Study of Stress Concentration in the Junction Zone of Elements with Different Stiffness

Abstract

In modern aerospace structures, the requirement for mass minimization often leads to variations in the thickness and stiffness of structural elements, which become major sources of stress concentration. Such regions are particularly critical in aircraft wing and fuselage components, where localized stresses significantly reduce structural strength and reliability.
This paper examines the case of stress concentration arising at the junction of steel plates with different thicknesses, analyzed using the Finite Element Method (ANSYS Workbench). The obtained results show that abrupt transitions in thickness lead to a considerable increase in stress levels, whereas a tapered geometric transition effectively reduces concentration zones.
The study demonstrates that geometric optimization of element junctions is an effective approach for mitigating stress concentration and achieving an optimal balance between mass and structural strength.