Analysis on a Plate with Holes

AIM:

To perform a static analysis on two plates with circular holes and compare the results obtained from SolidWorks simulation module.

INTRODUCTION:

When there is any load applied on a metal, the metal elongates in proportion to the load applied per unit area till a certain point called yield point. Every metal has an yield point up to which the stress induced in the metal is proportional to the strain produced in the metal. But if there is a hole in the metal, the scenario is a little different. The size of the hole, its distance from the application of load point etc., will determine the consequences.

THEORY:

If a hole is present in a metal plate and when a load is applied in axial direction, a phenomenon called stress concentration occurs near the holes. This phenomenon occurs because the area of application of force is less near the holes. As we know, stress induced is applied force per unit area. If area decreases for the same amount of applied force, stress induced increases. This is not only valid for holes but also for sharp crevices, sharp corners etc., To minimize stress concentration effect in case of sharp crevices, usually fillets will be given.

EXPLANATION:

Here, we have two cases - A plate with a single hole and a plate with three circular holes out of which one is a larger hole and the other two are smaller holes.

Static analysis is set up for these components.

Alloy Steel is chosen for analysis purpose.

A load of 1000N is applied at the smallest face of the plate and the opposite face is fixed for both the cases.

Mesh is created by the default mesh generation in SolidWorks and the simulation is carried out.

The results for both the cases is obtained as follows:

STRESS PLOTS:

As you can see from the stress plots, the plate with three circular holes has lower value of maximum von-Mises stress when compared to that in the plate with one circular hole but not much of a difference.

DISPLACEMENT PLOTS:

As you can see from the displacement plots, the plate with one circular hole has a slightly lesser value of maximum displacement when compared to that of the plate with three circular holes.

STRAIN PLOTS:

As you can see from the strain plots, the plate with three circular holes has lower value of maximum strain when compared to the plate with one circular hole.

CONCLUSION:

From the results obtained, we can infer that the plate with three circular holes has less stress concentration when compared to that of the plate with one circular hole due to the smaller holes in former acting as stress relieving features.