BENDING OF CIRCULAR

PLATES

CHAPTER 3

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3.1 Introduction

Circular plates are extensively used in many engineering application, such as:

Nozzle
covers

Turbine disks

End closures in pressure vessels

Aerospace pressure bulkhead

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3.2 Basic relations in polar coordinates
When circular plates are analyzed, it is convenient to express the governing
differential equation (2.14) in polar coordinates. We use the polar coordinates
, and in solving the bending problems for circular plates.
From Figure 3.1, the following
geometrical relations between the
Cartesian and polar coordinates
are applicable:

(3.1)
+ Figure 3.1

Referring to the above relations

(3.2)

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3.2 Basic relations in polar coordinates

Equations (3.2) yields:

(3.3)

We can take further partial derivatives using equations (3.3):

(3.4)

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3.2 Basic relations in polar coordinates

Equations (3.4) can be reduced to:

(3.5a)

(3.5b)

(3.5c)

Adding term by term the relations (3.5a) and (3.5b) yields

(3.6)

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3.2 Basic relations in polar coordinates

After repeating twice, the operation , the governing differential equation

for the plate deflection (2.14) in polar coordinates becomes to:

(3.7a)

or in the expanded form:

(3.7b)

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3.2 Basic relations in polar coordinates

Now, we transform the expressions for moments (2.5)-(2.7) and shear forces
(2.9) and (2.11) into polar coordinates, we can write the following:

Radial moment (3.8)

Tangential moment (3.9)

Twisting moment (3.10)

Radial shear (3.11)

Tangential shear (3.12)

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3.2 Basic relations in polar coordinates

Similarly, the formulas for the plane stress components, from equations (2.3),
are written in the following form:

(3.13)

Similarly, transforming equations (2.25) and (2.26) into polar coordinates

gives the effective transverse shear forces:

(3.14)

(3.15)

The BCs at the edges of a circular plate of radius may be written as:
(a) Clamped edge

(3.16)
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3.2 Basic relations in polar coordinates

(b) Simply supported edge (3.17)

(c) Free edge (3.18)

The strain energy for a plate in Cartesian coordinates is given by

Thus, introducing the generalized Hooke’s law for plate bending (

), the above expression

Substituting for the stress components from equation (2.3) into the previous
expression and integrating it over the thickness of the plate, we obtain
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3.2 Basic relations in polar coordinates

The use of equations (3.1) and (3.3) yields the strain energy for a circular plate

(3.19)

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3.3 Axisymmetric bending of circular plates

The bending of a circular plate is referred to as axially symmetrical, when the

applied loading and end restraints are independent of the angle . In this case,
and all stress resultants and stress couples depend upon the radial
position only. Thus, the following simplifications can be made

(3.20)

The previous equations for the bending of a circular plate can therefore be
simplified to

(3.21)

(3.22)

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3.3 Axisymmetric bending of circular plates

The differential equation of the deflected surface of the circular plate, equation
(3.7a), reduces to

(3.23)

or in compact form

(3.24)

The solution of equation (3.23) or (3.24) is obtained as

(3.25)
The complementary solution is given by
(3.26)
where are constants determined from the application of BCs
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3.3 Axisymmetric bending of circular plates

The particular solution is determined by successive integration of equation

(3.24)

(3.27)

For the case of a uniform loading

(3.28)

For purposes of calculation, the following quantities are given explicitly:

(3.29)

(3.30)

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3.3 Axisymmetric bending of circular plates

(3.31)

(3.32)

(3.33)

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3.3.1 Solid plates

and must be zero since . Thus, Figure 3.2

(3.34)

(a) Plate with simply supported edge under a

uniform load

(3.35)

Applying the BCs at the edge; . Thus,

(3.36)

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3.3.1 Solid plates

The bending moments reduces to:

(3.37)

(3.38)

(b) Plate with clamped edge under a uniform load

To find and , we apply the following BCs:

It can be shown that the deflection and bending moments reduce to:

(3.39)

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3.3.1 Solid plates

The bending moments reduces to:

(3.40)

(3.41)

(c) Simply supported circular plate subjected to a symmetric lateral load

which linearly increases from the center
Substituting into equation (3.27) for the particular solution gives

