Math1 Comput. Modelling, Vol. 10, No. 9, pp. 637-645, 1988 0895-7177/88 $3.00 + 0.

00
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved Copyright 0 1988 Pergamon Press plc

COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN OF HYDRAULIC

PRESS STRUCTURES

S. P. SINHA
Department of Production Engineering, BIT Sindri, P.O. Sindri Institute, 828 123 India

P. D. MURARKA
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bright Star University of Technology, Brega, P.O. Box 58158,
Ejdabia, Libya

(Received November 1987; accepted for publication January 1988)

Communicated by E. Y. Rodin

Abstract-Hydraulic presses represent 3-D complex structures for which an exact analytical method of
stress and deformation analysis is cumbersome and time-consuming. In order to reduce core memory
requirement and the cost of computation, a simplified plane stress (PS) FEM model for a 918 kN hydraulic
press structure (welded frame) has been identified for its analysis. The patterns of deformations and
stresses are in fair agreement with those obtained by 3-D analysis. Although the PS model of analysis
is not valid for obtaining actual values for complex structures, it has been used in making a comparative
study of the behaviour of the structure. The factors considered are fillet, edge cutting, provision of
openings, change in position of stiffeners and eccentric loading.

INTRODUCTION

Press work is the most widespread among all the devices of forming metals and even some
non-metals. In view of the great importance of the press proper design of these machines, in order
to increase their performance and productivity, is considered very essential. The design concept of
the press structure is undergoing rapid change, on account of the technological advancements in
recent years. In a bid to replace cast iron, welded structures, which are lighter, are being employed.
The performance of a hydraulic press depends, largely, upon the behaviour of its structure during
operation. However, these welded structures are becoming complicated and their accurate analysis
under given loading conditions is quite important to the structural designer. Press design methods
have changed within a short span of time from empiricism to rational design methods; with
the advent and widespread use of digital computers, it has now become feasible to develop
analytical models and computer programs to apply numerical techniques with varying degrees of
approximations to the design problems.
Studies on some features of hydraulic and mechanical presses have been reported elsewhere [l-8].
The research on machine tool structures was stepped up by the application of the finite element
method (FEM) [9-121. This is a more generalized method in which a continuum is hypothetically
divided into a number of elements interconnected at nodal points to calculate the strain,
displacement and stress. The FEM is preferred because it permits a much closer topological
resemblance between the model and the actual machine. It has been only recently employed for
press structures.
It is desirable in practice that the design analysis should be comprehensive and thorough at
minimum cost and time. The use of computer-aided design analysis reduces the time of the
optimum design development of a machine tool structure but the cost of the computational work
becomes formidable for any industrial user, particularly in developing countries. To obtain results
of acceptable accuracy and reliability, it is required to have a very fine mesh of finite elements but
this enhances the core memory requirement and the cost of computation. Several techniques, such
as “model, substructural analysis” [13] and the “semi-analytical FEM” [6], have been developed
and used to reduce the time and cost of computation. In complex structures like hydraulic press
welded frames, the concept of a substructure can not be applied. The semi-analytical FEM is ideally
suited for structures of regular geometric shape.
631
638 S. P. SINHA and P. D. MURARKA

In the machine tool field, finite element techniques have been applied to the analysis of basic
structural components (such as the machine bed, base and column etc.) as well as simple machine
structures [lo, 111. Complete machines, consisting of assemblies of several subunits, bolted or
clamped together or sliding on each other, have not been widely attempted except by Blum [3] and
Harnath et al. [14].
In design, process optimization is the technological decision of finding the conditions which
produce the maximum or minimum value of a function. Stiffness is the guiding factor for the design
of a press frame. To overcome the high cost of computational work a simplified plane stress model
has been identified and used in making a comparative study of the behaviour of the frame (welded
structure) of the press. The factors considered are fillet, edge cutting, provision of openings, change
in position of stiffeners and eccentric loading.

