A Note on the Stress Distribution in a Plate Flanged with a Circular Plug

This article gives a note on the old problem that a large plate flanged with a circular plug is subjected to a pair of edge forces. It is based on the principle of the minimum strain-energy of the whole system, by allowing the discrepancy between tangential displacements at the junction of the plate and the plug. Numerical calculation reveals a considerable increase in the maximum circumferential tensile stress