Mechanical analysis of a simply supported annular plate loaded by a periphery force

An annular plate subject to a concentrated force applied to one of its edges and simply supported along the other contour is mechanically analised. A series solution method is employed, the analytical expressions of the series coefficients are derived and the series convergence is accelerated via a simple, yet effective, technique. An approximate analytical expression for the loaded edge deflection is derived via a Taylor expansion of the series coefficients. The sensitivity of the plate deflection to modifications of the Poisson's ratio is examined numerically. Various practically relevant diagrams are presented which describe the deflections of the plate loaded edge for several geometries. Finally, the case of a uniform linear force applied to an arc of the plate periphery is also examined.