How to determine Translational Stiffness in plate edge support

[logikman]

I am using a product called AnalysisGroup to determine deflection in a glass plate. The plate is one of a number of fully framed panels of glass held in an aluminium frame. This reults in the top and base having fixed edge supports and the two vertical edge supports being "spring" type supports due to the deflection of the aluminium frame and the adjecent glass panels moving with the edges of the glass pate being investigated.
The program requires me to enter a value in Pascals for the Translational Stiffness of the edge support. Is there a simple formulae to calculate this?. I have the aluminium frame Ixx Zxx etc. properties and the glass properties.
The program also asks for the rotational in units of N-m but as the ends of the frame are fixed (ie no rotation)would this value be Zero ?

Regards
Logikman

 

[CESSNA1]

LOGIKMAN:
Stress analysis is not exact. Using the tools we have available we can be very, very close to the correct answer. It is a matter of using those tools properly. I assume from your question that entering "0" denotes an infinitely stiff end condition. In reality the end may not be infinitely stiff, but may be close enough. It depend on the material, the loads, the conditions, and other factors. I suggest that you make several runs using successive valaues for the end constraint. Then, using engineering judgement select the best for the situation. You may also want to conduct some tests and/or additional analysis to determine a reasonable edge condition.

Regards
Dave
"..one test is worth a thousand expert opinions..."