Analysis on a Plate with a Hole

AIM: To Perform a static analysis on two models of plate with holes.

Objective:

To compare the performance of 2 separate plates with different hole geometries (see Figure 1) by performing a static structural analysis using Solidworks Simulation and determine and plot the Von Mises Stresses, Strain and Displacement and compare findings.

Figure 1: Case 1 (Plate with 1X 60 mm hole) and Case 2 (Plate with 1X 60 mm and 2X 30 mm holes)

Tools used:

Solidworks Simulation module

Pre-requisites:

The 2 plates with different hole profiles are modeled in Solidworks using the Solid modeling tools.

Boundary conditions:

Part type = Plate with hole/s

Material = Alloy Steel (See figure 2 for Material properties)

Tensile load = 1000 N (pulling on one of the shorter sides of the plate – 120 mm X 30 mm surface)

Figure 2: Material properties of Alloy steel

Experiment 1: Rectangular plate with 1X 60 mm hole

• Setup: A new Static study was created in Solidworks Simulation.
• Boundary conditions: Alloy steel was applied as the material; one of the 120 mm X 30 mm face is fixed and a tensile load is applied on the opposite 120 mm X 30 mm face so that it stretches the plate.
• Mesh: A mesh size of 3 mm is chosen and applied.
• Results: The mesh is applied and the simulation is run. The plots are generated and compared. The results are tabulated in the results section of the report.

Figure 3: Case 1 plate mesh (mesh element size = 3mm)

Figure 4: Stress, Strain and Displacement comparison for case 1

Experiment 2: Rectangular plate with 1X 60 mm and 2X 30 mm hole

• Setup: A new Static study was created in Solidworks Simulation.
• Boundary conditions: Alloy steel was applied as the material; one of the 120 mm X 30 mm face is fixed and a tensile load is applied on the opposite 120 mm X 30 mm face so that it stretches the plate.
• Mesh: A mesh size of 3 mm is chosen and applied.
• Results: The mesh is applied and the simulation is run. The plots are generated and compared. The results are tabulated in the results section of the report.

Figure 5: Case 2 plate mesh (mesh element size = 3mm)

Figure 6: Stress, Strain and Displacement comparison for case 2

Results:

These results are obtained from the comparative plots as shown in figures:

Sl. No	Description	Rectangular Plate with 1X hole	Rectangular Plate with 3X hole
1	Yield Strength (N/mm2)	6.204 X 108	6.204 X 108
2	Max. Von Mises Stresses (N/mm2)	1.211 X 106	1.164 X 106
3	Max. Strain (no unit)	4.665 X 10-6	4.477 X 10-6
4	Max. Displacement (mm)	0.00052	0.00057
5	Mass (g)	7662.86	7336.29

Conclusion:

• The 2 rectangular plates have very similar characteristics as far as maximum Von-Mises stresses, maximum strain and maximum displacement are considered.
• The plate with 3 holes has an almost negligibly higher displacement value by the order of 0.00005 mm.
• The plate with one hole experiences more stresses and this leads us to conclude that the increased number of holes act as stress relief features.