EQUILIBRIUM OF ELASTIC RECTANGLE - MATHIEU-INGLIS-PICKETT SOLUTION REVISITED

This paper addresses a general analytical method for investigating the two-dimensional distributions of stresses set up in a rectangular pla te by a load applied along its sides in any arbitrary manner. Proposed independently by Mathieu (1890), Inglis (1921) and Pickett (1944), an d later named the 'superposition method', it has been applied with suc cess to the study of distribution of stresses inside a rectangle. The object of this paper is to prove the advantages of that approach when studying a stress field near the boundaries, including specific cases of discontinuous and concentrated normal and shear loadings. The metho d is illustrated by several numerical examples, the rapidity of conver gence and the accuracy of results are investigated. The distribution o f stresses along some typical Lines in the plate are computed and show n graphically.