01215421

Computational Structural
Mechanics
PART: PLATE AND SHE LL ANALYSE

Plate and Shell Structures

Plates
shear walls,
floor panels,
shelves

Shells
shell structures in nature (such as
sea shells and egg shells),
pipes,
tanks,
roofs of buildings (such as the
superdome),
bodies of cars,
boats,
aircrafts.

Review of Plate Theory

Plates are flat surfaces applied with lateral loading, with bending behaviors
dominating the structural response.
Shells are structures which span over curved surfaces; they carry both
membrane and bending forces under lateral loading.

Force and Stress Relations in Plates

Review of Plate Theory

Force and Stress Relations in Plates
Bending moments (per unit length):
/2

/2

= /2 and y = /2 y

Twisting moment (per unit length):

/2

Shear Forces (per unit length):

/2

/2

/2

= /2 and = /2 yz

Maximum bending stresses:

6
and
2

6
2

Review of Plate Theory

Thin Plate Theory (Kirchhoff Plate Theory)
A straight line normal to the mid-surface remains straight and normal to
the deflected mid-surface after loading
= = 0 (Negligible transverse shear deformations)

Displacement:

= (, ) (deflection)

= ; v=

Strain:

2
2 ;

2
2

; =

2
2

Review of Plate Theory

StressStrain (Constitutive) Equations

=
1
2
1

0 0

= z

1 2 0

1
0

0
(1 )/2

0
0
(1 )/2

2
2
2
2
2

Review of Plate Theory

Thick Plate Theory (Mindlin Plate Theory)

Thickness t of a plate is not small (t/L 1/10)

0; 0 (transverse shear deformations)
Line which is normal to the mid-surface before the deformation will not be
so after the deformation

Displacement:
= and v=

Strain:

;
x

+
x

=
=

; =
y

= y

Review of Plate Theory

Shell Theory: two types of forces
membrane forces (in plane forces)
bending forces (out of plane forces)

Modeling of Plates and Shells

Plates or shells can be modeled as flat or curved surfaces in space, with
the thickness t assigned as a parameter
Discretization of the surfaces will involve the use of plate or shell
elements, with the quality of the surface mesh improving with
decreasing element size.

Modeling of Plates and Shells

Plate and shell models may not be
adequate for analyzing.
3-D solid elements should be
applied in such cases.
Casting Part
A non-uniform thickness (turbine
blades, vessels with stiffeners,
thin layered structures

Case Study
Problem Description: Vases are decorative pieces that can be of any artistic
shapes. The figure below gives the dimensions of a flower vase made of
glass. Assume that the vase has a uniform thickness of 4 mm. The water level
reaches 100 mm below the opening of the vase. Determine the maximum
deformation and von Mises stress in the vase under the hydrostatic pressure.
Material: Glass
o E = 70 Gpa
o = 0.17

Boundary conditions:
o Bottom surface: fixed.

Coordinates of construction points:

o
o
o
o
o

A: (50, 0, and 0 mm)

B: (90, 40, and 0 mm)
C: (60, 120, and 0 mm)
D: (40, 180, and 0 mm)
E: (80, 280, and 0 mm)

Case Study 2
Problem Description: A two-story building is constructed for residential
usage. The local building code requires that a Iive load of 50 lb/ft2
should be considered, along with the dead load, its own weight. Since
the building is in an Earthquake zone, an earthquake load must be
considered. For a low-rise building like this, the building code usually
allows an equivalent static analysis instead of a dynamic analysis. Here
we consider a static earthquake load, which is equivalent to 0.2 times of
gravitational acceleration, applying horizontally in the shorter direction
of the building. ln practical design project, earthquake load applying in
other directions should also be simulated.
Material:

The floors are made of reinforced concrete.

All beams and columns are made of structural steel with a cross section of
W16x50

Case Study 2 (cont.)