Composite Structures 32 (1995) 659-666

0 1995 Elsevier Science Limited

Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0263-8223/95/$9.50
0263-8223(95)00062-3

Logarithmic stress singularities at clampedfree corners of a cantilever orthotropic beam

under flexure
Nerio Ibllini & Marco Savoia
University of Bologna -

Istituto di Tecnica delle Costruzioni, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136, Bologna, Italy

The rectangular orthotropic beam under flexure is studied by decomposing

the problem into an interior problem and a boundary problem. The interior
problem is required to satisfy field equations and boundary conditions at
the lateral faces, whereas the boundary conditions at the beam ends are
imposed in the average sense. The boundary problem, which reestablishes
the pointwise boundary
conditions
at the beam ends, is solved via
eigenfunction
expansion under the assumption of transverse inextensibility.
It is shown that logarithmic stress singularities are present at the comers of
the clamped end section and the corresponding
stress-intensity
factor is
computed.

1 INTRODUCTION

ure problem to the numerical solution of a

singular integral equation.
In this paper, the 1-D theory recently proposed by the authors7 is used to investigate the
stress field at the right-angled
clamped-free
corners of a cantilever orthotropic beam under
flexure. The solution procedure is based on the
decomposition
of the problem into an interior
problem, defined in terms of the loading condition with average boundary conditions at the
beam ends, and a boundary problem which reestablishes the pointwise boundary conditions,
i.e., null displacement at the clamped end. The
boundary solution is obtained in terms of eigenfunction expansion and is based on the only
kinematic assumption of transverse inextensibility of the beam. It has been shown in Ref. 7
that this assumption is particularly indicated for
the analysis of strongly orthotropic materials. In
fact, in this case the 2-D lower-order
wide
boundary-layer
obtained
in Ref. 8 and the
asymptotic estimate of the characteristic decay
length of end effects given in Ref. 9 can be
reobtained exactly.
In Sections 3 and 4, particular attention is
devoted to the analysis of the stress field near
the corner points of the clamped end section of
orthotropic beams under end shear force and

Singular
solutions
typically arise in mixed
boundary
value problems
at the transition
points between displacement and stress boundary conditions. For instance, the elastic wedge
with clamped-free
edges has been investigated
closely. Williams* used the Airy stress function
and eigenfunction expansion in terms of powers
of the radial coordinate
1. Kuo & Bogy
employed complex function representation
and
generalised
Mellin transform
to analyse an
anisotropic wedge, so obtaining also a stress singularity of the form lnr as r+O. Dempsey &
Sinclair3 extended
Williamss
approach
to
derive conditions for the existence of logarithmic stress singularities.
Singular solutions at the corners of clamped
semi-infinite beams have been studied widely,
e.g. Ref. 4, mainly with reference to extension
and bending problems; in only a few cases the
stress intensity factor has been evaluated. With
reference to the cantilever isotropic beam under
flexure, Gregory & Gladwell used a projection
method to add the singular solutions to the
Papkovich eigenfunction
expansion and evaluate the stress
intensity
factor.
For the
orthotropic case, Lin & Wan6 reduced the flex659

660

N Tullini, M. Savoia

uniformly distributed
load. First of all, the
results are compared with analytical and numerical results reported in the literature, showing
excellent agreement,
in terms of normal and
shear stress distributions, in the neighbourhood
of stress singularities. Moreover, it is shown that
in both cases the axial normal stress presents a
logarithmic singularity at the clamped-free corners. The stress-intensity
factor is computed
analytically and turns out to be of the order (E,/
materials. In
Gv)~~ for strongly orthotropic
passing, the existence of the logarithmic singularity implies that the eigenfunction
expansion
in terms of powers like ra, as typically done in
the literature, may not be complete.
2 THE INTERIOR

PROBLEM

Let a rectangular beam be referred to a Cartesian reference frame Oxlxz, where x1, x2 axes
are chosen in the axial and transverse direction,
respectively (Fig. 1). The beam length and total
height are denoted by 1 and H = 2h. The beam
is made of homogeneous,
orthotropic, linearly
elastic material, with orthotropy axes coinciding
with the reference axes. A uniformly distributed
transverse load q2/2 is applied at the top and
bottom faces; moreover, the two end sections
are, respectively, clamped (at x1 = 0) and loaded
by a bending moment &f and a transverse shearing force E (at x1 = Z), see Fig. 1. Consequently,
the following boundary conditions must be satisfied:
c&l,

+h) = +qJ2,

&x1,

&h) = 0

(1)

&(o,x2)=&(O,-$)=O

(2)

M(I) =A?, Q(Z) =P

(3)

where ati and u,(a = 1,2) are the stress and

displacement fields and M(xr), Q(xl) are (for a
unit thickness) and bending and inner shear
resultants, respectively.

