A Method of Calculation of Non-Homogeneous, Rotationally Symmetric Circular Plates, Supported on Piles

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This research reports on a superposition method to calculate the deformation response of non-homogeneous, rotationally symmetric circular plates, supported on piles. The boundary condition is considered as a combination of two plates clamped on a middle post with a small diameter. The analytic results associated with the superposition method were compared with and verified by the numerical results using a commercial FEA package ROBOT Autodesk.  Although there are some accuracy inconsistencies between analytical and numerical methods, overall, good agreement has been observed.    Although the subject and the topic are both interesting, the current version of manuscript requires significant revision before it can be reconsidered for publication. There are some important issues that need to be addressed by the authors first in an interest of improving the research quality. My comments are as follows:    1) I think the authors have made a mistake in naming the boundary condition. I assume the authors are implying that the plate is placed on multiple pillars. The term "plies" as mentioned by the authors doesn't make any sense. It needs to be clarified.   2) The authors need to be explicit on what plate theory has been employed in this research. For example, is it based on classical plate (Kirchhoff) theory, first order shear deformation theory (FSDT), higher order shear deformation theory (HOSDT).    3) The authors have utilized numerical (FEA) study for ​verification purposes. The authors must discuss how the FEA simulation analysis was conducted. Some issues to be considered:   -How were the loading and composite material properties introduced into the FE software?   -How were the boundary conditions prescribed to your FE model? It is of extreme importance.

-What type of element has been selected from the material library?

  4) The literature review doesn't provide sufficient information into the core objective of this research. The authors are apparently not much familiar with some of the leading research regarding the theoretical and experimental analysis of various plate structures under different loading conditions. The introduction is currently not concise and informative. The author must discuss the following references in the introduction portion of the revised manuscript:   "Localized failure analysis of internally pressurized laminated ellipsoidal woven GFRP composite domes: Analytical, numerical, and experimental studies", Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Vol:19, pp:1235-1250.  
"Numerical research on water guide bearing of hydro-generator unit using finite volume method", Journal of Hydrodynamics, Ser. B, Vol:19, Issue 5, Pages 635-642 (2007).   "Analytical solution of the electro-mechanical flexural coupling between piezoelectric actuators and flexible-spring boundary structure in smart composite plates", Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Vol: 21, Article number: 33 (2021).     5) Another important issue is the mesh refinement/convergence study. Thus, the current description of the commercial numerical apparatus used for this purpose is extremely poor. To rectify the current situation, the following additions are necessary:   (a) Please conduct mesh sensitivity analysis for qualitative verification of your FE simulation results. Mesh sensitivity analysis is conducted for convergence studies and/or adaptive analysis to determine and control the numerical error, respectively.   (b) Give a complete characteristic of the applied commercial elements in respect to the applied loading, the number of element nodes and the number and kind of degrees of freedom per each node.   (c) For each numerical calculation, the number of elements and degrees of freedom must be given.   (d) You must discuss the issue of potential sources of modeling and discretization errors in your numerical analysis; also, the methods of determination and controlling such errors should be mentioned.   6) Manuscript requires proper language editing and revision. There are various typo and language errors in sentence structures, particularly in the results and discussion portion of the manuscript.   I believe responding to the above-mentioned comments and revising the manuscript accordingly are essential before reconsidering the paper for publication in Materials.  

Author Response

Please, see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper presents a proposal for a method for the evaluation of the structural response of symmetric circular plates supported on piles, with variable stiffness along the radial direction. In the author opinion, there are several weaknesses that need to be strengthened with major reviews:

• the innovativeness and the original contribution is not clear, in that it seems that similar results could be found with alternative existing methods;
• there are many formulas which are not explained in an understandable way, and which depend on parameters which are not described in the text;
• the bibliography is very poor;
• English in general needs to be improved.

Author Response

Please, see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

In the paper, the analogical solution of circular plate with stiffness variability along the radius is nicely presented.  The calculation method would help determining the mechanical quantities for construction plates with piles. However, when it comes to the comparison with FEM calculation, the reviewer concerns the advantage of the analogical way in solving the practical plate structure if it is subjected to uneven sedimentation of pines or other horizontal loads.

Author Response

Dear Professor -

We are very grateful for your positive review. Thank you.

Best regards -

Authors

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors have satisfactorily responded to my comments. 

Reviewer 2 Report

In the Reviewer opinion, now the paper can be accepted.