ANSYS Workbench - Young's modulus to stress correlation
 

Hi everyone.

I am working on a FEM analysis of two plates connected together with 6 thread bars. It's a simple problem, deformations are fairly small so the case is considered to be linear. A pressure load is applied to both steel plates to simulate an expansion of the structure.

I have to compare different materials. Different would in this case mean that the yield and tensile strength differ. This means that the Young's modulus of these materials is not the same. Thus each case should have different results regarding deformation and stresses of these plates. I will focus on the plates since they are the critical elements of the assembly.

My problem is that the results I get do not seem intuitive to me at all. If I change the Young's modulus for example from 200 GPa to 150 GPa. There is a change in the deformation of the steel plates which I would expect.
The main thing that bothers me is that the stresses stay the same (+/- 2 MPa difference).

Can someone enlighten me and explain to me why is this the case?
I would expect an increase in the stresses since the deformation increases and the material is less stiff.

Thank you for your help.

Best regeards,
Martin.