BASICS
TYPES OF STRESS
TYPES OF STRAIN
SIMULATIONS
ANSYS
• Simulations:
o Static stress (bridge beam under load).
o Modal/frequency (aircraft wing vibration).
o Buckling (column under compression).
o Fatigue (rotating shaft life).
o CFD: airflow over a car, turbine cooling, combustion in engines.
o Multiphysics: fluid–structure interaction (blood flow in artery walls).
• Basic Steps:
1. Import CAD / create geometry.
2. Define materials (elastic, plastic, thermal, etc.).
3. Apply loads and boundary conditions.
4. Mesh the model (refine critical regions).
5. Run solver → check convergence.
6. Post-process (stresses, displacements, contours, graphs).
SolidWorks Simulation & Flow
• Simulations:
o Static stress (bracket under load).
o Frequency (machine component vibration).
o Buckling (thin sheet metal).
o Thermal (heat conduction in a plate).
o Motion (robot arm kinematics).
o Flow: internal pipe flow, cooling of electronics box.
• Basic Steps:
1. Design part/assembly in SolidWorks.
2. Choose simulation type (stress, thermal, flow).
3. Assign materials and fixtures.
4. Apply forces, pressure, heat, or motion.
5. Mesh automatically (or refine manually).
6. Solve and visualize stress plots, deformation, flow paths.
CFD Software (Fluent, OpenFOAM, Star-CCM+)
• Simulations:
o External aerodynamics (car drag reduction, airplane lift).
o Internal flow (pump, valve, heat exchanger).
o Heat transfer (CPU cooling fan, HVAC duct).
o Multiphase (oil-water separator, cavitation in pumps).
o Combustion (gas turbine combustor, IC engine flame).
• Basic Steps:
1. Import or create geometry.
2. Generate mesh (with boundary layers near walls).
3. Select solver (steady/transient, pressure-based/density-based).
4. Define physics (turbulence model, multiphase, combustion).
5. Set boundary conditions (inlet, outlet, walls).
6. Run simulation (iterate till residuals converge).
7. Post-process (velocity vectors, pressure contours, lift/drag, heat maps).
MOHR CIRCLE
GEARS
1. Spur Gears
• Definition: Straight teeth parallel to the shaft axis.
• Transmission: Power between parallel shafts.
• Efficiency: High (95–98%).
• Advantages: Simple design, easy to manufacture, efficient.
• Disadvantages: Noisy at high speeds.
• Applications: Gearboxes, clocks, conveyor drives.
2. Helical Gears
• Definition: Teeth cut at an angle to the shaft axis, forming a helix.
• Transmission: Power between parallel or crossed shafts.
• Features / Advantages: Smooth and quiet transmission, higher load capacity.
• Disadvantages: Produces axial thrust → requires thrust bearings.
• Applications: Automotive transmissions, compressors, high-speed machinery.
3. Bevel Gears
• Definition: Conical gears used where shafts intersect (usually at 90°).
• Transmission: Changes direction of power (e.g., vertical ↔ horizontal).
• Types:
o Straight bevel → straight teeth, simple design.
o Spiral bevel → curved teeth, smoother operation.
o Zero bevel → curved teeth but zero spiral angle.
• Applications: Differentials in automobiles, hand drills, marine shafts.
4. Worm Gears
• Definition: Screw-like worm meshes with a gear (worm wheel).
• Transmission: Shafts are non-parallel and non-intersecting.
• Features / Advantages: Provides high speed reduction in compact design, smooth, sometimes self-locking.
• Disadvantages: Low efficiency (due to sliding contact, heat generation).
• Applications: Lifts, conveyors, tuning instruments, elevators.
5. Rack and Pinion
• Definition: A linear gear (rack) meshes with a cylindrical gear (pinion).
• Transmission: Converts rotary motion ↔ linear motion.
• Applications: Car steering systems, CNC machines, railway tracks.
6. Herringbone Gears
• Definition: Double helical gears placed side by side, V-shaped teeth.
• Transmission: Power between parallel shafts, cancels axial thrust.
• Advantages: Smooth operation, no axial thrust compared to helical.
• Applications: Heavy-duty machinery, marine engines.
7. Internal Gears
• Definition: Teeth cut on the inner surface of a cylinder.
• Transmission: Compact design, used in internal meshing (planetary systems).
• Applications: Planetary gear trains, automatic transmissions.
8. Hypoid Gears
• Definition: Similar to spiral bevel but with offset shaft axes (non-intersecting).
• Transmission: Smooth transfer of power between non-intersecting shafts.
• Advantages: Quieter, higher load-carrying capacity.
• Applications: Automotive differentials (rear-wheel drive).
MODAL, FATIGUE AND BUCKLING
S N CURVE
Definition
The S–N curve plots cyclic stress amplitude (S) versus number of cycles to failure (N) on a log scale. It describes a
material’s fatigue life — its resistance to failure under repeated loading.
General Principle
• Higher stress → fewer cycles to failure.
• As applied stress decreases, materials survive for a larger number of cycles.
Material-Specific Behavior
1. Steel (Ferrous Alloys)
o Shows a distinct endurance limit.
o Below this stress (typically reached around 10610^6106 cycles), steel can theoretically endure
infinite cycles without failure.
o Curve becomes horizontal after the endurance limit.
o Design Use: Components needing very long fatigue life (shafts, axles, springs).
2. Aluminum
o No true endurance limit.
o Fatigue strength continues to decrease even beyond 10710^7107 or 10810^8108 cycles.
o Engineers define fatigue strength at a specific cycle count.
o Design Use: Aircraft structures, automotive components (where finite life is acceptable).
3. Fiber-Reinforced Plastics (FRP)
o Similar to aluminum, no endurance limit.
o Fatigue strength reduces steadily with increasing cycles.
o Sensitive to fiber orientation, resin properties, and defects.
o Design Use: Aerospace, marine, and sporting goods, with fatigue strength specified for a target cycle
life.
Key Engineering Implications
• Steel: Preferred for applications requiring infinite fatigue life (e.g., railway axles, rotating machinery).
• Aluminum & FRP: Suitable for finite life applications, provided stresses remain below fatigue strength at
the expected cycle life.
• Designers must always check the service life requirements against the appropriate part of the S–N curve.
In short:
• Steel → endurance limit exists (infinite life possible).
• Aluminum/FRP → no endurance limit (life always finite).
INERTIA, MOI, POLAR MOI