Lab 04

Lab No. 04

Problem Statement
Calculate the total deformation, directional deformation and equivalent stress of an 800
mm long cantilever beam which has fixed support at one side. It is made of mild steel and has a
cross-section of 40 mm by 35 mm. The beam is loaded with a point load of 1000 N at a distance
of 100 mm from the free end and Young's modulus of the material is 280000 N/mm 2, do a
simulation on ANSYS with a mesh size of 2 mm.

Introduction
In engineering and design, it is important to understand how structures behave under
different loading conditions. Finite element analysis (FEA) software, such as ANSYS, can be
used to model and analyze the behavior of structures under various loads and boundary
conditions. Cantilever beams are a common structural element used in many engineering
applications, such as bridges, buildings, and aerospace structures. In buildings, cantilever beams
are often used in balconies and overhanging roofs to support the weight of the structure. In
bridges, cantilever beams are used as a part of the bridge deck to support the weight of the
vehicles and pedestrians. In aerospace structures, cantilever beams are used in the design of
airplane wings and spacecraft components to provide the necessary strength and stability.

The goal of this ANSYS project is to analyze the structural behavior of a cantilever beam
under a point load using ANSYS. The beam has a cross section of 40 mm x 35 mm, and is fixed
from one end and free from the other end. A point load of 1000 N is applied at the distance of
100 mm from free end of 800 mm long beam. ANSYS can be used to calculate several important
parameters of the beam, including directional deformation in the X, Y, and Z directions, total
deformation, and equivalent stress.

Figure 1. Cantilever beam under point load of 1000 N.

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Methodology
The directional deformation of the beam is important for understanding how the beam
deforms under a specific loading condition. ANSYS can calculate the directional deformation
using the "Displacement" plot type and selecting the relevant direction. The total deformation of
the beam is the overall displacement of the beam under the applied load, and can be calculated
using the "Total Deformation" plot type. The equivalent stress of the beam is a measure of the
stress at a point in the beam based on the maximum normal stress and the maximum shear stress.
ANSYS can calculate the equivalent stress using the "Equivalent Stress" plot type.

By using ANSYS to analyze the behavior of the cantilever beam under the applied load, we can
gain insight into the stress and deformation of the beam, and make informed design decisions to
ensure the beam can withstand the applied load. This project will provide valuable information
for engineers and designers working on cantilever beam applications in a variety of industries.

 Create Analysis System

Form left Analysis System Toolbox Opening Statie Structure Analysis form and set the required
units. Save the project now as shown in figure 2. The given problem is related to static structure
problem. Therefore, static structure model is dragged from toolbox to define project schematic.

Figure 2: Create analysis system and save as Lab 04.

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 Engineering Data

To define the engineering data in Ansys Workbench, click on the Engineering Data system in the
Project Schematic window. In the Engineering Data window, select the appropriate material
from the Material tree. If the material you want to use is not available in the Material tree, you
can create a new material by clicking on the "Add Material" button. In the Material Properties
section, the Young's modulus can be defined, Poisson's ratio, and other material properties. To
define the Young's modulus as 280000 N/mm 2, simply enter this value in the appropriate field.
After defining the material properties, click on the "Apply" button to save the changes. The
engineering data is shown in figure 3.

Figure 3: Engineering data.

 Geometry

After editing the value of Young’s Modulus to 210000 N/mm 2. The next step is to draw the
drawing of simply supported beam according to the given dimensions. The drawing is made in
DesignModeler. To open the DesignModeler, double click on the “Geometry” in project
schematic. The DesignModeler will open. To draw the geometry, first select the XY-plane.
Select rectangle in “Draw” tab and draw a random rectangle at origin. To give dimensions, click
the “Dimension” tab and select “General”. Select the horizontal line and vertical line and assign
the dimensions of 40 mm and 35 mm, respectively. After applying the dimensions, the sketch is
shown in figure 4.

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Figure 4: Sketch of rectangular beam.

To give third dimension to the sketch, the extrude command is used and the depth is given of 800
mm in positive Z-axis. After applying extrude command, the final geometry is completed. The
geometry of rectangular beam is shown figure 5.

Figure 5: Final geometry of rectangular beam.

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After completing the geometry, close the DesignModeler. The next step is the modeling of the
problem. The dimensions of final geometry are also shown in table 1.
Table 1. Geometry.