Introducing
the
dimensionless
variables
x = xi/l, y = xdh, the beam domain reduces to
[0, l] x [ - 1, 11. The exact stress field satisfying
the stress boundary conditions (l), (3) is the
following: l*l
0% -r
-

a;* =

hY

2 3-5y2
3.

M(x)-&+2&J

3Q (4

1(4)

(1 -y>, CT<*
= q2 3yqy3

(5)

where A = H. 1 = 2h and I = 2h3/3 are the

cross-sectional area and second area moment,
and the bending and inner shear resultants are
given by M(x) =fi--pZ(1 -x) -qzZ*(l -x)*/2,
Q (x) =F -q2Z (1 -x). Moreover, the following
positions have been introduced:
Rh6h2

R12

(6)

where R, are the reduced elastic coefficients.

For instance, in plain stress RI1 = l/E,, R2* = l/
in plain
&
= l/G 12, whereas
E2, R,2 = - vdE,,
strain RI, = (1 -v13v31)/&,
R22 = (1 -v23v32)/E2,
RI2 = (v12 + v13v32)/E1, RG6 = 1/Gr2, where Ei iS
the Youngs modulus in the xi direction, GfZ is
the shear modulus and vii are the Poissons
ratios.
The interior domain displacement field associated to eqns (4, 5) is obtained by integrating
the strain-displacement
relations:
El1 = RII~II

+R12022,

~22 =R12011

+R22022,

,512 = R55~12

(7)

making use of the following

conditions:

integral

boundary

s -1

40,~)~

dy

1
=

u2(0,

y)(l

-Y > dy = 0

(8)

in order tildefine the rigid body terms. Hence,

the displacement field takes the following form:

q*/*

I-

x2 t

Fig. 1.

Cantilever

orthotropic

3-sy*

3.

beam.

+5mh

I)

Logarithmic stress singulantiesof a cantilever orthotropic beam under fkxure

l2
u<=R1,--

(s;
-

(x-t)Wt)

d5

(9)
-f

M&)(1

-5y2) +2qzz*x2

II

(39 - 210~~ + 35~~)

-+

(I +2~)(27-210y2+175y4)
11

II

hf

rY

P/Q (3

M(4) dt

-0
-

3 THE BOUNDARY PROBLEM

The displacement
field (9) represents a particular solution of the beam problem which satisfied the integral boundary condition (3, 8). In
particular, eqn @a) imposes the vanishing of
the mean rotation only at the clamped crosssection.
In order
to satisfy the perfectly
clamped-end boundary conditions (2) an additional
(residual)
solution
is
required,
characterised by null bending and shear resultants (M, Q) along the beam.
Following the guidelines of the solution procedure proposed in Ref. 7, eqn (11) is used as a
kinematic assumption
to study the boundary
effects due to the clamped end. It has been
shown in Ref. 7 that transverse inextensibility is
appropriate
also for the analysis of boundary
effects when strongly orthotropic materials are
concerned. In particular, starting from eqn (11)
the lower-order wide boundary-layer obtained in
Ref. 8 by means of 2-D asymptotic analysis of
a semi-infinite
beam weak in shear can be
recovered; moreover, the asymptotic estimate of
the characteristic decay length of end effects,
is reobtained.
Under assumption (1 I), constitutive relations,
field equations and boundary conditions of the
boundary problem reduce to:

