Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology

MEE30004 - SOLID MECHANICS

FE ASSIGNMENT - FLAT CIRCULAR PRESS PLATE - 2015
By writing our names below, I declare this is an individual assignment and no part of this submission has been copied
from any other student's work or from any other source except where due acknowledgment is explicitly made in
the text, nor has any part been written for us by another person. Refer to Subject Outline for Plagiarism
guidelines.

STUDENT NAME & No : Alvin Shim 1770934

INTRODUCTION :
This assignment combines Practical Lab 1 with the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of a pressure
loaded circular plate with clamped edges (see Fig. 1 overleaf). The aim of this Assignment is to set
up a computer model of the thin flat aluminium circular plate tested in Practical Lab 1, apply two (2)
different Load Cases and then compare FEA deflection with experimental deflections and/or
theoretical deflection.
NOTES : 1) This document must be read in conjunction with Practical Lab 1.
2) Assignment worth 8 % (individual report).
3) Validation is an important concept in FEA we need to carry out an independent
check to ensure that answers from our FEA model are reasonable.
FEA analysis is carried out using ANSYS.

PROCEDURE:
1. Set up an FEA model of the thin flat circular plate with clamped edges which was tested in
Practical Lab 1 (also see Fig. 1 overleaf).
2. FEA Load Case 1 To your FEM apply a uniform upwards acting pressure distribution over the
entire plate of 20 and 40 kPa. Perform an analysis and note the resulting plate profile.
Compare (graphically) the resulting deflection with your corrected experimental results from
Prac. Lab. 1 for pressure steps p of 20 and 40 kPa respectively.
Also compare (graphically) FEA deflection with corresponding theoretical deflection - Eqn.
[16.26] (see Text-book or Prac. Lab. 1) for pressures of 20 and 40 kPa respectively.
3. F. E. Load Case 2 For the same plate, assume a different loading case as follows at the centre
a Point Load, W, of 200 N acting upwards plus a constant pressure , p, of 40 kPa acting upwards
over the entire plate (i.e. in the same direction to W). Perform an analysis and note the resulting
plate profile.
To validate this FEA result we can in this case use Theory - Eqn [16.26] gives the theoretical
profile for the constant pressure case. For a circular clamped edge plate with a central Point
Load, W, an equation for theoretical deflection is given in the Appendix overleaf. These two
theoretical deflections can be added together using superposition.
Compare (graphically) FEA deflection with corresponding theoretical deflection.

Page 2 of 3

DATA : 1. The circular plate is made from aluminium; take E = 70 GPa, = 0.3.
2. Effective radius of clamped plate is a=110 mm.
3. Thickness of plate is 3.0 mm.

pressure
effective radius a=110 mm
Fig. 1 - Flat Circular Pressure Plate Experiment.
ASSIGNMENT REPORT :
Type and edit your report using Microsoft Word. Plot graphs using graphic paper or computer
software. Email your group Lab. Report to Roger Zou at roger.rogerzou@gmail.com by due Date 2
weeks after conducting Lab. Please scan your report and save whole report as one PDF file with a
name of Your Surname_Initial_Student ID_Comp Lab.pdf. Also please refer to Unit of Study
Outline for penalties etc.
The Report must include (in order):

This 3 page handout as cover sheet /results for your report.

For Load Case 1 - Graphs (to scale) comparing FEA deflection and stresses with corrected
experimental deflection and stresses with theoretical deflection and stresses for p or p = 20
and 40 kPa. Please note vertical axis of graphs should be Z deflection and horizontal axis
should be diametral location.
(2 Marks)
For Load Case 2 A Graph (to scale) comparing FEA deflection with theoretical deflection
Please note that vertical axis of graphs should be Z deflection and horizontal axis should be
diametral location.
(2 Marks)
Sample theoretical calculation for Load Case 2.
(1 Mark)
Discussion and Conclusion.
(2 Marks)
A Table summarising numerical values obtained in each case, as an Appendix at end of
Report.
(1 Mark)

APPENDIX :
For a flat thin circular plate subject to uniform pressure with a clamped periphery (as shown
Fig. 1), it is expected that deflected profile will be a smooth bell shaped curve according to the
following equation :
(Ref.: Chapt.16 in Mech. of Engng Matls by Benham, Crawford and
Armstrong)
Deflection curve :

