2021. February 18.
The task is a complex load-bearing capacity calculation of a 2D rectangular thin plate element. The material is elastic-plastic, in the numerical simulations different yield and hardening conditions should be taken into account. The load-bearing capacity analysis should be discussed: first, as a membrane structure, second, as a plate bending problem, and third, as a shell structure, where the mechanical interaction between the membrane end bending effects are allowed, taking into consideration the (relatively) large deflections (and strains).
The plate should be weakened with different openings (holes). The positions, the shapes and the geometric parameters of these openings should be variable in general. The simulations have to discuss the effect of these openings for the load-bearing capacity and have to point out the optimum positioning for a given set of these geometric disturbances.
Parallel with the numerical simulations is suggested to make analytic estimation for the load-bearing capacity values for some simple situations, using for instance the yield-line theories.
Work to be done:
Finite element models (as a shell structure) should be built for the different geometrical and mechanical situations and using a systematic series of numerical simulations, the results of the different problems (deflections, elastic/plastic strains and stress distributions, the geometric forms of the plastic zones, stress concentrations in different cases, and finally, the load-bearing capacity of the different cases) have to be evaluated.