1
(10)
(x-5PW)
d5

3 -5y2
30

In eqn (lOa) the first term corresponds

to
Euler-Bernoullis
theory, whereas the second
term, representing the beam warping, is O(E,/
G12) and is particularly important for strongly
orthotropic
beams. Moreover,
the transverse
displacement u2 given by eqn (lob) depends on
the axial coordinate x only, i.e.:
u2.2

tic behaviour
of 2-D elasticity for strongly
orthotropic
beams, i.e. for G12/E1+0. In this
context, Sayir* derived eqn (11) by means of an
asymptotic expansion of elasticity equations for
orthotropic materials with El/G,, = 0(1*/h*). In
Ref. 7 the present authors proposed a 1-D
beam theory based only on assumption
(11).
The interior problem has been solved for transverse and axial loads varying along the beam
according to a polynomial law. For instance, for
uniformly distributed transverse load the solution is given by eqn (10). Moreover, it has been
proved that, for strongly orthotropic materials,
the exact 2-D stress field reduces asymptotically
to that given by the proposed 1-D beam theory.

It is worth noting that eqns (4, 5, 9) simplify

considerably
if unidirectional
strongly orthotropic materials are considered. For instance, if
G,,/E,-+O (for h/Z fixed), for both plain stress
and plain strain p = R12/Re6 becomes much
smalier than unity and disappears from the axial
normal stress reported in eqn (4). Moreover, if
the beam is sufficiently slender, i.e. h/Z< 1, the
displacement field (9) reduces to:
ur;=R II

661

(II)

where comma denotes partial differentiation.

theories
based
on the kinematic
Hence,
assumption of inextensibility in the transverse
direction can efficiently represent the asympto-

61 = u;,,I&,,
&,I

+d2,2

c&(x,

42
0,

=
e

1) = 0

(u;,2+4,1)l&e

(12)

(13)

(14)

&(O, y) = -u?(O, y),

G(l,Y)

=fi(Y)-&(l,Y)

(15)

N. Tullini, M. Savoia

662

where fi is the traction prescribed at the end

section x = 1 (odd function with respect to y)
and superscripts p and r refer to the principal
and residual part of the solution, respectively.
Horgan & Simmonds showed that eqn (8) is a
necessary condition for the decay of the solution of the residual problem
(12-15) when
displacements are prescribed at the beam ends.
The boundary problem (12-15) is solved by
the separation of variables method. Substituting
the displacement field:
Ul

=h@(x)U(y),

u2=44

(16)

in eqns (12, 13a), the following eigenvalue

lem is obtained:
d2U,
-++;u,
dY2

= 0, @:,-y;(&

prob-

= 0

(17)

where An is the eigenvalue and yn = A,JG is the

dimensionless decay rate. Equation (17a) yields
two sets of orthogonal eigenfunctions,
odd and
even functions of y. For flexure problems, only
the odd eigenfunctions are required, given by:
Un(y) = sin Any/sin ;1,

(18)

Substituting the corresponding

residual shear
stress (12b) in the null shear resultant condition
(13b), the lateral deflection of the boundary
solution is obtained:
q = - f

Q&C)

(19)

Rlll

gp
=n

s
s
1

=- RII~ 1
h

undY

_l Lfi(Y)-~~l(l~Y)l

2 R66qd

flU,dy-t~

-1

(23)

II

are the Fouriers coefficients of the residual

part of the right hand side of eqns (15). It is
worth noting that this solution procedure can be
used since eigenfunctions (18) constitute a complete set of functions.
In fact, eqn (17a)
represents a standard Sturm-Liouville
eigenvalue problem, see Refs 7, 8 for details.

4 CANTILEVER ORTHOTROPIC BEAM

SUBJECTED TO AN END SHEAR FORCE
(A) Comparison with 2-D elasticity solutions
An orthotropic
cantilever beam is considered
here, subject to a shear force p and a bending
moment ti =FI acting at the free end (x = l),
such that the applied bending moment vanishes
at the clamped section (x = 0). The bending
moment ti is applied through a linear variation 1
of the tractionf,(y),
so that no boundary effects
arise from the end at x = 1. The procedure
described in the preceding section yields the
following axial normal and shear stresses at the
clamped section:

n=l

Making use of eqns (18, 19), the boundary conditions (14) yields the characteristic equation:
tan ;1, = ;2,

= - 7

%1(&Y)

=;.

