Perforated plates and shells with variously shaped cutout are often used in engineering structures. Despite the importance of the effects of cutout on the load-bearing capacity and stress concentration of such plates little research has focused on stress analysis of plates with special shaped cutout. This study investigates problems associated with the maximum stresses in perforated composite plates with quasi-square shaped cutouts. Analytical solution based on Lekhnitskii’s theory of anisotropic plate is utilized for stress analysis of composite plates with central square shaped cutout. The solution is capable of considering large variety of cutout shapes and loading conditions analytically. Parametric studies were conducted to investigate the effects of variation in cutout bluntness and orientation, material properties, and loading direction on the location and the value of the maximum stress in a flat composite plate subjected uni-axial tension load. Based on results presented herein, the maximum normalized stress of perforated composite plates can be significantly changed by using proper combination of material properties, fiber orientation, loading angle, cutout bluntness, and orientation.

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