Quarterly Case Study Session

Presented September 2019

Industrial Case Study:

Material Properties and Structural
Sections-Architecture meets Engineering

Claes Fredriksson, David Mercier, Harriet Parnell

Ansys Materials Education Division

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Agenda

 Introduction
 Structural Section Case Study
 Architecture meets Engineering
 The Structural Sections Data-table
 Shape Factors and Load
 Revised Performance Index
 Selector Engineering Solver
 Finite Element Simulations
 Q&A
 Community Update
Claes Fredriksson, David Mercier and Harriet
Parnell from the Ansys Materials Education Team

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Architecture meets Engineering

The Stata Center, MIT (Cambridge MA), Concrete Structure (before) and Façade (after).

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The Structural Sections Data-Table

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Structural Sections Loaded in Bending

Beams in bending is a universal use-case

I reflects the cross-section shape

𝐼=∫ 𝑦 𝑏 ( 𝑦 ) 𝑑𝑦
2

Some useful definitions

A = cross-section area E = Young’s modulus
F = point force I = second moment of area
δ = deflection C = constant (here, 3)
S = stiffness (F/δ) This beam: δ = FL3/CEI= 12FL3/CEA

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Materials and Shape

Charts of structural sections depend both on

material properties and shape!

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Overview of steel structure properties

 Properties of all steel structural sections

 Sections can be screened as usual
 Wood rectangular sections (planks) have surprisingly attractive properties

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Bending stiffness per shape (all steel)

 Re-define the X-axis:

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What does the shape factor mean

𝑏 4 𝐴2
𝐼 𝑜= = 𝑆 𝐸𝐼 𝐼
12 12 𝜑𝑒 = = =12 2
𝑆𝑜 𝐸 𝐼 𝑜 𝐴
Shape
e=1
factor:
I-sections,
e  10

Circular tubes,
e  10

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The range of shape factors

e  100 e 1

12 I e
e   log ( I )  2 log ( A )  log
A2 12

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Performance Index that includes shape

Function Beam (shaped section).

Constraint Bending stiffness < S*

CEI
S
L3
I is the second moment of area: I
1/ 2 m = mass
I  12 I  A = area
e  12 A   
A2 
 e  L = length
S = stiffness
A I = second moment of area
Objective Minimize mass, m, where: E = Youngs Modulus
m  AL

1/ 2
 12 S L5       
m    Chose materials with smallest  
 C    E  
1 / 2   E  
1 / 2
  e   e 

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Material Selection Including Shape

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Shape Factors for Optimal Selection

Material (from Ashby) Steels Aluminum alloys GFRP and CFRP Unreinforced polymers Wood
Max e ( in CES) 65 44 39 12 5
Max f 13 10 9 5 3

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Finite Element Simulations
• Can estimate the deflection caused by certain load
• Map the stress within the geometry caused by this load

Provided the necessary material properties are given

Simulation of stress in beams (same area) for fixed material choice Ansys
Discovery Live

Opportunity: Using Granta EduPack to screen and select top material

candidates in combination with Finite Element simulation to optimize
geometry, engineers and designers can reduce the number of material
candidates to consider in structural design.

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Material Selection and Simulation
For the design engineer, screening based on material properties, ranking by material-shape
performance index and FE simulations to fix dimensions are complementary:

Performance Index Selection FE simulation of stress and deflection

Top candidates
after screening

Optimized
geometries

• Trade off curves for compromises • Free design parameters

• Equal performance candidates • Von Mises stress maps
• Cost, Eco-properties, Durability, ... • Deflection estimates

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Conclusions

 The Structural Sections data-table in Level 3 and Level 2 Architecture

 Shape factors and Revised Performance Index
 The systematic material selection methodology generates significant synergy with structural simulations

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Document Information
This case study is part of a set of teaching resources to help introduce students to materials, processes and rational selections.

Ansys Education Resources

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