(20)

which gives the eigenvalues A, corresponding to

the odd eigenfunctions
(18). Finally, the residual problem
is solved by integrating
the
differential equation (17b), so obtaining:
0, (x) = A, cash y,x +B, sinh y,x

(21)

The integration constants A,, B, can be determined making use of Fouriers method by
expanding boundary conditions (15) in terms of
eigenfunctions, so obtaining:
(I&(O) = u: and @L(l) = C$

s
1

uf(O,y)Udy=-

(24)

In order to compare the solution given by the

proposed 1-D theory with 2-D elasticity solution, consider a semi-infinite beam; in this case,
eqn (24a) reduces to:

(22)

where:

+_A_h _l

Q(O,Y)

as llh-tm.
2 &6Q(O)
A,

(25)

It is worth noting that the term tanh ?/n

appearing in eqn (24a) attains quickly the value
of unity also for beams of usual slenderness.

Logatithmic stress singulatities of a cantilever orthotropic beam under flexwe

For instance, an orthotropic

beam with E,/
G12 = 8.94 has y1 = 3.02 l/H, and for l/H = 2
gives tanh y, = 0.999988. Figure 2 shows that the
normal stress at the clamped section given by
the proposed 1-D theory is in excellent agreement with the elasticity results obtained by
Gregory & Gladwell and Lin & Wan6 for isotropic and orthotropic beams. In particular, the
different singular stress fields near the corners
of the cross-section when different orthotropic
materials are considered (see Table 1) are very
well described. It is worth noting that due to the
loading condition adopted, the bending moment
vanishes at the clamped end, so that Fig. 2
shows the only contribution to the normal stress
distribution due to the restrained warping.
(B) Estimate of stress singularity near the
corner of the clamped end section

663

takes the form U,(y) = y + 0 (( 1- 1y 1)2), and

an investigation
of eqn (20) reveals that
&~,<a,<&+~ <I~,+1 where:
(2?2+1)7c

a, =

(26)

The series l/Al, - 2/3n, 1/A2, - 2/5z, . . . , l/,X,,

-l/a,,
. . . converges, being an alternating series
with absolute values which form a monotone
null sequence (Ref. 14, No. 123). This series
can be computed numerically and converges to
the following value:

(27)

c = 0.01422.

Moreover, a classical result of power

expansion gives (Ref. 14, No. 132): -

It is easy to verify from eqn (25) that a stress

singularity for the normal stress cl1 occurs at
the corners of the clamped section, and the
order of the singularity can be computed analytically.
First of all, for y + + 1 the eigenfunction (18)

$=-l-[

n=l

-2+lnz]

asY++l.

(28)

Therefore, the series appearing

be represented as follows:

f ;2- U,(y)E-f;y
n=l n
asy+

series

ca-2tlnl-y

in eqn (25) may

l+Y

1
(29)

+ 1.