(3.42)

Now, we substitute (3.48) into (3.40) to get:

(3.43)
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3.3.1 Solid plates

Substituting (3.43) into the BCs leads to:

(3.44)

(3.45)

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3.3.1 Solid plates 1 2

(d) Plate with clamped edge due to line load

distributed along a circle of radius
Find the expression for the deflection of the
clamped solid plate shown in Figure 3.3-a
due to line load distributed along a circle
with radius .
To solve this problem, we divide the plate
problem into two parts (see Figure 3.3-b ): an
inner solution for a solid plate 1 extending
over the region , and an outer
solution for an annular plate 2 over the region
. In each case, the governing
equation are (for )
(3.46) Figure 3.3
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3.3.1 Solid plates

For the inner plate 1 the solution is of the

form (see equation (3.34))

(3.47)

For the plate 2, the solution is given by

Figure 3.4-a

(3.48)

The six constants in equations (3.47) and (3.48) are determined from the
boundary conditions at ; i.e.,

(3.49)

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3.3.1 Solid plates

From the continuity conditions at the junction of the two plate segments

(3.50)

Since the inner plate is in pure bending (see

equation (3.47)), then and the last
condition (3.50) is of the form

(3.51)
Figure 3.4-b
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3.3.1 Solid plates

Introducing expressions (3.47) and (3.48) into conditions (3.49), (3.50), and
(3.51) together with equations (3.8) and (3.11), we can find the six constants
of integration. The final solution is, as follows:
Inner plate

(3.52)

Outer plate

(3.53)

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 3.3.2 Homework

Exercise 1: A cylindrical tank and flat thin plate bottom

are subjected to internal pressure p, as shown in Figure
3.5. Use m, MPa, GPa, and
. The allowable stress is MPa.
1. Determine a required thickness of the bottom, , and
calculate its maximum deflection if the edge is
considered clamped (see figure 3.5-b).
2. Determine a required thickness of the bottom, , and
calculate its maximum deflection if the edge is
(a)
considered simply-supported (see figure 3.5-b). Figure 3.5

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3.3.2 Homework

Figure 3.6

Exercise 2: Determine expressions for the radial deflection and associated

bending moments for a circular plate under a concentrated force at its center

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3.3.2 Annular circular plates

Figure 3.7

(a) Simply supported annular plate loaded by edge moments

For this case of loading, and the general

solution is given by

(3.54)
Figure 3.8
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3.3.2 Annular circular plates

The BCs are:

(3.55)

Introducing equation (3.54) into the BCs (3.55), with the use of equations
(3.8) and (3.11), yields the following expressions for the constants of
integration

(3.56)

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3.3.2 Annular circular plates

Substituting the resulting constants into equation (3.54) yields the

expression for deflections:

(3.57)

The associated bending moments reduce to:

(3.58)

(3.59)

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3.3.2 Annular circular plates

(b) Simply supported plate under a line load

uniformly distributed along the inner edge

Once more and the general solution is

given by

(3.60)

Subjected to the following BCs Figure 3.9

(3.61)

Substituting expressions (3.8), (3.11) and (3.60) into the BCs (3.61), we
find:

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3.3.2 Annular circular plates

(3.62)

(3.63)

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3.4 The use of superposition for the axisymmetric analysis of
circular plates
Section 3.3 develops a procedure for determining the deflections and bending
moments of symmetrically loaded circular plates. Such procedure is applicable
to other cases of loading and boundary conditions. In complicated cases of
configuration of loads and boundary conditions, the method of superposition
may be useful to simplify the analysis.

For instance, let us find the center deflection, , in the

solid clamped plate loaded as shown in Figure 3.10-a.
For this, we consider a solid plate with clamped edge
loaded by a line load around a circle of radius ,
as shown in Figure 3.10-b.
The center deflection, , is given by expression (3.52).
Setting and and , we obtain

(3.64)
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3.4 The use of superposition for the axisymmetric analysis of
circular plates
Now, we consider an infinitesimal line load around a circle of radius on
a plate, as shown in Figure 3.10-c. Then, the center deflection for the given
loading is obtained from equation (3.64), replacing by and integrating
from 0 to . We have

(3.65)