Page 2 of 3

w=

p
a2 r2
64 D

... eq. [16.26]

where : w = vertical deflection (m) ; a = fixed max. radius (m); r = variable radius (m);
p = pressure (Pa) ;

E h3
D=
12 1 - 2

Flexural Rigidity:

where : E = Youngs Modulus (Pa) ; h = plate thickness (m) ; = Poissons ratio.

r =

Generalized Hookes Law:

r
E

For a flat thin circular plate with a clamped periphery (as shown Fig. 1) subjected to a central
Point Load, W, the deflected profile will be smooth curve according to the following equation:
(Ref.: Roarks Formulae for Stress and Strain 7 the Edition Table 11.2, Case No.17)
W 2
a

Deflection curve :
w=
a r 2 1 + 2 ln

16 D
r

Where : w = vert. defln (m) ; a = fixed max. radius (m) ; r = variable rad. (m) ; W = Pt Load (N) ;

E h3
Flex. Rigidity : D =
; E = Youngs Modulus (Pa) ; h = plate thickness (m) ;
12 1 - 2
= Poissons ratio.

Page 2 of 3

Load case 2
For Load Case 2 A Graph (to scale) comparing FEA deflection with theoretical deflection Please
note that vertical axis of graphs should be Z deflection and horizontal axis should be diametral
location.

Deflection(mm) vs Diametral location(mm)

9.00E-01
8.00E-01
7.00E-01

Z deflection mm

6.00E-01
5.00E-01
load case 2 FEA

4.00E-01

load case two calc

3.00E-01
2.00E-01
1.00E-01
0.00E+00
-150

-100

-50

0
Diametral location

FIG 1.

Page 2 of 3

50

100

150

Sample Calculation (200N loading)

Page 2 of 3

Sample Calculation (40KPa)

Page 2 of 3

Sample Calculation (w (40kpa) + w (200N)) Superposition.

Page 2 of 3

Load case 1
Experimental and calculated (DELFECTION)

Deflection V radius
0.6
0.5

Deflection (mm)

0.4
calc w(.2bar)

0.3

calc w(.4bar)

0.2

experiment (0.2bar)

0.1

experiment (0.4bar)

0
-150

-100

-50

50

100

150

-0.1

Diametral location

Fig 2.

Deflection(mm) vs Diametral
Location .2Bar
3.00E-01
Deflection (mm)

2.50E-01
2.00E-01
1.50E-01

Deflection(mm) vs
Diametral

1.00E-01
5.00E-02

-150

-100

0.00E+00
-50
0

50

100

150

Diametral Location(mm)

fig. 3

0.4bar deflection(mm) vs Diametral

Location(mm)
6.00E-01
Deflection (mm)

5.00E-01

-150

4.00E-01
3.00E-01

.4bar fea

2.00E-01
1.00E-01
-100

0.00E+00
-50
0

50

Diametral Location(mm)

Page 2 of 3

100

150

fig. 4

Load Case 2
Experimental and calculated (stress)

Tangential Stress v Radius

30
25

Tangential Stress (MPa)

20

calc (0.2)
calc (0.4)

15

experiment (0.2)
10

experiment (0.4)
Poly. (calc (0.2) )

Poly. (calc (0.4))

Poly. (experiment (0.2))

0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Poly. (experiment (0.4))

-5
-10

Radius (mm)

Fig. 5

Radial Stress v Radius

30
20

Radial Stress (MPa)

calc (0.2)
calc (0.4)

10

experiment (0.2)
experiment (0.4)

0
0

20

40

60

-10

80

100

120

Poly. (calc (0.2) )

Poly. (calc (0.4))
Poly. (experiment (0.2))

-20
-30

Poly. (experiment (0.4))

Radius (mm)

Fig. 6

Fig. 7 Principle stress over distance.