Definition
Source E:\FEM Lab\Lab 04\Lab 04_files\dp0\SYS\DM\SYS.agdb
Type DesignModeler
Length Unit Meters
Element Control Program Controlled
Display Style Part Color
Bounding Box
Length X 35. mm
Length Y 40. mm
Length Z 800. mm

 Model

Adequate mesh density on contact surfaces can be used to distribute contact stresses smoothly.
The mesh should be able to capture the effects of nonlinearity if you want nonlinearity. Mash the
model now and apply mesh sizing value 2 mm, and then generate mesh. The mesh properties
including mesh sizing, number of nodes, number of elements are shown in table 2.

Table 2: Meshing.

Sizing
Physics Preference Mechanical
Element Size 2.0 mm
Statistics
Nodes 623557
Elements 144000

Meshing is the process of dividing the geometry of the beam into smaller elements to allow for
finite element analysis. The quality of the mesh is important, as it affects the accuracy and speed
of the simulation. A poorly meshed model can lead to inaccurate results, while a model with a
high-quality mesh can lead to faster and more accurate simulations. The figure 6 shows the beam
is being meshed. In ANSYS, there are different meshing methods available, such as tetrahedral,
hexahedral, and triangular elements. The choice of meshing method depends on the geometry of
the model and the type of analysis being performed. For this simply supported beam project, a

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structured mesh was used. The total number of mesh elements are 144000. Whereas the total
number of nodes are 623557.

Figure 6. Meshing.

 Setup

After generating the mesh, the next step in ANSYS is to set up the simulation. This involves
defining the boundary conditions, material properties, and loading conditions for the model. To
begin setting up the simulation, close the mesh and open the setup from the project schematic.
The setup menu is where you will define the simulation parameters and specify how the model
will be analyzed. One important aspect of setting up the simulation is defining the boundary
conditions. In this case, we need to define a fixed support on the horizontal edge of the left face
facing downward. This will simulate the beam being fixed at one end, as mentioned in the
problem statement. To do this, select the edge and insert a fix support on it.

The next step is to create a section plane at a distance of 100 mm from the free end of the
cantilever beam. This will allow us to analyze the deformation and stress at that specific point.
To create the section plane, select the top plane of the model and specify the distance of 100 mm
from the free end. The section plane is shown in figure 7.

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Figure 7. Making section plane.

To apply the load of 1000 N, select the section plane in the center and give the force downward
direction by changing its direction or by adding negative sign with the force value. The setup of
beam is also shown in figure 8.

Figure 8. Applying load of 9000 N.

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 Solution

The required solutions are, total deformation, directional deformation, and equivalent stress.
Open the solution from project schematic and insert the above-mentioned solutions. In
directional deformation, change the axis from X-axis to Y-axis. The solutions selected are also
shown in figure 9.

Figure 9. Solution information of simply supported beam under point load at its center.

 Results

The results are also generated in ANSYS report. The table of results are shown in table 3.
Table 3. Results. The figures are also shown below in figures 10, 11, and 12 i.e., directional deformation, total deformation, and
equivalent stress, respectively.

Object Name Directional Total Deformation Equivalent Stress

Deformation
State Solved
Scope
Scoping Method Geometry Selection
Geometry All Bodies
Definition
Type Directional Deformation Total Deformation Equivalent (von-Mises) Stress
Results
Minimum 0. mm -3.4625 mm 3.5569e-007 MPa
Maximum 3.4642 mm 2.5517e-004 mm 146.8 MPa
Average 1.3318 mm -1.3306 mm 19.651 MPa
Minimum Occurs On Solid

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Maximum Occurs On Solid

The results for directional deformation are also shown below.

Figure 10. Directional Deformation.

The results for total deformation are also shown below.

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Figure 11. Total deformation.

The equivalent stress results are shown in following figure.

Figure 12. Equivalent stress.

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 Theoretical

To calculate the deflection of the beam, the given values are:

W = 9000 N
b = 45 mm
h = 35 mm
E = 210000 N /mm2

 Calculation
3
5 Wl
δ=
384 EI
3
bh
I=
12
3
45 x 35
¿
12
4
I =160781.25 mm
3
5 x 9000 x 900
¿
384 x 210000 x 160781.25

δ=2.5302 mm

 Comments

 It is observed that there is a slight difference between hand calculations and ANSYS
simulation results. The value of deformation calculated by analytical method is 2.5302 mm
and the simulation results are 2.6051 mm.
 The accuracy of the ANSYS simulation results can depend on the quality of the mesh used. If
the mesh size is too coarse or the elements are not properly aligned with the direction of
deformation, the simulation results may be less accurate than the hand calculation. It is
possible that a finer mesh or a different type of mesh would result in a closer agreement with
the hand calculation.

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