The plane-strain general yielding of notched members due to combined axial force and bending—III: Comparison of theories with experiment

The plane-strain general yielding of plates with deep single notches is studied using slip-line field analysis, Rice's upper bound solution and finite element analysis. When the plates are subjected to arbitrary combinations of axial force and bending moment, it is possible to calculate the corresponding constraint factors and to map them on the constraint factor plane.It is shown that there is a change in the mode of general yielding from that predicted by slip-line field analysis to that predicted by Rice's upper bound solution. This mode transition occurs when the axial force becomes dominant in the first and third quadrants of the constraint factor plane. The transition is confirmed by finite element analysis and also experiments on notched steel plates.