Elasto-plastic behavior of isotropic stepped plates

The elasto-plastic stress analyzes of the stepped and u-notched isotropic p lates are studied by using boundary elements. The boundary elements with is oparametric quadratic elements implemented in a computer program compute an d are advantageous for searching the plate surface areas of stress concentr ations. The spreads of the plastic zones are obtained and it is shown that the path around the notch location can be designed to decrease the stress c oncentrations. The results are presented in diagrams and compared with some of the relevant studies in the literature. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.