Figure 3.10

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3.4 The use of superposition for the axisymmetric analysis of
circular plates

Homework
The plate shown in Figure
3.11-a is stepped so that the
central disk has twice the
flexural rigidity of the outer
annulus. Use .
Consider the partition of the
plate into two parts as shown
in Figure 3.11-b. Figure 3.11

1- Find the maximum deflection and bending moment at , caused

by concentrated force .
2- Contrast your results with ABAQUS model simulation.
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3.5 Circular plates on elastic foundation

We consider in this section circular plates loaded symmetrically with respect

to their center and resting on elastic foundation defined by:
(3.66)
Where is the constant of foundation modulus. Introducing the reaction of the
foundation into the governing equation of deflections:

(3.67)

Where is the surface load. We denote

(3.68)

and introducing the dimensionless coordinate , we can write equation

(3.67) in the following form:
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3.5 Circular plates on elastic foundation

(3.69)

Introducing the following notation

(3.70)

we can rewrite equation (3.69) as follows:

(3.71)

For , the homogeneous equation (3.71) is reduced to a system of the

following two second-order differential equations:

(3.72)

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3.5 Circular plates on elastic foundation

The solution of the above system takes the following form:

(3.73)

Where is the Bessel function of the first kind of zero order and
is the Hankel function of the first kind of zero order.

Since and are complex, whereas the solution

must be real, then must also be complex. For this, we re-
write equation (3.73) in terms of real functions:
(3.74)

w are real coefficients, and

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3.5 Circular plates on elastic foundation

(3.75)

It can be shown that the functions and , together with all of their
derivatives, remain finite when and tend toward infinity when
. The function for has a singularity of the type, the
function approaches infinity as when ; both these functions
approach zero when .

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3.5 Circular plates on elastic foundation

The following relationships exist between the functions and : as

when ; both these functions approach zero when .
(3.76)
where the operator is given by equation (3.76). These relations and
equations (3.8), (3.9) and (3.11) enable us to write the expressions for bending
moments and shear forces.
Example
Find the deflection surface equation for an infinite plate resting on an elastic
foundation, subjected to a concentrated force .
The functions and tend toward infinity for whereas the
deflections and bending moments for should vanish. As it follows from
the physical sense of the problem, then . For the deflection
should be finite; since approaches infinity for ; then Thus,

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3.5 Circular plates on elastic foundation

(3.77)
Notice that remains finite when . The constant is determined
from the equilibrium condition at the point of application of

(3.78)

Substituting for from equation (3.77) into equation (3.22) and taking into
account the relations (3.76), we obtain the following expression for the shear
force.

(3.79)

From the theory of the Bessel functions, when then . Thus,

(3.80)

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 3.5 Circular plates on elastic foundation

Equating the right-hand sides of equations (3.78) and (3.80), one obtains
and the deflection surface is given by

(3.81)

Taking into account that the function tends toward for , we

can determine the maximum deflection (under point of application of ), as
follows:

(3.82)

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3.6 Asymmetric bending of circular plates

Recall the governing equation of deflections:

(3.83)

We now consider asymmetrical loading . The general solution to

equation (3.83) is composed of complimentary and particular solutions:
(3.84)
The complimentary solution can be expressed by the following series:

(3.85)

Substituting equation (3.85) yields

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3.6 Asymmetric bending of circular plates

(3.86)

Substituting equation (3.85) yields

(3.87)

Similar expressions can be written for and for .

The first term in equation (3.87) represents an axisymmetric part of the
deflection, discussed in section 3.3. The terms containing in equation
(3.86) correspond to symmetrical components of the function with respect
to the plane , while the terms containing represent an inversely
symmetrical part of .
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3.6 Asymmetric bending of circular plates

Similarly, the applied load can be expanded into a trigonometric series:

(3.88)

Where

(3.89)

The BCs on curvilinear edges of the circular plates are given by the
expressions (3.16)–(3.18). The stress resultants and stress couples within the
plate and on its edge are given by equations (3.8), (3.9), (3.10), (3.14) and
(3.15).
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3.6 Asymmetric bending of circular plates
Example
The edge of a solid circular plate of radius
is fixed over its boundary and the applied
load is expressed as

