The Role of the Stress Trajectories as an aid in the choice of the Suitable shape of Load-bearing Structural Elements of Engines and Structure

Abstract

The design work on structures and engines begins with the assumption of the shape and dimensions of the parts of them. At this level the designer has nearly total freedom of choice but his skill in the assumption of the layout of the planned item may influence the time and cost necessary to obtain the final product. His choice may be supported effectively by the observation of patterns of stress trajectories taken from different specimens already investigated. Some typical examples of patterns of stress trajectories are collected in this paper together with the explanation of the consequences drawn from them.