It is required to perform a finite element analysis of a lug as shown in the diagram, the maximum width is 60 mm decreasing to 40 mm at the base. The diameter of the central hole is 20 mm and the distance from the hole centre to the lower end is 50mm. The material is steel 12.5mm thick with a Young's Modulus of 209E9N/m², Poisson's Ratio=0.3 and density=7800kg/m³. The load of 1500 N is applied as a distributed load over the upper half of the central hole and in a separate loadcase as a point load at the highest point of the inner circle.

Figure 5.1: The lug outline

In practice the complete lug does not need to be modelled because both the lug and the loading are symmetric about a vertical axis; this means that it is only necessary to create a model of one half of the lug. The loading on the component is in the plane of the plate and as a result all the stresses normal to the plate are zero; this situation requires the use of a plane stress element (see a good finite element book for further details.)