LITERATURE REVIEW

Based on mechanics material notes from Ferdinand P. Beer E. Russell Johnston, Jr.
John T. DeWolf chapter 9 third edition from J. Walt Oler Texas Tech University we
have take several notes to put in this literature review section. Basically beam
deflection is caused by The deflection of a spring beam depends on its length, its
cross-sectional shape, the material, where the deflecting force is applied, and how the
beam is supported. The equations given here are for homogenous, linearly elastic
materials, and where the rotations of a beam are small.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are a number of standard works addressing the principles of beam

deflection. A particularly good exposition, and on which the equations given here are
based, is contained in Mechanics of Materials (Fourth SI edition), by J M Gere and S
P Timoshenko, Stanley Thornes, ISBN 0 7487 3998 X. Reference should be made to
this work for the derivation of the equations.

INTRODUCTION

The deflection of a spring beam depends on its length, its cross-sectional shape,
the material, where the deflecting force is applied, and how the beam is supported.

The equations given here are for homogenous, linearly elastic materials, and
where the rotations of a beam are small.

In the following examples, only loads applying at a single point or single points
are considered – the application point of force F in the diagrams is intended to denote
a model locomotive hornblock (or vehicle axlebox) able to move vertically in a
hornguide, and acting against the force of the spring beam fixed to or carried by the
locomotive or vehicle mainframes. The proportion of the total weight acting on each
axle of a loco or vehicle will depend on the position of its centre of gravity in relation
to the axle (or the chassis fixing points of equalising beams where these are used).

APPLICATION TO MODEL LOCOMOTIVE HORNBLOCKS

As can be seen from the equations, the thickness of the material (h or d) is very
critical, and hence the incremental sizes in the range of guitar strings available make
them very attractive for use as spring beams. There is also a considerable difference in
the deflection of a beam, for a given force, depending on how it is supported and fixed
and whether it is supported at one end only or at both ends.

It is suggested that design should be based on a given deflection of a hornblock,

and then determine what length, thickness and style of beam is most suitable for the
specific force intended to be supported by each axle.

For locos weighted to be between 4 and 6 grams per prototype ton, the masses to
be supported by each individual locomotive hornblock are likely to fall within the
range 30 to 60 grams (equating to a prototype loading of between 14 and 20 tons per
axle).

Choosing a deflection value

 For reasonable 4mm scale finescale track, a recommended value for hornblock
deflection, δ, under the final load of a locomotive, is 0.5mm.

The above recommendation is known to be an oversimplistic and possibly

incorrect assumption on what the design value for the deflection should be, and has
given rise to considerable debate. Any experience on applying this recommendation to
real chassis modelling practice is welcomed – the purpose of this article is a starter for
discussion rather than a conclusion of it. Click here for an initial examination of the
issues on this matter.

MOMENT OF INERTIA, I

All the equations given below contain I, the moment of inertia of a beam, which is a
constant determined by the beam's cross-sectional shape and thickness. The moment
of inertia is not related to the length or the beam material. Only rectangular and round
solid sections are considered here.
The diagrams show two types of support, fixed and simple. At a fixed support, the
beam is held rigidly, and the angular deflection at the point of fixing is zero. At a
simple support, the beam can slide on the support and rotate according to the force
being applied on the beam.

L = length of beam

a = intermediate length of beam

δ = deflection of beam

F = force (i.e. the proportion of loco weight being resisted by axlebox)

E = Young's Modulus

I = moment of inertia of beam

DEFLECTION EQUATIONS AND DIAGRAMS

Note on diagrams and equations. The diagrams given here have been inverted from
their normal textbook presentation, to reflect their application for model locomotive
and vehicle axleboxes. However, whilst the equations for deflection have been kept
consistent with their textbook presentation, the normal sign convention (+ or –, to
indicate deflections in the vertical y axis from the beam datum line) has been ignored,
as we are concerned here only with the absolute value of a beam deflection.
Values of Young's Modulus, E

Beryllium copper 124 GPa 1

Brass, 70/30 hard temper 117.2 GPa

Brass, unspecified 96 to 110 GPa

Nickel-silver 132.5 GPa (127 GPa 1)

Phosphor-bronze, 5%, hard 131.8 GPa

Phosphor-bronze (92%Cu/8%Sn, or 'CuSn8') 111 GPa 1 (114 GPa 2)

Steel, mild or tool 212 GPa

Steel, mild, low carbon 210 GPa

Steel, mild (hardened) 201.4 GPa

Steel, stainless 215.2 GPa (190 GPa 1)

Steel, tool (hardened) 203.2 GPa

It should be noted that these are theoretical values.

A typical value for steel guitar string can be taken as 205 GPa.

Notes on units and dimensions

1 Pa = 1 N·m-2 = 10-6 N·mm-2 = 10-6 kg·m·s-2·mm-2 = 1 g·mm-1·s-2

To obtain force F in the above equations, mass should be multiplied by the
gravitational constant g (9.81 m·s-2, or more conveniently for us, 9810 mm·s-2)
The dimensions of Young's Modulus E are ML-1T-2
The dimensions of force F are L2ML-1T-2 = MLT-2
The dimensions of the moment of inertia I are L4

REFERENCE

1. Russ Elliott , Deflection Of Beam ,

( http://www.clag.org.uk/beam.html ) accessed on 14 dECEMBER 2017

2. Viktor Gribniak a,b, Vladimir Cervenka c, Gintaris Kaklauskas b

a Department of Strength of Materials, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University,

Vilnius, Lithuania ,

b Department of Bridges and Special Structures, Vilnius Gediminas Technical

University, Vilnius, Lithuania ,

c Cervenka Consulting Ltd., Prague, Czech Republic

Deflection prediction of reinforced concrete beams by design codes and computer

simulation ,Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2175–2186

3. Ali Amin a, Stephen J. Foster b, Walter Kaufmann c

a Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety, School of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Australia

b Head of School, Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New

South Wales, Australia
c Institute of Structural Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH),
Switzerland

Instantaneous deflection calculation for steel fibre reinforced concrete

one way members, Engineering Structures xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

4. Dr Muhammad Nizam Bin Zakaria , Pensyarah Pengaturcaraan Komputer, Fakulti

Kejuruteraan Awam dan Alam Sekitar, UTHM