Solidworks Coursework BIIPart 1

Model Details

Material Properties

Loading and Fixutre Locations

The model is fixed by the three vertical pad faces on the left hand side of the structure, as can be seen in figure 1.

The part is loaded with a force of 5000N acting downwards on the inside cylindrical surface of the hole, as seen in figure 2

Name Alloy SteelYelid Strenght 6.20422e+008 N/m^2Tensile Strength 7.23826e+008 N/m^2

Question 1A

Simulation Express Study.

The details of the orinigal unaltered model can be seen below (Figure 1):

Volumetric Properties:

Mass 2.41214 kg

Volume 0.000313265 m^3

Density 7700 kg/m^3

Weight 23.639 N

Running an express study for the given loadings and fixture produced the following results:

Von Mises Stress Distribution

Name Type Min MaxStress VON: von Mises

Stress125703 N/m^2Node: 1259

2.19151e+008 N/m^2Node: 8180

The distirubtion plot for the stress can be seen in figure 3 below:

The maximum areas of stress can be seen in red.

Deflection

The study also shows the maximum and minimum deflections for the part, as follows

Name Type Min MaxDisplacement URES: Resultant Displacement 0 mm

Node: 13480.425558 mmNode: 13702

Again, the maximum displacement is seen in red, and is located around the area where the force is applied, as expected.

Question 1B

Full simulation Study

A similar study was run using the full simulation package, and the mesh adjusted to check convergence.

Mesh 1

The details of the first mesh used can be seen below:

Mesh type Solid MeshMesher Used: Curvature based meshJacobian points 4 PointsMaximum element size 0 mmMinimum element size 0 mmMesh Quality High

Total Nodes 27345Total Elements 16454Maximum Aspect Ratio 3.5851% of elements with Aspect Ratio < 3 99.9% of elements with Aspect Ratio > 10 0% of distorted elements(Jacobian) 0Time to complete mesh(hh;mm;ss): 00:00:03Computer name: SOUTH64

This mesh gives the following results:

Von Mises stress

Name Type Min MaxStress1 VON: von Mises

Stress94580.7 N/m^2Node: 16679

2.22897e+008 N/m^2Node: 17104

Deflection

Name Type Min MaxDisplacement1 URES: Resultant Displacement 0 mm

Node: 23310.42797 mmNode: 41

Mesh 2

The same analysis study was carried out with slightly different mesh parameters

Details of mesh:

Mesh type Solid MeshMesher Used: Standard meshAutomatic Transition: OffInclude Mesh Auto Loops: OffJacobian points 4 PointsElement Size 5.01013 mmTolerance 0.250507 mmMesh Quality HighTotal Nodes 29582Total Elements 17889Maximum Aspect Ratio 3.8665% of elements with Aspect Ratio < 3

99.8

% of elements with Aspect Ratio > 10

0

% of distorted elements(Jacobian)

0

Time to complete mesh(hh;mm;ss):

00:00:05

Computer name: SOUTH64

Results of this study can be seen below (figures 4 and 5)

Von Mises Stress

Name Type Min MaxStress1 VON: von Mises Stress 17696 N/m^2

Node: 142912.25937e+008 N/m^2Node: 23528

Displacement

Name Type Min MaxDisplacement1 URES: Resultant Displacement 0 mm

Node: 24810.427792 mmNode: 29266

Analysis of Differences

Changing the element size of the mesh to maximum detail creates a ….% difference in the maximum stress level. This small factor suggests convergence is satisfied.

Part 2

The material properties and loading conditions remain the same for this part

Question 2A

Optimisation of model using existing features

Using a design study to optimise dimensions for a minimum weight, whilst maintaining a minimum factor of safety of 2 gave the following model structure:

This gave new model dimensions of:

Mass: 1625.13 grams

Volume: 211055.32 cubic millimeters

Density:7700 kg/m^3

The factor of safety plot for this optimised structure can be seen in figure 6:

Blue colouring shows where the factor of safety is below 2

The Von Mises Stress and displacement plots for this model are shown below in figures 7 amd 8

Re-running the analysis for detailed mesh size showed a change in maximum of stress of 6% which is within acceptable limits.

This resulted in a mass reduction of 0.804kg from the original structure.

Question 2B

Optimisation of model by adding features.

The first stage in reducing the mass of the part was by adding fillets to all the edges (figure 9), excluding the fixture pads themselves. This reduced the mass very slightly, but it was clear further reductions could be made due to the high levels of factor of safety in other parts of the structure.

Hence, slots were cut through the structure in places of high factors of safety.(figure 10) The locations of these slots can be seen in figures 1 and 2 below. The optimisation was then run, with the width and length these slots as a parameter, in order to find the best dimensional option.

Once this optimisation was completed, the part was analysed to check for convergence and to double check the factor of safety was appropriate in all areas of the model

The final model has a weight reduction of ……………………… from the previous model without added features.

Part 3

This section involves building a model