MAE 456

David Walton
Thomas Price
9-17-2007
Assignment #2
Introduction

Assignment 2 of MAE 456 is completed using Ansys for the technical drawings
of three different beam types. Analytical data is retrieved from Ansys to provide the
solutions and to display each beam’s stress distribution. The I beam is the first to be
analyzed. Following the I beam, the C beam and Z beam are each created and analyzed.
Figures and results for each of the three beams follow this introduction.

I beam

The I beam is subjected to a moment force by applying two sets of forces in

opposing directions and displacements. The original position of the beam is shown by
the white outline and the solid figure is the location after the loading forces are applied.
The displacements are designated from blue to red, red being the most displacement or
stress.

Figure 1: I beam with 10,000(lb∙in) moment

C beam

The C beam design has the least amount of displacement from the loading forces and
has the highest stress concentrations at the far corners. This is the best design and has a
minimal amount of high stress concentrations.

Figure 2: C beam with 10,000(lb∙in) moment

Z beam

The Z beam is the least efficient beam model because of the high displacement. The
stress concentrations are not overwhelming in this case but the displacement is certainly
the worst.

Figure 3: Z beam with 10,000(lb∙in) moment

Results

Each of the preceding models has both similar and differing characteristics with
one another. The Displacement Vector Sum plots of each beam look similar in the way
the stress or displacement increases linearly outward. The far end of each of the three
beams carries the most stress and elongation.
The loads of each beam affect the outcome in a similar fashion. The local effects
are greatest on the end of each beam and this stress concentration factors in greatly for
the overall solution. The face of the I beam has the most uniform distribution of the three
beams and ranks second in overall proficiency. The Z beam is the least efficient of the
beams and is not a good choice when compared to the other two beam designs. The C
beam is the best design between the collections of beams. The displacement caused by
the loading force displaced the C beam the least out of the three (.129911). The C beam
does have noticeably more twist than the other two and the corners are the location of the
highest stresses but the displacement is still smaller. All the beams have approximately
10,000 nodes with 6 degrees of freedom and 80 nodes with 0 degrees of freedom.
A few parts of the directions to this assignment have important questions with
them and those will be answered presently.
Step 11: Redefine “esize,,120” Why do you do this?
The function of “esize,,120” is to set the number of partitions of an element to 120 so
that that specific element will contain 120 different sections for analysis.
Step: 13: Merge all nodes under “Number Controls” Why do you do this?
By merging all of the sections of the I beam this ensures that the beam will not come
apart when the loads are applied to it.
Step 24: Apply to Real Constant Set # 2 for Beam4 elements
a. A = 1.9688
b. Ixx = 5.8097
c. Iyy = .33838
d. Izz = 5.4713 Why swap Ixx and Izz from the calculation table?
The orientation of the I beam is such that swapping the two moments of inertia allows
for the proper solution of the problem. Switching these two moments of inertia will
correctly orient the beam.
Step 28: For solid elements should be a couple of forces in the Z direction. Why?
Two separate forces are applied to the solid element in opposing directions and
displacements in order to create the appropriate moment on the beam. If a standard
moment force was used the beam would bend in on itself and not as it should as one unit
in torsion.
This Ansys project shows how important it is to model a design before trying to
implement it and that a computer program is a very convenient way to do this. The
element table had values of 0 and therefore was not included in the report.