Mitigating stress concentration in an isotropic plate with a hole by inducing a thermal gradient

A comprehensive analysis using the finite element method was conducted to reduce the stress concentration factor (SCF) in an isotropic rectangular plate with a central circular hole subjected to uniaxial loading. With the help of the present work, the stress concentration factor can be mitigated by 31% by introducing a temperature field on the circumference of the hole, in other words, by creating a temperature difference (ΔT) between the hole periphery and the periphery of the plate. From the study, it has been observed that the temperature field creates a stress that is opposite in direction to the stress caused by uniformly distributed loading (UDL), thus resulting in a reduction in SCF. The maximum reduction in SCF depends on the geometric ratios (r/b, a/b).