Finally, substituting eqn (29) in (25) shows

that the axial normal stress gll at the corner of
a semi-infinite strip made of strongly orthoa singularity
of
tropic
material
presents
logarithmic form:
~~~(O,y)r&y
Fig. 2. Cantilever beam in plane stress under flexure at
infinity. The normal stress distribution
at the clamped
) is comsection (x = 0) given by proposed theory (pared with the 2-D solution obtained in Ref. 5 for the
isotropic case (ooo) and in Ref. 6 for the orthotropic
cases (000).

2-c7c+ln---[

1-Y
l+Y

Table 1. Elastic moduli of the orthotropic materials considered in Fig. 2

Material

G12
0.42 GPa
6.44 GPa
12.00 GPa

l@OO GPa
isotropic v = 0
12.00 GPa
6.44 GPa

Reference

0.75 GPa
0.72 GPa
0.72 GPa

161
161

iV Tullini, M. Savoia

664

values a, of eqn (26), so that the series appearing in eqn (25) can be approximated as

where:

&f

-J

66.

(31)

Rll

In the neighbourhood
of the corner, eqn (30)
can be rewritten as follows:
oli(O,y)g

+&[2-In

2-crc+ln(l-

]y ])I

n=l

+y)E

n=l

2(-1)sin a,y.

(33)

42

Since the series at the right-hand side of eqn

(33) can be computed analytically, eqn (25) may
be rewritten in the following form:

(32)

I
and & becomes the logarithmic stress-intensity
factor. This estimate seems to be new to the
literature. Equation (31) shows that the stressintensity factor KI is of the order (E1/G12)12 for
strongly orthotropic materials.
Figure 3 shows the axial stress distribution at
the clamped section given by the proposed 1-D
theory (ooo), see eqn (25), and compared with
the estimate reported in eqn (30) (---). It is
worth noting that the value of & (that is the
slope of the diagram in the semi-log scale of
Fig. 3) predicted by eqn (31) agrees excellently
with the analytical solution of eqn (25). Nevertheless, the figure shows that the non singular
term (2-crc)y in eqn (30) is not very accurate,
since a constant shift of the diagram occurs. In
order to improve this term, a different procedure is developed in the following.
First of all, it can be verified that the eigenvalues 1, given by eqn (20) are very close to the

l-x#z

10

-8

-6

-4

-2

Fig. 3. Axial normal stress near the corners of the

clamped section of a semi-infinite cantilevered beam given
by the proposed theory (ooo), see eqn (25), is compared
with the estimates of (eqn (3;) (---)
and eqn (34)
-.

olr(O,y)zKI

2 sinSy+Tln

1 -sinty

1 +sinqy
\

as llh+co

(34)

Finally, Taylors expansion of eqn (34) near the

corners of the clamped cross-section yields:
all(O,y)

as

= f&

2+ln$+ln(l-

]y])

llh+co
y+fl

(35)

where KI still represents the logarithmic stressintensity

factor, which coincides
with that
obtained in the previous expansion, see eqn
(31).
The solid line in Fig. 6 represents the axial
normal stress given by eqn (34), which turns out
to be very close to the analytical solution.
It is worth remembering
that, for the isotropic case, Gregory & Gladwell showed by
means of a 2-D analysis that no singularity of
the type ra can occur for null value of the Poissons ratio; the 1-D analysis performed
here
shows that a stress singularity of logarithmic
form is present, with KI = 0.90 F/A. This result
suggests that additional investigations
in the
2-D elasticity field are necessary.

5 CANTILEVER ORTHOTROPIC BEAM

SUBJECTED TO UNIFORM LOAD
In this section an orthotropic beam subject to a
uniformly distributed
transverse load split in
two equal parts (g2/2) acting at the top and
bottom
faces is considered.
The procedure

Logatithmic stress singulatities of a cantilever orthotropic beam under jkxure

described in Sections 2 and 3 yields the following expression for the axial normal and shear
stresses:
4J2
g11 = - Ah

3
j- (1 -+Y+;

(3Y -5Y3)

(36)
Q=+

$1~X)(1-y2)
I

cos Any - cos An

+c 32n,,
*

n=l

sin 1,

where:
fin(X) = sinh y,x - tanh yn cash y,x
-

cash y,x
in cash in

f2n Cd =

(37)

cash y,x - tanh yn sinh 7/nx

-

sinh 7/,x

= -7

q2l

R66

R
\i[

In order to assess the accuracy of the

posed solution, a thick orthotropic beam
length-to-height
ratio l/H = 4 is analysed.
elastic properties of the beam, typical of a

(4
Fig. 4.

reinforced
composite
material,
are El = 175
GPa, El/E2 = 25, E11G12 = 50, v12 = O-3. Since
no exact solution to this problem can be found
in the literature, the accuracy of the proposed
model is assessed through comparison
with
