Lab Assignment 5

Stress on a Joint
EAE 133 A02 - Finite Element Methods in Structures
Professor: .
TA: .
Student: .
Lab Section A02, Nov 4, 2024
Introduction

The purpose of this lab is to perform a convergence study on a 2D surface system. This lab
transitions from 1D elements of previous lab assignments into 2D surface elements. Specifically,
this lab examines the deflection and stress on a plate under a load at a joint, as seen in Figure 1.
Then perform a convergence study with an increasing amount of elements to see how the
maximum stress and displacement values approach a value.

Figure 1: Joint subject to stress (from Lab Statement)

 Table 1: Material and dimensional properties of strucutre
Measurement Value Unit

Elastic Modulus 29. 5 × 10

6 psi

Yield Strength 3. 4 × 10
4 psi

Poisson’s Ratio 0.3 N/A

thickness 0.125 inches

Table 2: Location of points for geometry

Node X (in.) Y (in.) Z (in.)

1 -2.5 5 0

2 2.5 5 0

3 0 5 0

4 0 0.5 0

5 0 -0.5 0

6 -0.5 0 0

7 0.5 0 0

8 -1.8 0 0

9 1.8 0 0

10 0 -1.8 0

Procedure

This procedure is created for Patran for pre/post processing and Nastran for analysis. First, create
the points using the values seen in Table 2. Then, use Arc3Point curves to create the curved
geometry seen in Figure 1. Next, break these curves along the X and Y axis (using plane “Coord
0.1”). Create the outer tangent lines using TanPoint, connecting the top left and right nodes with
the curves below. Clean up the geometry by removing excessive nodes. Next, break all the
curves except the top two edges in half using “Parametric” as the option in Patran. Finish the
geometry to make the structure seen in Figure 2. Create surfaces in between the elements (there
should be 10.

Figure 2: Completed geometry on Patran

For the material properties, define an isotropic material with the properties seen in Table 1.
Apply this material along with the thickness also found in Table 1 onto 2D membranes. Apply
the membranes to all the surfaces.

For the loads and boundary conditions, apply a displacement constraint across the top edges seen
in Figure 2, to create the fixed support seen in Figure 1. Next apply a Total Load on the bottom
half of the hole in the geometry. This would be 1000 lb load seen in Figure 1. Create a load case
with the load and fixed support.

The meshing here is the most important step. Create a mesh seed initially with 2 elements along
the curve lengths (sudividing the curves by 2). Create a mesh with this seed and verify the
number of elements created with Table 3. Perform equivalence to remove extraneous nodes and
perform a linear static analysis with the previously created load case.

Repeat the meshing and analysis process for 5, 10, 30, and 40 subdivisions, making the mesh
finer. Each time, verify the number of elements created with Table 3. The meshes should look
like Figures 3-7. Plot all the results with the fringe result of the stress tensor and a deformation
result of displacements translational.

Table 3: Number of elements for subdivisions

# Subdivisons # Elements

2 40

5 250

10 1000
20 4000

40 16000

Figure 3: Mesh for 2 subdivisions

Figure 4: Mesh for 5 subdivisions

Figure 5: Mesh for 10 subdivisions

 Figure 6: Mesh for 20 subdivisions

Figure 7: Mesh for 40 subdivisions

Results

Figure 8: Deformed structure of element with 2 subdivisions

 Figure 9: Deformed structure of element with 5 subdivisions

Figure 10: Deformed structure of element with 10 subdivisions

Figure 11: Deformed structure of element with 20 subdivisions

 Figure 12: Deformed structure of element with 40 subdivisions

Table 4: Maximum displacement compared to number of elements

# Elements Max Displacement (in.)

40 9. 17 × 10
2

250 2. 00 × 10
2

1000 9. 29 × 10
1

4000 5. 04 × 10
1

16000 2. 02 × 10
1

Table 5: Maximum stress compared to number of elements

# Elements Max Stress (psi)

40 8. 13 × 10
3

250 1. 31 × 10
4

1000 1. 65 × 10
4

4000 1. 94 × 10
4

16000 2. 19 × 10
4
Figure 13: Convergence plot of Maximum displacement vs. Number of elements

Figure 14: Convergence plot of Maximum stress vs. Number of elements

Conclusion
Viewing the convergence study, the change in displacement and stress decreases as the mesh
becomes finer, which is exactly what should be expected. The values converge monotonically, so
the data for the maximum number of elements will be used for analyzing the load case. The
maximum stress for 16,000 elements is 2.19 × 104 psi. This is less than the yield strength of 3.4 ×
104 psi with a factor of safety of 1.55, so the structure never deformed plastically. Looking at the
deformed structure seen in Figure 12, we find that the stress is concentrated at the left and
rightmost edges of the hole where the load is applied. A design consideration one could make is
increasing the thickness at these points to increase the factor of safety.