ENG221 Mechanics of Materials 2011: Practical 4 - Signpost Design (10%)

You can either undertake this practical in pairs or individually (your choice). AIM To determine the most economical square, rectangular or circular Grade 350 steel tube section (SHS, RHS or CHS) to support a cantilevered roadside signpost similar to the example shown in Figure 1. Assume the cost per Kg is constant, i.e. the lightest section (the one with the smallest cross sectional area) is the most economical. The idea is that you will need to design the post so that the maximum allowable normal and shear stresses (for Grade 350 Steel) are not exceeded anywhere in the section. You will be designing to the limit in this practical which means you will need to show that the signpost you finally decide on can support all the loads and is the most economical possible. This means that you must show that the next section size down will fail by exceeding the allowable limits. You need to do this for all three sections and then decide which one would be cheapest. DIMENSIONS The top of the signpost is 8m above ground level and the post can be considered to be fixed into the ground. The actual sign is 4m wide and 3m high as shown in Figure 2 (ignore the width of the sign). The width of the post depends on the section you choose but remember that changing the width of the post will change the lever arm length (and magnitudes) of both MZ and TY. Changing the width of the post will also affect the total surface area on which the wind acts and will therefore also affect MX. For more detail, refer Figure 2.

Figure 1 - Typical Signpost

Figure 2 - Sign Dimensions and Load Actions

LOADS Sign. The weight of the sign W = 350kg. The weight of the sign will act at its centroid, so it will have 2 load effects: an axial compressive load, WSign and a bending moment, MZ. Self-weight of post. You will not know this until you choose a section, but you can just assume a weight for a start and adjust it later. The weight of the post, WPost is added to the weight of the sign, WSign to find the total weight force, FY acting at the base of the post. Wind load. Assume a 0.5kPa wind load that acts normal to the sign and the front face of the post (for CHS sections, use the outside diameter as the width when calculating the post surface area). You will not know the exact area of the post until you have determined the section. The wind load will have 3 load effects on the post: o a bending moment, MX; o a torque, TY; and o a transverse shear force, VZ. TABLES OF SECTIONS All the information for the three different section shapes (SHS, RHS or CHS) can be found in the OneSteel tables called Cold Formed Sections Nov2004p.pdf in the Week 9 Course materials folder on the course homepage. There are many different tables in this document however the ones you need to work from are shown in Table 1 below. Please note that the height of a section is given as d (for depth) in these tables, not h. This is normal engineering practice in Australia. Table 1 - Reference tables to be used for Practical 4 Calculations Section Shape Table Numbers to Use in Practical CHS T1.2a, T1.2b, T1.2c RHS T2.1a, T2.1b, T2.1c SHS T3.1a, T3.1b, T3.1c Although there is much information about the properties on the different sections in these tables, for this assignment you can only use the dimensions in the first column of the tables (d, b & t for SHS and RHS and do & t for CHS). This means that you must calculate all other properties from these three (or two) dimensions. Do not use table values for the other properties you will need in your spreadsheet! Note that Grade 350 steel means the design yield stress fy = 350 MPa. When using the maximum shear stress criterion for failure, you must ensure that max does not exceed 1/2 of 350MPa (i.e. 175MPa).

Report
The report for Practical 4 comprises two parts: 1. An EXCEL spreadsheet showing your calculations, formulas and results (Groups to email me spreadsheet before Lecture 13): and (6 Marks) 2. A written REPORT of about 10 pages. (4 Marks)

EXCEL Spreadsheet 1. As you can probably imagine, this practical involves many iterative calculations in order to determine the most economical signpost section. EXCEL should therefore be used to help you do the calculations and solve this problem. 2. In this practical you will build on the EXCEL skills that you have learned in the previous practicals. As mentioned above, there are many iterative calculations involved in this practical and most of the calculations will be functions of other cells and cell functions. And these will all be functions of the three (or two) initial dimensions you input for each section. 3. It is highly recommended to do some brainstorming with your partner about how to set up the spreadsheet before you start working in EXCEL. You should draw Axial Load Diagrams, SFDs and BMDs for the different loads to determine where the critical sections will be. You should then try to work out some sort of calculation chain that you can create in EXCEL. 4. The ideas discussed and diagrams drawn in this is brainstorming session should be included as part of your written report to show that you have understood what are you are doing. 5. For example, the two variables used in the calculation of the maximum bending stress due to the moment produced by the weight of the sign (MZ), are the lever arm (the weight of the sign is constant) and the IZZ value. You should therefore set up the stress calculation for Z as a function of the dimensions of the trial post, i.e., as:

Z
M Z ( 350 * 9.81 )N * (

M Z * yZ , IZ

3 d b d3 ( b 2t )Z ( d 2t )Z 4000 d Z )] mm4 )mm , y Z Z mm , I Z [( Z Z ) ( 2 12 12 2 2

So in order to calculate the maximum bending normal stress, Z, the spreadsheet needs to be set up so that by entering the dimensions, b, d and t, a corresponding stress is given. As long as Z is less than fy, then the calculation can proceed. The calculation of IZZ shown above is valid for SHS and RHS only. The moment of inertia calculation for CHS is of course different. The result obtained for Z above, will then be used in the stress transformation formula to determine that the principal stresses 1 and 2 are within the allowable limits. Once you set up the basic equations it is then easy to check other sections. 6. As you can see, this practical is quite involved and expect a lot of trial and error before you get it right. This practical is intended to further increase your EXCEL skills and hopefully after completing this practical you should be relatively proficient in the use of the program. 7. Do not forget to save your filename to include Prac 4 and both your surnames. E.g. - Smith and Jones, Prac 4.xls

Written Report (Word Document) The report should be written in typical engineering report style (refer to http://www.unisa.edu.au/ltu/students/study/assessment/practical.asp for help) and be relatively brief (no more than about 10 pages). The report should include the usual aim, method, results, tables and discussion and conclusions. Your brainstorming section should also be included (this can be hand written and included as an appendix) showing the calculations etc from the list below. The written report is to be handed up in Lecture 13, and the EXCEL spreadsheet should be emailed to me beforehand. What to Put In Your Report 1. As part of your brainstorming session, assume a cross section to trial (e.g. 200x150x8 RHS) and sketch the structure and mark in the loads. Draw SFDs and BMDs for the loads and think about where the critical cross section will be. Include this section in your appendix. 2. To understand how to setup your spreadsheet, you will need to calculate axial compressive force FY, transverse shear force VZ, torque TY and moments MX and MZ respectively and then calculate stresses on the critical section due to each these load effects separately. For the CHS, you add MX and MZ vectorially to get a resultant moment, then find the magnitude of the maximum stresses caused by this resultant moment. 3. Using the correct formulae, calculate the Principal stresses 1,2 and max on the critical cross section. 4. If the stress is too high, choose a larger cross section. If stress is too low the chosen section is not economical, so choose a smaller section. You must show that the section you have finally selected is the most economical, i.e. lightest that will do the job without max permissible stress being exceeded. Find one that works and show that the next size down fails, so you have the most economical section. Include this in your report. 5. You should check all 3 section types: CHS, SHS and RHS. It is not obvious which section will give you the lightest design. You must show at least one sample calculation for CHS; at least one sample calculation for RHS (which is a special case of SHS, so if your final selection is not a SHS you may just state that the procedure for SHS is identical to that for RHS). 6. You report should show calculations clearly so they can be easily checked, and it should be clear which section you have chosen, and why. Number pages, put in plenty of diagrams and refer to them so the reader can follow your train of thought. 7. Make the report clear, concise and to the point. Dont ramble and put in a lot of unnecessary stuff.