Expansion of a hole in a thin plate considering arbitrary smooth pressure-independent yield criterion and work-hardening law

A solution for arbitrary smooth pressure-independent yield criterion and work-hardening law is obtained for the expansion of a hole in an initially uniform infinite plate under plane stress conditions. It is then specialized to widely used yield criteria and work-hardening laws. It is shown that both yield criterion and work-hardening law affect the qualitative behavior of the solution, especially near the hole's surface. In particular, local thickening or thinning may occur there. It is due to the fact that the thickness and yield stress contribute to sustaining the pressure applied to the hole's surface. Therefore, the higher hardening rate requires a smaller thickness. A criterion for the solution's validity applies, and a procedure for using this criterion is developed. Numerical examples illustrate the solution for von Mises and Hosford's yield criteria and Swift's and Voce's hardening laws. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd