How to distribute the load in a plate Midas 2018

Question:

Hi,

I'm currently doing bridge assessment and have the following question.

I have modelled the bridge as a plate, however the deck spans primarily in the transverse direction. I need to distribute all the loads in that direction. How can I do that so all the moments and shear forces in the plate are in the transverse direction and nothing in the longitudinal direction?

Thanks

Answer:

Hello ,

We can control the direction of distribution by a plate by using a different stiffness for the two directions. One way to achieve this is by using a stiffened plate, which can be defined from the Thickness Properties. In the image below you can see how the load distribution for a square plate under uniform load supported on all 4 edges has changed to one direction more than the other:

Or we can use Properties >> Plate Stiffness Scale Factor. In the image below you can see how if we reduce the stiffness in one direction, the loads will distribute in the other (arrangement as for the plate above, but using a uniform thickness plate with no stiffeners but with Plate Stiffness Scale Factor):

Kind regards,

Technical Support Team

MIDAS UK

one-way distribution plate distribution plate stiffness plate stiffness scale factor

Creation date: 11/21/2018 2:31 PM Updated: 11/22/2018 1:02 AM

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