THE FEM

Here, a continuum is hypothetically divided into a number of elements (I-D, 2-D and 3-D)
interconnected at nodal points to calculate displacement, strain and stress. The element is
constrained to deform according to a prescribed pattern which is expressed in mathematical form
by a “displacement function”. It is preferred because it has all the provisions for irregular geometry,
isotropic, orthotropic or anisotropic material and arbitrary boundary conditions. Moreover,
mathematically, the method can be shown to converge towards the exact solution as the number
of elements is increased, provided the criterion for convergence is satisfied by the element.
Of the various approaches to finite element formulation, the variational method has been most
widely accepted. But this is not the only and most efficient approach. The methods of weighted
residuals permit consistent finite element representation without recourse to variational theorems.
These methods, based on the error distribution principle, aim to minimize the distribution of the
error with the help of a weighting function W(x, y, z) in such a manner that the net result will be
zero, i.e.

R(x,y,z)sW(x,y,z)dx dy dz =O,
sss
where R(x, y, z) is an unknown function to be solved. The Galerkin process, a potential method
of weighted residuals for the finite element with a distribution function identical to the weighting
function, leads in general to the best approximation. The program used in the present investigation
incorporates the Galerkin process.

ANALYSIS

The press under consideration is a 981 kN hydraulic press designed by M/s Hindustan
Hydraulics. It has a mono-block frame made of 25 plates of low-carbon steel welded together. The
structural details are shown in Fig. 1. The 3-D analysis of the structure was performed using a
general purpose FEM program [8]. Shell elements with 6 d.f./node were used in order to model
both the in-plane membrane behaviour and out-of-plane bending.

Plane stress (PS) model analysis of the welded frame

In a bid to find a simplified FEM model it was observed from the deformed shape (Fig. 2) that
the structure is almost rigid below the horizontal stiffener (marked XX in Fig. 3). So it was felt
that if the side plate (C-plate) of the structure (Fig. 1) was assumed to be made up of two parts,
the dividing line being along XX, a PS model could be used for analysing the structure of the press,
for studying the effects of structural parameters on the stiffness characteristics. This will help in
reducing the computational time.
Figure 3 represents one of the side plates of the press frame. It is assumed that the entire load
of the press is shared equally by the two side plates. The line XX is the position of a horizontal
stiffener which is near the mid-position of the gap (i.e. throat), and divides the C-plate
hypothetically into two parts. It is assumed that the deflections for all points on XX are zero.
 Computer-aided design of hydraulic presses 639

TOO1
table
15

Fig. 1. Frame assembly of a welded hydraulic press

The upper-half is divided into 13 1 quadrilateral (linear isoparametric) elements having 157 nodal
points (Fig. 4b) and the lower-half into 112 quadrilateral elements having 136 nodal points
(Fig. 4a). The mesh gradation principle has been utilized to achieve finer elements in the zones of
stress concentration. Each node has 3 d.f., U, v and 8,. The total number of degrees-of-freedom
for the lower-half is 408 and for the upper-half, 471. These optimum figures have been arrived at

-I
t- 1500

Fig. 2. Deformation of the side plate (C-plate). Fig. 3. Finite element model of the side plate.
640 S. P. SINHA and P. D. MURARKA

(b) Y
t

I ! I ! i !?fni;iiI

I ! !!!!I
X
- X

Fig. 4. Finite element models of (a) the lower-half and (b) the upper-half of the side plate.

after several trial runs of the program. Increasing the number of elements generally increases the
accuracy of prediction. However, there is an optimum number of elements which when exceeded,
does not produce a significant improvement but only increases the required computer core store.

Assumptions
In order to simplify structural aspects without affecting the accuracy, the following assumptions
have been made:

(0 The load is perfectly vertical.