(3.90)

Find an expression for the deflections. Figure 3.12

Comparing equation (3.90) with (3.88), we can see only the presence of an
axisymmetric component and component The
axisymmetric part of the solution, caused by load , , has been obtained
earlier and is expressed in equations (3.39)-(3.41).
Find the asymmetrical part of the solution, , that corresponds to the load
. Part of the solution can be also written as The
homogeneous solution is given by the second equation (3.87), i.e.,

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3.6 Asymmetric bending of circular plates

(3.91)
A particular solution must satisfy the governing equation (3.7) with the right-
hand side . We seek this particular solution in the following form:

(3.92)
Substituting the above into (3.7), we can find a constant Thus,

(3.93)
Hence, the general solution that corresponds to the asymmetrical part of
loading is given by

(3.94)

Equation (3.94) is subjected to the following BCs:

(3. 95)
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3.6 Asymmetric bending of circular plates

The application of the first two BCs yields = =0. On the other hand, the
use of the third and fourth BCs leads to and
Hence, the plate deflection caused by the asymmetrical part of the given
loading (3.96) is of the following form:

(3.96)

Finally, the deflection surface of the plate due to the loading (3.90) can be
obtained by superposing the solutions given by (3.39) and (3.94). We have

(3.97)

The deflection at the center, corresponds to . It is given by:

(3.98)

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

We limit ourselves to axisymmetric bending, which is widely encountered in

engineering – for example, in many machine parts, such as turbine blades,
springs, etc. Szillard (1974) showed that the governing equation of plates
with variable thickness can be written in the following form:

(3.99)

(3.100)

Substituting for and from (3.100) into , we obtain

(3.101)

If we substitute for from (3.101) into (3.99), we obtain

(3.102)

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

We can lower the order of differential equation (3.102) by introducing a new

variable

(3.103)

Where is the angle of rotation of the normal to the plate middle surface. Thus,

(3.104)

Substituting for and from (3.100) into , we obtain

(3.105)

Equation (3.105) can also be considered as the governing differential equation

of bending of an axisymmetrically loaded circular plate having a variable
stiffness.
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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

Let us consider the particular case of plate thickness given by:

(3.106)

Where is the inner radius, and the plate thickness on the inner edge of an
annular circular plate. The flexural rigidity of the arbitrary point of the plate
for this case is

(3.107)

is the flexural rigidity on the inner edge.

Substituting (3.107) into (3.105) yields:

(3.108)

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

The general solution to equation (3.108) may be written as:

(3.109)

where is sought in the form:

(3.110)
Substituting (3.110) into (3.108) leads to:
(3.111)
The roots of the above equation is given by:

Thus,

(3.112)

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

The particular solution depends on the type of loading. If the loading is

constant ( ), then the shear force can be calculated from the
equilibrium as follows:

(3.113)

We substitute (3.113) into (3.108) and we assume a particular solution in the

form . This leads to:

(3.114)

If a concentrated load is distributed over the inner edge, we can find, by

analogy, that

(3.115)

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

The general solution of equation (3.114) for a plate subjected to uniform

pressure and concentrated force distributed over the inner edge of the
plate can be represented in the form,

(3.116)

The bending moments can be determined from equations (3.104). The

deflection may be deduced by integrating (3.103); i.e.,

(3.117)

and are determined from the BCs.

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

If the plate edge is fixed, then . If it is simply supported, then

. The third BC corresponds to zero deflection at the edge.
Example
Find the expressions for stresses
and deflections in the circular plate
with linearly varying thickness.
The plate is simply supported on
its edges and loaded by line forces
, as shown in Figure 3.13. Given
and . Figure 3.13

In this case, . Thus, for and , equation (3.106) reduces to:

(3.118)

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

From which, we have

(3.119)

The boundary conditions are

(3.120)

Substituting for and from (3.109) into the boundary conditions

(3.120) leads to the following system of two algebraic equations

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

(3.121)

Solving for and

(3.122)

Substituting the above into expression (3.116) gives the following

(3.123)

Knowing we can determine the bending moments:

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3.7 Circular plates of variable thickness

(3.130)

(3.131)

Let . Figure 3.14 displays the bending moments and

Figure 3.14
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