Deflection Design Project
PROJECT SUMMARY
The first major project for my Engineering Design II course was to create an S-shaped aluminum part of a set thickness (0.25") that had to deflect 0.3" under a a 100lbf load (i.e. with a spring constant of 333.33 lbf/in). My team of four first designed a simplified version the part using Castigliano's theorem; we then modeled it in SolidWorks and ran Finite Element Analysis setups to simulate the instron testing load, using a refined mesh. Based on the FEA results, we adjusted dimensions, updated the design, and re-simulated it until our resulting deflection was 0.3055". Finally, we manufactured the part and tested it on an Instron machine. I was primarily responsible for the design hand calculations and the FEA adjustment loop, and contributed to the modeling as well. The final deflection obtained during the Instron test was 0.3541", representing an error of 18%, which was likely due to minor yielding during the final 0.15" of compression. See the full report below for additional details, methods, and results.
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TARGET SPRING CONSTANT, LBF/IN^3
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SIMULATED SPRING CONSTANT, LBF/IN
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TESTED SPRING CONSTANT, LBF/IN
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