(ii) The material of the side plate is homogeneous and isotropic.
(iii) The base is bolted firmly to a solid foundation, i.e. all the deflections of the
base plate are zero.
(iv) Material properties and relevant data:
Modulus of elasticity = 206,000 MN/m2
Poisson’s ratio, v = 0.3
Density, p = 7860 kg/m3
Total load, P = 981 kN
Permissible deformation = 0.5 mm/m

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

PS model
As a means of reducing the computational time, the side plate (C-plate) was divided hypo-
thetically into two parts. The bandwidth of the stiffness matrix and the total degress of freedom
are reduced considerably, resulting in a 70% decrease in computer time.
The deflection pattern of both the lower and upper plates are shown together in Fig. 5. The
maximum deflection values are given in Table 1.
Combining the upper-half and lower-half deflections, the maximum opening of the C-gap turns
out to be 1.325 mm. For comparison, the shell analysis results and the PS analysis results are given
below:

By shell By PS
analysis analysis
Maximum II = -1.32 u = -1.3425
deflection (mm) ” = 0.84 ” = -1.1785
Maximum ” = 0.94 v = 1.325
opening of
C-Ran (mml

It is observed that the deflection values are close to each other. The structure has a stiffener plate
(Plate No. 05 in Fig. l), which is at the centreline of the C-gap, and this plate prevents the
deformation of the lower-half of the C-plate by a considerable amount. This is confirmed by the
deformation values obtained for lower-half of the plate, maximum deflection values being
 Computer-aided design of hydraulic presses 641

_,‘I

LJ
r \
\ \
\ \
\ /-
\
\ X
0

(0) (b)
Fig. 5. Deformed shape of the side plate: (a) lower-half; (b) upper-half.

u = 0.0565 mm and v = - 0.1463 mm. The deformation of the structure can be further reduced by
increasing the thickness of this stiffener plate. It can further be reduced by placing this plate further
away from the base plate.
In this analysis, the hypothetical partition line of the upper and lower portions of the C-plate
has been assumed to be rigid, but in reality this has freedom to move. Although negligible, the
deformation values of the nodal points along the line have to be considered when comparing the
results obtained by both models. There is a little effect on the conclusion.
Though there is a closeness in the values of deflection in the X-direction (u-values) there exists
a wide difference in the Y-direction (u-values). This indicates that the upper-half of the C-plate
is more flexible in the PS model than the 3-D model. The values of the principal stresses e, and
g2 are given in Table 2.
It is observed that it is difficult to estimate precisely by this method the amount of stress
concentration occurring around the corner of the C-gap. It has been established by researchers that
the corner zone of a press frame is the most heavily stressed section. Methods like thin walled
curved beam theory [7] and the FEM technique are used to calculate the stress concentration. The
maximum principal stress values obtained by the FEM analysis of the C-plate are given in
Table 3.
It is observed from Table 3 that there is good agreement so far as the lower-half plate values
are concerned. The difference in values for the upper-half plate indicates that the plate behaves as
a more flexible element. This also suggests the need for making it stiffer by incorporating suitable
stiffeners.
From the preceding paragraphs it may be concluded that a simplified FEM PS model can be
used for comparative studies of the behaviour of a complex structural frame. However, it must
be borne in mind, as observed by Sinha [8], that a PS FEM model assuming the load to be shared
completely by the side plates can not be used. In other words, some correction factors need to be
incorporated in to the analysis for the loads to be shared by stiffener plates and other elements.

Shape efSect
The shape effect studies include the effects of:
(a) cutting the edges of the C-plate,
(b) providing fillets in the throat of the C-plate
and
(c) provision of openings in the C-plate.
Edge cutting
It is well-known from the theory of elasticity that the free edges of structures under PS conditions
contribute little to the strength of the structure. Also these edges themselves are stress-free. It has

Table I. Deflection values

Max. deflection (mm) Table 2. Principal stresses

Nodal ~
Plate NO. l4 ” u, (MN/m*) a,WN/m’)
Lower plate 136 +0.0565 -0.1463 Lower-half 46.30 - 39.93
upper plate 157 -1.3415 + 1.1785 Upper-half 196.20 - 68.67
642 S. P. SINHAand P. D. MIJRARKA