results obtained via FEM. A 12 x 48 mesh of
S-node square isoparametric elements in plane
stress is adopted (CPS8, Abaqus 4/6), and stresses are computed
at Gauss points of finite
elements. Figure 4a,b shows that both normal
and shear stress distributions given by the proposed 1-D model are in very close agreement
with FEM results even in the neighbourhood
of
the clamped cross-section (x,/H=O*O417). The
dashed line in Fig. 4a refers to Euler-Bernoulli
solution, based on the assumption of cross-sections remaining plane after deformation. As is
to be expected, Euler-Bernoulli
model is not
able to capture the actual stress distribution
near the clamped end, which is strictly related
to boundary effect.
In order to investigate the stress field due to
the warping restrained at the clamped end, an
additional moment A? = q2Z2/2 is applied at the
free end (X = l), such that the bending moment
vanishes at x = 0. In this case, the axial normal
stress of eqn (36a) at x = 0 reduces to:
%1(&Y)

in cash in

665

11

3y-5y3
1o

prowith
The
fibre-

@I

Thick cantilever orthotropic beam (l/H = 4) under uniformly distributed transverse load. Axial normal stress (a)
and shear stress (b) given by the present analysis (-)
are compared with FEM 2-D results (000) and Euler-Bernoulli
solution (- - -).

N. Tullini, M. Savoia

666

For a semi-infinite beam, yn-+ co and p+O, and

eqn (38) is rewritten in the form:
Oll(O,Y)

as llh+co

(39)

The series appearing in eqn (39) is the same as

that of eqn (25), and the procedure of the previous section can be used to study the stress
singularity. In this case, the axial normal stress
gll presents a singularity of logarithmic form at
the corner and

(40)
is the corresponding logarithmic stress-intensity
factor. It is worth observing that, as in the case
of the cantilever under end shear force, eqn
(40) holds also for beam of usual slenderness.
In fact, with reference to eqn (38), the cubic
polynomial and the term x,2/y,& = 2 fi Z, l/J:
in bracket give rise to non singular terms, and
tanh yn attains the value of unity even for very
thick orthotropic beams.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The financial support of the (Italian) National
Council of Research (CNR contract No.
94.00034.CTO7) and of the Human Capital Programme (contract No. CHRX-CT93-0383-DG
12 COMA) is gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES
resulting from
1. Williams, M. L., Stress singularities
various boundary conditions in angular corner plates
in extension.
.Z. Appl. Mech. ASME, 19 (1952)
526-528.
2. Kuo, M. C. & Bogy, D. B., Plane solutions for displacement
and traction-displacement
problems for
anisotropic elastic wedges. .Z. Appl. Mech. ASME, 41
(1974) 197-103.
3. Dempsey, J. P. & Sinclair, G. B., On the stress singularities in the plane elasticity of the composite wedge.
Z. Elasticity, 9 (1979) 373-391.
4. Kim, Y. Y. & Steele, C. R., Modifications of series
expansions for general end conditions and comer singularities on the semi-infinite
strip. .Z. Appl. Mech.
ASME, 57 (1990) 581-588.
5. Gregory, R. D. & Gladwell, I., The cantilever beams
under tension, bending or flexure at infinity. J. Elasticity, 12 (1982) 317-343.
6. Lin, Y. H. & Wan, F. Y. M., Bending and flexure of
semi-infinite cantilevered orthotropic strips. Comput.
Strzdct., 35 (1990) 349-359.
7. Savoia, M. & Tullini, N., A beam theory for strongly
orthotropic materials, submitted, (1995).
8. Horgan, C. 0. & Simmonds, J. G., Asymptotic analysis of an end-loaded
transversely
isotropic, elastic,
semi-infinite strip weak in shear. Znt. J. Solids Stnxt.,
27 (1991) 1895-1914.
9. Choi, I. & Horgan, C. O., Saint-Venants
principle
and end effects in aniostropic
elasticity. J. Appl.
Mech., ASME, 44 (1977) 424-430.
10. Rehfield, L. W. & Murthy, P. L. N., Toward a new
engineering
theory of bending: fundamentals.
AZAA
J., 20 (1982) 693-699.
11. Rychter, Z., A simple and accurate beam theory. Acta
Mech., 75 (1988) 57-62.
12. Sayir, M., Flexural vibrations of strongly anisotropic
beams. Zng Arch., 49 (1980) 309-330.
13. Horgan, C. O., Saint-Venant
end effects in composites. .Z. Comp. Mat., 16 (1982) 411-422.
14. Smirnov, V. I., A Course of Higher Mathematics, Vol.
I, Pergamon Press, New York, 1964.
15. Savoia, M., Laudiero, F. & Tralli, A., A refined theory
for laminated beams: Part I - a new high order
approach. Meccanica 28 (1993) 39-51.