A half-plane model for analysis of stress in the blade of a spade

The present work deals with the state of stress produced in the blade of a spade as a result of an external load acting around its middle. Such loadings can occur when the cutting edge of a spade encounters a hard obstacle such as a pebble or a boulder. It is shown that a half-plane model can simulate the situation. Stress distributions have been obtained corresponding to five types of external load, namely, concentrated normal, distributed normal, concentrated tangential, distributed tangential and combined normal and tangential. A discussion on the significance of the results is also included.