Table 3. Comparison of maximum principal stresses

o1 (MN/m’) b2 (MN/m’)
C-plate Shell C-plate Shell
Plate section in two halves analysis in two halves analysis

Lower-half of the C-plate 56.30 50.81 -39.93 -58.56

Upper-half of the C-plate 196.20 54.84 -68.67 -43.55

Table 4. Effect of edge cutting on deformation and stiffness

Deflection values
of node No. 46 (mm) Sp. stiffness, Rel. sp.
WW stiffness
u ” (mm-‘) W)
No cutting -0.1368 0.491 I 17.18 100
Case I -0.1367 0.4907 17.38 I01
Case II -0.1366 0.4906 17.71 103
Case 111 -0.1363 0.4907 18.00 104
Case IV -0.1355 0.4910 18.66 108
Case V -0.1369 0.49 14 19.10 III

W = weight of the side plate (upper portion only)

been confirmed from the results obtained by the shell analysis of the press frame that the free edges
of the side plates are stress-free. The side plates have a maximum transverse deflection of 0.171 mm,
which can be considered negligible. The free edges contribute little to the strength of the structure.
So the free edges can be cut, as shown in Fig. 6, and the ends can be rounded-off. Different extents
of edge cutting, as detailed in the figure, have been considered. These extents were arrived at
considering the functional requirements of the press. In other words, the edge cutting will not affect
the location of different accessories of the machine. The deflection values of a node are given in
Table 4. At that node, a load of 35.71 kN acts vertically upward.
The deflections both in the horizontal and vertical directions remain unaffected. The specific
stiffness (direct stiffness/weight) values for different cases have been found to vary from 17.18 to
19.10. In order to reduce the weight and cost, the edges can be cut as detailed for Case III. The
reduction in weight is 5%.
It can be concluded that the free edges of the side plates can be cut, keeping the functional
requirement in view without impairing its strength and stiffness.

Eflect of jillet
It is a well-established fact that the fillet reduces the stress levels at the re-entrant corners.
In the side plate there are sharp bends at 45” both at the lower and upper portions of the throat
(Fig. 2). These sharp bends give rise to stress concentration. Though generally press structures are

29oc

(b) Finite elements for the

300 200 200 fillet (enlarged view)
400 250 250
r= 15,30,40,60
500 300 300
B
,

I
1690

125C

Fig. 6. Simplified PS model to study the effect of edge Fig. 7. Simplified PS model to study the effect of fillets.
cutting.
 Computer-aided design of hydraulic presses 643

Table 5. Effect of fillets on deformation and stresses

Max. deflection Max. principal

Radius (mm) stresses
of fillet,

Case I 15 -1.391 1.253 12.4’ 3.66

(710.2)b (35.90)
Case II 30 - 1.388 1.249 21.4 6.05
(209.9) (59.35)
Case III 40 - I.386 I.245 20.0 5.65
(196.2) (55.43)
Case IV 60 - 1.377 I.232 42. I 3.07
(4 13.0) (30.12)
“In kgf/mm*. “In Mpa.

subjected to static loading and stress concentration for this type of loading is normally not serious,
yet it is desirable to provide some fillets for ease of machining. A generous fillet will reduce the
stress concentration considerably but it may cause fabrication problems. In order to decide an
appropriate fillet for the C-plate effect, different cases of fillet were considered for analysis. For
the FEM analysis a round portion (Fig. 7) was discretized by triangular elements. For rest of the
plate, quadrilateral elements were used. The maximum values of deflections and principal stresses
are given in Table 5.
There is little change in deformation of the side plate with the provision of fillets. In other words,
stiffness remains unaffected. The principal stresses at the corner vary with radius, The principal
stress (a,) attains its highest values when the radius is 15 and 60 mm. In Case I the structure tends
to a situation of sharp corners instead of smooth ones. In Case IV this approaches the earlier
situation of two sharp bends. On the basis of 6, values the optimum fillet is given by Case III when
the radius is 40 mm. The IJ*value for this case is also low and is within the safe limit of permissible
stress. For the structure, fillets of 40 mm radius in the side plates can be safely provided. These
observations are similar to those obtained by Singh et al. [7].

