Plate loads are applied to selected plates using the Loading | Apply Plate Loads command or the Ctrl+4 hotkey. Plate loads can be applied to individual plates or across a plate mesh. Plate element loads are applied as equivalent nodal loads. Therefore, plate bending cannot be achieved from a single plate element and a plate mesh is required to get accurate plate behavior. Note: Area loads are often more convenient to work with than plate loads since they can be modified independently of the plates themselves and will not get deleted if the plate elements are removed or re-configured in the model.

Plate Load Types

The following Load Types are available for members:

• Uniform - A pressure applied uniformly across a plate element
• Linear - A pressure applied linearly across a plate and specified at each node (corner) of the plate
• Hydrostatic (mesh) - A linear pressure based on a global fluid level applied to a mesh of plates
• Linear (mesh) - A pressure applied linearly across a mesh of plates
• Temp Change - A change in a plate's temperature which influences the plate's in-plane forces and/or displacements
• Thermal Gradient - A change in a plate's temperature gradient which influences the plate's bending moments and/or displacements

Load Directions

All plate loads act perpendicular to the plate element to cause bending, except for the Temperature Change load which acts in-plane. Positive loads act in the local+z direction while negative loads act in the local -z direction. Use the Structure | Reverse Local Axes command to reverse the local axes of a plate and the corresponding load direction.

Across Mesh Loads

When applying linear or hydrostatic loads across a plate mesh the definition of the load depends upon global coordinates.  It is possible to define loads that do not vary across the plates (uniform loads) or to create loads that have zero magnitude so check the model closely. Once loads are created for the "mesh," the loads are independent and can be scaled, modified, or deleted separately. Their definitions, however, still depend on the specified global coordinate locations and moving or modifying plate elements can cause the magnitude of the loads to increase, decrease or become zero.

Apply Concentrated Loads and Edge Loads on Plates?

VisualAnalysis does not directly support concentrated loads or edge loads (in-plane or out-of-plane) on plate elements. Typically, a mesh of plates is used and concentrated loads are applied to a node for one of the meshed plates. Edge loads can be applied manually to nodes along the edge or a member element can be created along the edge of a plate mesh for loading purposes. Note: Members and plates are only connected at common nodes. Also Areas and Area Loads  can be used to apply loads to the edge of a plate mesh.