11.
7 Circular Plates of Variable Thickness 399
equal to the total load on the plate within the corresponding circumference. The problem
is to determine the edge moments, and this is done by making use of the fact that the slope
of each ring at its inner circumference is equal to the slope of the next inner ring at its outer
circumference. This condition, together with the known slope (or moment) at the outer
edge of the plate and the known slope (or moment) at the inside edge or center of the plate,
enables as many equations to be written as there are unknown quantities M. Having found
all the edge moments, stresses and deflections can be calculated for each ring by the appro-
priate formulas of Table 11.2 and the deflections added to find the deflection of the plate.
A more direct solution (Ref. 21) is available if the plate is of such form that the variation
in thickness can be expressed fairly closely by the equation t = t 0e-"" 116, where t is the thick-
ness at any point a distance r from the center, t0 is the thickness at the center, e is the base
for the napierian system of logarithms (2.178), x is the ratio r/a, and n is a number chosen so
as to make the equation agree with the actual variation in thickness. The constant n is positive
for a plate that decreases in thickness toward the edge and negative for a plate that increases in
thickness toward the edge. For a plate of uniform thickness, n =0; and for a plate twice as thick
at the center as at the edge, n =+4.16. The maximum stress and deflection for a uniformly
loaded circular plate are given by a mu =Pfla2 I t~ and y Dill =aq_a 4 /Et! respectively, where ~
and ex depend on n, where v =0.3, and for values of n from 4 to -4 can be found by interpo-
lation from the following table:
Edge Conditions +4 +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4
Edges supported f\ 1.63 1.55 1.45 1.39 1.24 1.16 1.04 0.945 0.855
Case lOa, r0 = 0
a 1.220 1.060 0.924 0.804 0.695 0.600 0.511 0.432 0.361
Edges fixed f\ 2.14 1.63 1.31 0.985 0.75 0.55 0.43 0.32 0.26
Case lOb, r0 =0 a 0.4375 0.3490 0.276 0.217 0.1707 0.1343 0.1048 0.0830 0.0653
For the loadings in the preceding table as well as for a simply supported plate with an
edge moment, Ref. 46 gives graphs and tables which permit the evaluation of radial and tan-
gential stresses throughout the plate. This same reference gives extensive tables of moment
and shear coefficients for a variety of loadings and support conditions for plates in which
the thickness varies as t = t,Jr!at"13, where t0 is the thickness at the outer edge: Values are
tabulated for n = 0, 1, 1.5, and 2 and for v = 1/6.
Stresses and deflections for plates with thicknesses varying linearly with radius are
tabulated in Refs. 46 and 57. Annular plates with the outer edges fixed and the inner edges
guided and with thicknesses increasing linearly with the radii from zero at the center are
discussed in Ref. 36 and tabulated in previous editions of this handbook. A uniformly
loaded circular plate with a fixed edge and a thickness varying linearly along a diameter is
discussed by Strock and Yu (Ref. 65). Conway (Ref. 66) considers the necessary proportions
for a rib along the diameter of a uniformly loaded, clamped circular plate to affect a mini-
mum weight design for a given maximum stress.
Perforated Plates
Slot and O'Donnell (Ref. 62) present the relationship between the effective elastic con-
stants for thick perforated plates under bending and thin perforated plates under in-plane
loading. Numerical results are presented in the form of tables and graphs, and many refer-
ences are listed.
