Contact Stress Analysis around Elliptical Bolt-loaded Hole in Orthotropic Plates

The practicality of changing the bolt shape from circular to elliptical under friction effects in order to reduce the contact stress distributions was analytically investigated. The analysis utilized the complex stress functions obtained from the assumed displacement expressions that satisfy the boundary conditions around the hole to determine the contact stresses. In the method of solution coulomb friction was used to determine the prescribed displacements at the boundary. The material properties of graphite/epoxy and carbon fiber reinforced plastics laminates were used in this investigation and the results compared with available literature. It was revealed that the stress distributions followed the same pattern in both geometries but with lower magnitude in elliptical shape and the reduction in stress distributions caused by changing the bolt shape from circular to elliptic depend on friction coefficient.