Stresses at and in the neighborhood of a near-edge hole in a plate subjected to an offset load from measured temperatures

An Airy stress function is used to process the associated temperature data and thereby determine the individual stresses in a plate containing a near-edge circular hole and which is subjected to a concentrated edge load away from the hole. Formulating the stress function so its origin is at the center of the hole enables the traction-free conditions to be imposed analytically on the edge of the hole. This significantly reduces the number of coefficients that must be retained in the stress function. Results agree with those from measured strains and the finite element method. The capability developed is applicable beyond the present situation, including with other measured quantities such as strains or displacements.