Find the deflection and bending stress at the center of a 10 x 10 x 0.1 inch thick steel plate that is simply supported on all edges and subject to a 7 psi pressure on its upper surface. Use 4 node plate (shell63 in ANSYS) elements to develop an appropriate model of one quadrant of the plate and use 1, 2, 4, ... elements along the quadrant edge to study the convergence characteristics when using the h-method.

In ANSYS first create an area that represents the middle surface of a quadrant of the plate. Use Size controls -> Picked Lines to divide the edges into the desired number of elements.

Plot the central deflection and bending stress as a function of the number of elements along a quadrant edge. Compare your results with theoretical values (to be supplied later today; 12-4-00).

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