I'm presently doing stress analysis of a pressure sensor. Its a simple tube kind of strucuture with cross section as shown in the attached picture. The inside path is subjected to pressure, there are strain guages mounted on the flat surface which measure the strains and converts them to pressure reading.
The problem as I find is a statically deteminate one, the stresses being determined by the pressure value and being independent of the material used in construction.
When I plot the von Mises stress after subjecting the tube to an internal pressure, I see that the maximum stresses are seen at the thicker section (vertical section). I had anticipated a higher stress at the thinner section (horizontal) since the cross sectional area is less here. Can any body comment on this?
Also is there any way I can deduce the stresses without going through the FEA way (I'm aware of Lame's equation for perfect cylinders, but if my geometry is not as plain as a cylinder, how can I 'fit' Lame's equation?)