Provision of openings
From an operational point of view, sometimes side apertures in the uprights become necessary
as they provide optimum machine operation, due to convenient access to the tool from both the
front and side. The side plates of the press under consideration do not have any openings. In order
to study the effect of openings on the stiffness of the side plates five cases with different sized central
openings are considered. The sizes are shown in Fig. 8. The maximum deflection values of the side
plate (upper-half) and stiffness values are given in Table 6.

2900
IO 1500

Size of openings
I : 100 x 100 II : 100 x 250
DI:295~250~:350x250
P :295x440

P 1620
XI 1690

0
895

Fig. 8. Simplified PS model to study the effect of openings Fig. 9. PS model to study the effect of the position of the
horizontal stiffener.
644 S. P. SINHAand P. D. MURARKA

Table 6. Effect of openings on deformation and stiffness

Max. deflection (mm) Rel. direct Rel. sp.

stiffness, stiffness
Horizontal, Vertical, S, = FJv K/W
” ” WI W)
No opening - 1.3344 1.1792 100 100.00
Case I - 1.3345 1.1797 100 100.12
Case II - I.3378 1.1869 94 99.49
Case 111 - 1.4293 1.2958 87 90.69
Case IV - 1.3579 I.1981 94 102.42
Case V - I .4759 1.3458 83 88.71

W = weight of the side plate (upper portion only).

The direct stiffness decreases with an increase in the area of opening and there is a 17% decrease
in the stiffness value when the size is maximal (295 x 440 mm). Similarly, for the maximum
opening, the specific stiffness value decreases by 11%. For case IV (250 x 350 mm) the relative
specific stiffness is at a maximum (102.42), which indicates better utilization of material. A central
opening of 2 x 250 x 350 mm can be provided in the side plates at the expense of a 6% loss in the
stiffness value. This can be compensated by using an appropriate stiffener.
These openings are normally located centrally in the side plates. Albal et al. [15] studied the effect
of the size of opening on the rigidity of the column and also observed changes in its rigidity values.

Position of the horizontal st$ener

The different possible positions for providing a horizontal stiffener are shown in Fig. 9. The
analysis has been performed by taking the two halves of the C-plate separately and combining their
results, as done earlier. The deformed shape of the C-plate is shown in the same figure. When the
horizontal stiffener’s position is changed between the mid-section and the lower end of the upper
portion of the throat (C-gap), the deformation of the upper portion of the plate decreases. The
stiffness of the plate thus increases with the rise in the position of the stiffener. The relative stiffness
values are plotted in Fig. 10. For increased stiffness of the C-plate, the position of the stiffener
should be kept as close to the upper portion of the throat as possible. The exact position of the
stiffener can be found from Fig. 9 for a required amount of stiffness. It may be mentioned here
that the permissible, deformation for the press frame is 0.5 mm/m [2]. From the knowledge of
allowable deformation for a given frame the stiffness value can be calculated, and thus the stiffener’s
position can be fixed. The study suggests that an additional horizontal stiffener near the upper
portion of the structure will improve the stiffness.

