Question
How to compare the normal stresses of Plate and Beam elements?
Answer
When comparing the normal stresses of plate and beam elements, you should check the 'Combined' stress component of the beam element.
Among the stress result components of the plate element that can be checked in Plane-Stress / Plate Stresses after analysis, Sig-xx and Sig-yy represent the normal stresses in the x-axis and y-axis directions in the local/global coordinate system.
Among the beam element stress components that can be checked in Beam Stresses, the component corresponding to the normal stress of the plate element mentioned above is 'Combined' rather than Sax. Sax denotes the normal stress caused by the axial force in the element's local x-axis direction.
It is important to note that when comparing normal stresses of plate and beam elements, the Sby and Sbz components must be considered in addition to the Sax component of the beam element. This is because Sby and Sbz are the normal stresses caused by the bending moments Mz and My respectively.
Therefore, when comparing the normal stresses of plate and beam elements, you should check the 'Combined' components of the beam stresses as shown in the figure below.
'Combined' is a component that combines Sax, which is the stress result due to the axial force, and Sby and Sbz, which are normal stresses due to bending moments. Therefore, the correct way to compare the normal stresses of plate and beam elements is by checking the 'Combined' component of the beam element.