 325-330.
of problems involving shallow-spherical and cylindrical shells.
15 P. Shuleshko, "Comparative Analysis of Different Collocation
For example, Conway and Leissa [8] have used the technique to Methods on the Basis of the Solution of a Torsional Problem,"
solve one problem involving a shallow-spherical shell. Australian J. of Appl. Sci., vol. 12, 1961, pp. 194-210.
It is felt that the development of a computer program to permit 16 S. L. Altmann, "The Cellular Method for Close-Packed
Hexagonal Lattice. II. The Computations: A Program for a
the analysis of multiholed shallow shells b y point-matching would
Digital Computer and an Application to Zirconium Metal," Proc.
be a significant contribution to the design of aerospace structures. Royal Soc., London, series A, vol. 244, 1958, pp. 153-165.
17 C. C. Lo, "Bending of Rectangular Plates With All Edges
Clamped," unpublished master's thesis, "The Ohio State University,
References Columbus, Ohio, 1960.
1 11. C. J. Rowland and R. C. Knight, " Stress Functions for a 18 A. E. Green, "General Biharmonic Analysis for a Plate Con-
Plate Containing Groups of Circular Holes," Phil. Trans. Royal Soc., taining Circular Holes," Proc. of the Royal Soc., London, series A, vol.
London, series A, vol. 23S, 1940, pp. 357-392. 176, 1940, pp. 121-139.
2 P. P. Radkowski, "Stresses in a Plate Containing a Ring of 19 C. B. Ling, " On the Stresses in a Plate Containing Two Circu-
Circular Holes and a Central Circular Hole," Proc. 2nd U.S. National lar Holes," Journal Appl. Phys., vol. 19, 1948, pp. 77-82.
Congress Appl. Mecli., 1954, pp. 277-282. 20 V. N. Buivol, "Experimental Investigations of the Stressed
3 C. B. Ling, " A Ring of Holes in an Infinite Plate Under All- State of Multiply Connected Regular Plates," Prikiadna Mekhanika,
Round Tension," Bureau of Aeronautics Research, Chengtu, China, vol. VI, 1960, pp. 328-334.
Technical Report No. 6, June, 1954. 21 S. Timoshenko and J. N. Goodier, Theory of Elasticity,
4 H. Kraus, "Pressure Stresses in Multibore Bodies," Int. J. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., 1951, 2nd edition,
Mech. Sci., vol. 4, 1962, pp. 1S7-194 chapter 7, p. 197.
5 J. C. Slater, "Electron Energy Bands in Metals," Phys. Rev., 22 H. B. Wilson, Jr., "Stresses Owing to Internal Pressure in
vol. 45, 1934, pp. 794-801. Solid Propellant Rocket Grains," ARS Journal, vol. 31, 1961, pp.
6 J. Barta, " O n the Numerical Solution of a Two-Dimensional 309-317.
Elasticity Problem," Zeits. fur Ang. Mat. and Mech., vol. 7, 1937, pp. 23 C. B. Ling, "Torsion of a Circular Tube With Longitudinal
184-185. Circular Holes," Quart, of Appl. Math., vol. 5, 1947, pp. 168-181.
7 H. D. Conway, "The Approximate Analysis of Certain Bound- 24 L. E. Hulbert and F. W. Niedenfuhr," On the Numerical Solu-
ary-Value Problems," Journal of Applied Mechanics, vol. 27, T R A N S . tion of Certain Classes of Boundary-Value Problems," presented to
ASME, vol. 82, Series E, 1960, pp. 275-277. the 18th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computing Machin-
8 H. D. Conway and A. W. Leissa, "Application of the Point- ery, Denver, Colo., August 27,1963 (not published).

Journal of Engineering for Industry AUGUST 196 5 / 335

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