Eccentric loading
Multi-stage tools are frequently used in hydraulic presses and so eccentric loadings during the
forming operations in the machine are unavoidable. These lead to asymmetrical distortion of the

Eccentricity in

220 X - direction

t 200 e= 10,20,30,40,50,

: 160 60 mm
: 160

f-l-t
z.^ 140 A
f 120
1760
E 100 1690
00 --
e
600-
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 X
1250
I
1, / 12- 0 695

Fig. 10. Effect of a change in position of the horizontal Fig. 1I. Simplified PS model to study the effect of eccentric
stiffener. loading.
 Computer-aided design of hydraulic presses 645

Table 7. Effect of eccentric load on deformation

Max. deflection (mm)

Eccentricity Horizontal, Vertical, Rise in Rise in
“e” u v u values u values

Case I 0 - 1.3410 1.1865 0 0

Case II IO - I .3566 1.1998 0.0156 0.0133
Case III 20 - I .3773 I.2173 0.0363 0.0308
Case IV 30 - 1.3979 1.2348 0.0569 0.0483
Case V 40 -1.4185 1.2522 0.0775 0.0657
Case VI 50 - I .4390 I .2695 0.0980 0.0803
Case VII 60 - I .4595 I .2827 0.1 I85 0.1002

machine frame. In the present investigation only eccentricity in the X-Y plane, as shown in
Fig. 11, has been considered. At point “A”, concentrated load P acts vertically upwards. Because
of eccentricity the point of application of the load shifts by a distance equal to “e”. This results
in a direct force P, at the point A and a couple MZ acting at a point e/2 from the centre. The
different values of “e” have been taken on the basis of reported work [3]. The maximum
deformation values are given in Table 7.
Deformations increase with an increase in the value of eccentricity. This affects the accuracy of
the workpiece and causes functional difficulties such as rough movement of ram and other parts.
The horizontal deformation for Case VII increases the permissible limit of 1.45 mm [2]. In sliding
parts there is always some clearance which causes tilting of the worktable and ram. Similarly,
clearance in bearings and excess deformation of the frame affect the accuracy of the workpiece.
The effect of contacts also needs to be considered for elastic deformation investigations. In this
direction some work has been done in West Germany [3-51.
As such, the following points must be kept in mind when designing the press frame:
(i) clearance between sliding members to be kept to a minimum, according to the
accuracy expected of the machine tool;
and
(ii) proper alignment of different elements, particularly sliding ones should be ensured.
CONCLUSIONS

A simplified PS model for FEM analysis, as identified in the welded frame of the press [8], has
been used for comparative studies of the effects of such parameters as fillet, edge cutting, opening
and eccentric loading on the deformation pattern of the frame. On the basis of this investigation,
certain significant guidelines have been obtained for the design of press frames. Such a model has
resulted in savings in computational time, core memory requirement and cost of analysis.

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1. K. Adam, A new approach to punch press design. Sheer Met. Ind. A. Rev. 924-928 (1978).
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(1979).
3. H. Blum, The elastic behaviour of mechanical press machines. Proc. 19th Int. MTDR Conf., p. 155 (1978).
4. H. Blum, Elastiches Verschiebungsverhalten von pressen mit einund zweipunktantrieb. Wiss. Z. Ind. 70,597-602 (1980).
5. H. Blum, Berchnung der Baugrupee Welle-Lager einer 0-gestell-pressemit zwiepunktantrieb. Konstruktion 32, 185-189
(1980).
6. L. S. Gupta and P. U. Ramanamurti, Stress analysis of 400-tonne hydraulic press cross-head. Proc. AZMTDR Co&
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8. S. P. Sinha, Computer aided analysis of hydraulic press structures. Ph.D. Thesis, IIT, Kharagpur (1985).
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10. A. Cowley and S. Hinduja, The finite element method applied to the deformation analysis of a thin walled column.
Proc. I2th Int. MTDR Conf, p. 455 (1971).
11. A. Cowley and S. Hinduja, The finite element method for machine tool structural analysis. Ann. CIRP 9, 171 (1971).
12. 0. C. Zienkiewicz, The Finite Element Method. T. M. H. Publishing, New Delhi (1979).
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14. S. Harnath et al., Lumped parameter approach to milling machine structure with applied damping treatment. Proc.
AIMTDR Conf., pp. 77-79 (1984).
15. S. V. Albal et al., Some parametric studies of machine tool columns using the finite element method. Ann. CIRP 60-69
(1977).