PlateandShellElements

PlateTheory
Flatplate
Lateralloading
Bendingbehaviordominates

F
ForcesandMomentsActingonthePlate:
dM
A i
h Pl

Applications:
Shearwalls
Floorpanels
Shelves

Stresses:

RelationsBetweenForcesandStresses
Bending moments (per unit length):
Bendingmoments(perunitlength):

Stresses:

ThinPlateTheory(KirchhoffPlateTheory)
Assumptions(similartothoseinthebeamtheory):
p
(
y)
Astraightlinealongthenormaltothemidsurfaceremainsstraightandnormaltothe
deflectedmidsurfaceafterloading,thatis,theseisnotransversesheardeformation:

Displacement:

Strains:

Notethatthereisnostretchofthemidsurface
duetothedeflection(bending)oftheplate.

Stresses(planestressstate):

or

Mainvariable:deflectionw=w(x,y)

GoverningEquation:
Where,
Where

Comparethe1Dequationforstraightbeam:
Shearforcesandbendingmoments:

BoundaryConditions:

wherenisthenormaldirectionoftheboundary.Notethatthegivenvaluesinthe
boundaryconditionsshownabovecanbenonzerovaluesaswell.

Examples:
Asquareplatewithfouredgesclampedorhinged,andunderauniformloadqora
A
square plate with four edges clamped or hinged and under a uniform load q or a
concentratedforcePatthecenterC.

Themaximumdeflectionsfromanalyticalsolutionsaregiveninthe
y
g
followingtable

ThickPlateTheory(Mindlin PlateTheory)
If th thi k
Ifthethicknesstofaplateisnotthin,e.g.,
t f l t i
t thi
(L=acharacteristicdimensionoftheplate),thenthethickplatetheorybyMindlin should
beapplied.Thistheoryaccountsfortheanglechangeswithinacrosssection,thatis,

Newrelations:

Notethatifweimposedtheconditions(or
assumptions)that

thenwecanrecovertherelationsappliedin
thethinplatetheory.
Mainvariables:

PlateElements
KirchhoffPlateElements:
4NodeQuadrilateralElement
DOFateachnode:

Oneachelement,thedeflectionw(x,y)is
representedby

whereNi,Nxi andNyi areshapefunctions.

Thestiffnessmatrixisstilloftheform

whereBisthestraindisplacementmatrix,andEthestressstrainmatrix.

Mindlin PlateElements:
4Node
4
NodeQuadrilateral
Quadrilateral

8Node
8
NodeQuadrilateral
Quadrilateral

DOFateachnode:
Oneachelement:

Threeindependentfields.
Deflectionw(x,y)islinearforQ4,andquadraticforQ8.

Example:

ANSYS4nodequadrilateralplateelement.

ShellElements
Shells Thinstructureswitchspanovercurvedsurfaces.
p

Examples:
Seashell,eggshell(thewonderofthenature);
Containers,pipes,tanks;
Carbodies;
Roofs buildings (the Superdome) etc
Roofs,buildings(theSuperdome),etc.

Forcesinshells:
Membraneforces+BendingMoments(plates:bendingonly)

Example:ACylindricalContainer.
p
y

ShellElements:

Similarity:bar+simplebeamelement=>generalbeamelement.

EXAMPLE:SIMPLYSUPPORTEDPLATESWITHANECCENTRICCIRCULARHOLE
UNDERCOMPRESSIVELOADS

Rectangularplatesundercompressiveloads:withacentralcircularhole; withan
eccentric circular in horizontal direction ; with an eccentric circular in vertical direction
eccentriccircularinhorizontaldirection;withaneccentriccircularinverticaldirection

Bucklingcoefficientsforsimplysupportedrectangularplateswithacentralcircularhole.

Bucklingcoefficientsforsimplysupportedrectangularplateswithaneccentriccircularhole
inhorizontaldirection.

Bucklingcoefficientsforsimplysupportedrectangularplateswithaneccentriccircularhole
inhorizontaldirection.