Page 2 of 3

Discussion and conclusion

The calculated value assume that there is no deformation in the middle plane of the plate thus the
plane are neutral during bending and the stress in the transverse direction to the plate are ignored.
The deflection also disregards the effect of shear forces. The assumptions are resulted from
simplifying this problem into a two dimensional mathematical model, the Kirchhoff Love plate
theory.
Maximum deflection should occur at the centre of the circular plate from calculated at 0.2bar and
0.4bar; .26 and .52 mm. Experiment shown that maximum deflection occurred at 25mm left of the
centre of the plate at .27mm at 0.2bar and the centre at .485mm at 0.4bar. The FEA(Fig. 3 and fig, 4)
gave a maximum deflection at the centre of the circular plate with a deflection of 0.265 and 0.53. a
value close to the calculated.
With load case two, refer to Fig 1. The two deflection of 200N and 40Kpa can be added up from
superposition. Maximum deflection of 0.805mm at the centre from calculated and 0.811mm from
FEA result.
Ansys FEA allows the splitting of plates into 4 symmetrical sections which provide an centre for the
force loading and smaller mesh sizes which allows for faster calculation. The difference in calculated
and FEA results are only a small margin.

Page 2 of 3

Appendix
0.2 bar, FEA output
X
Y
Z
Directional
Coordinate Coordinate Coordinate Deformation
(mm)
(mm)
(mm)
(mm)
-110
0
0
-105.42
0
0
1.77E-03
-100.83
0
0
6.74E-03
-96.25
0
0
1.45E-02
-91.667
0
0
2.46E-02
-87.083
0
0
3.68E-02
-82.5
0
0
5.05E-02
-77.917
0
0
6.56E-02
-73.333
0
0
8.16E-02
-68.75
0
0
9.82E-02
-64.167
0
0
0.11509
-59.583
0
0
0.13206
-55
0
0
0.14882
-50.417
0
0
0.16513
-45.833
0
0
0.18077
-41.25
0
0
0.19551
-36.667
0
0
0.20921
-32.083
0
0
0.22171
-27.5
0
0
0.23281
-22.917
0
0
0.24243
-18.333
0
0
0.25048
-13.75
0
0
0.25683
-9.1667
0
0
0.26141
-4.5833
0
0
0.26422
0
0
0
0.26523
4.5833
0
0
0.26433
9.1667
0
0
0.26164
13.75
0
0
0.25717
18.333
0
0
0.25092
22.917
0
0
0.24298
27.5
0
0
0.23345
32.083
0
0
0.22245
36.667
0
0
0.21003
41.25
0
0
0.1964
45.833
0
0
0.18171
50.417
0
0
0.16612
55
0
0
0.14985
59.583
0
0
0.13311
64.167
0
0
0.11615
68.75
0
0
9.92E-02
73.333
0
0
8.26E-02
77.917
0
0
6.65E-02
Page 2 of 3

82.5
87.083
91.667
96.25
100.83
105.42
110

Page 2 of 3

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

5.14E-02
3.76E-02
2.53E-02
1.50E-02
7.14E-03
2.01E-03
2.66E-05

0.4 bar, FEA output.

S (mm)
0
4.5833
9.1667
13.75
18.333
22.917
27.5
32.083
36.667
41.25
45.833
50.417
55
59.583
64.167
68.75
73.333
77.917
82.5
87.083
91.667
96.25
100.83
105.42
110
114.58
119.17
123.75
128.33
132.92
137.5
142.08
146.67
151.25
155.83
160.42
165
169.58
174.17
178.75
183.33
187.92
192.5
197.08
Page 2 of 3

X
Y
Z
Directional
Coordinate Coordinate Coordinate Deformation
(mm)
(mm)
(mm)
(mm)
-110
0
0
-105.42
0
0
3.54E-03
-100.83
0
0
1.35E-02
-96.25
0
0
2.89E-02
-91.667
0
0
4.92E-02
-87.083
0
0
7.35E-02
-82.5
0
0
0.10108
-77.917
0
0
0.13113
-73.333
0
0
0.16312
-68.75
0
0
0.19633
-64.167
0
0
0.23018
-59.583
0
0
0.26412
-55
0
0
0.29763
-50.417
0
0
0.33025
-45.833
0
0
0.36154
-41.25
0
0
0.39102
-36.667
0
0
0.41842
-32.083
0
0
0.44342
-27.5
0
0
0.46562
-22.917
0
0
0.48486
-18.333
0
0
0.50095
-13.75
0
0
0.51366
-9.1667
0
0
0.52282
-4.5833
0
0
0.52844
0
0
0
0.53046
4.5833
0
0
0.52866
9.1667
0
0
0.52327
13.75
0
0
0.51434
18.333
0
0
0.50185
22.917
0
0
0.48595
27.5
0
0
0.46691
32.083
0
0
0.4449
36.667
0
0
0.42006
41.25
0
0
0.39279
45.833
0
0
0.36342
50.417
0
0
0.33225
55
0
0
0.2997
59.583
0
0
0.26623
64.167
0
0
0.2323
68.75
0
0
0.19843
73.333
0
0
0.16517
77.917
0
0
0.13308
82.5
0
0
0.10287
87.083
0
0
7.52E-02

