Thin-walled plates and panels of various constructions find wide use as primary structural elements in simple and complex configuration. In aerospace structures, panels with variously shaped cutout are often used. The understandingof the effects of cutout on the load bearing capacity and stress concentration of such plates is very important in designing of complex structures. An analytical investigation is used to study the stress analysis of plates with different central cutout. Particular emphasis is placed on flat square plates subjected to a uni-axial tension load. The results based on analytical solution are compared with the results obtained usingfinite element methods. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the accuracy and simplicity of presented analytical solution for stress analysis of composite plates with central cutout. The effect of cutout geometry (circular, square, or special cutouts), material properties (isotropic and orthotropic), fiber angles, and cutout curvature are considered. The results presented herein, indicated that the presented method can be used to determine accurately the stresses and stress concentration in composite plates with special shape cutouts.

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