Elastic-Plastic Deformation in Edge-Notched Tension Specimens Under Plane Stress Conditions

An elastic-plastic, plane stress, finite element analysis has been performed on edge-notched tension members having elastic stress concentration factors of 2.28 and 3.06. For net section stresses below general yield, experimentally measured notch root strains are within 12 percent of those computed by the finite element method. The current results indicate that finite element analysis generally provides a better estimate of notch strain than either the Neuber or Hardrath-Ohman formulations.