ENGR7961

Assignment II: Two dimensional stress analysis of a beam

The aim of this assignment is to analyse the stress distribution within a beam structure subjected to
tensile, bending or combined tension and bending load cases. The objective is to extend your matlab
code to solve two dimensional problems using both T3 and Q4 element formulations. In part A you will
explore the influence of mesh density and element formulation on the ability to predict the deflection of
a beam and the resulting stresses for the three load cases. In part B, for the bending load cases only, you
will explore the influence of the shape of the Q4 elements and their ability to predict the stress distribution

Part A: Influence of mesh density and element formulation

Figure 1 - Schematic diagram of the beam.

L = 6m, W = 0.8m, T = 0.1m, F1 = 20kN, F2 = 150kN

The structure shown in figure 1 is rigidly fixed at its left hand end
i) Calculate by hand the maximum deflection and the maximum stresses for the load cases i and ii
using the appropriate theory
ii) Develop your FE code to incorporate the T3 element formulation
iii) Use your FE code to predict the deflection and the peak stresses within the beam for each of the
three load cases for a variety of mesh densities. Note: At this stage ensure that your element
geometry is uniform, i.e. with an aspect ratio (length/depth) close to 1.
iv) Compare your predicted deflections/stresses with the theory for load cases i and ii.
v) Repeat the above steps with the Q4 elements

The report should include:

- Overview of the hand calculations of the maximum deflection and stresses for load cases i and ii.
- Assessment of the influence of mesh density on the predicted maximum deflection and stresses
for the 3 load cases
- Comparison of the performance of the T3 and Q4 elements
- Discussion of the differences in performance between the load cases and the two element
formulations
- You will include a working version of matlab code