201.67
206.25
210.83
215.42
220

Page 2 of 3

91.667
96.25
100.83
105.42
110

0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

5.06E-02
3.00E-02
1.43E-02
4.01E-03
5.32E-05

Experimental deflection and stress(0.2bar and 0.4bar)

rad

calc .2bar calc .4bar exp .2

97.5
-13.0339
-26.0677
72
-1.14767
-2.29533
25
11.38958
22.77917

exp .4
-11.1923
-1.28462
11.37692

-23.5231
-3.23077
22.36154

tang
97.5
72

-1.94323
4.900333

-3.88646
9.800667

1.192308
4.584615

1.623077
8.130769

25

12.11875

24.2375

12.02308

23.43846

-95
-75
-50
-25
0
25
50
75
95

Page 2 of 3

calc
calc
experiment
experiment
w(.2bar)
w(.4bar)
(0.2bar)
(0.4bar)
0.017073
0.034145
0
-0.06
0.075699
0.151398
0.11
0.06
0.1664
0.3328
0.19
0.28
0.237748
0.475495
0.27
0.42
0.264351
0.528703
0.25
0.485
0.237748
0.475495
0.225
0.42
0.1664
0.3328
0.16
0.29
0.075699
0.151398
0.065
0.12
0.017073
0.034145
0
0.02

FEA deflection vs diametral location(200N point load, 0.4bar)

S (mm)
0
4.5833
9.1667
13.75
18.333
22.917
27.5
32.083
36.667
41.25
45.833
50.417
55
59.583
64.167
68.75
73.333
77.917
82.5
87.083
91.667
96.25
100.83
105.42
110
114.58
119.17
123.75
128.33
132.92
137.5
142.08
146.67
151.25
155.83
160.42
165
169.58
174.17
178.75
183.33
187.92
192.5
197.08
Page 2 of 3

X
Y
Z
Directional
Coordinate Coordinate Coordinate Deformation
(mm)
(mm)
(mm)
(mm)
-110
0
0
-105.42
0
0
4.49E-03
-100.83
0
0
1.72E-02
-96.25
0
0
3.72E-02
-91.667
0
0
6.37E-02
-87.083
0
0
9.58E-02
-82.5
0
0
0.13266
-77.917
0
0
0.17337
-73.333
0
0
0.21733
-68.75
0
0
0.26365
-64.167
0
0
0.31162
-59.583
0
0
0.3606
-55
0
0
0.4099
-50.417
0
0
0.4589
-45.833
0
0
0.507
-41.25
0
0
0.55355
-36.667
0
0
0.59805
-32.083
0
0
0.63998
-27.5
0
0
0.67865
-22.917
0
0
0.71362
-18.333
0
0
0.74438
-13.75
0
0
0.77025
-9.1667
0
0
0.79047
-4.5833
0
0
0.8044
0
0
0
0.81145
4.5833
0
0
0.80469
9.1667
0
0
0.79104
13.75
0
0
0.7711
18.333
0
0
0.74552
22.917
0
0
0.71501
27.5
0
0
0.68027
32.083
0
0
0.64184
36.667
0
0
0.60011
41.25
0
0
0.55578
45.833
0
0
0.50939
50.417
0
0
0.46142
55
0
0
0.41251
59.583
0
0
0.36326
64.167
0
0
0.31429
68.75
0
0
0.2663
73.333
0
0
0.21992
77.917
0
0
0.17584
82.5
0
0
0.13493
87.083
0
0
9.79E-02

201.67
206.25
210.83
215.42
220

Page 2 of 3

91.667
96.25
100.83
105.42
110

0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

6.55E-02
3.86E-02
1.82E-02
5.08E-03
6.68E-05