mechanical engineering 1

This assignment is designed to allow you to demonstrate your understanding of the practical aspects of finite element analysis and your ability to communicate this knowledge.
A uniform Steel strut (material Modulus of Elasticity 210 GN/m2, Poisson’s Ratio 0.3) of length 400 mm and width 80 mm is butt welded with another piece of component of the same size in cross section and material properties at one end and under an axial tensile load of 20 KN uniformly applied to the other end face. It has been initially designed with a thickness of 5mm. This gives a hand calculated stress value of 50 MN/ m2, which is a quarter of the material’s Yield Stress, of 200 MN/m2, giving a factor of safety of four.
The strut now requires a round ended slot in the centre, right through, of Length L and width W, as shown by Figure 1. Determine the minimum thickness of strut of the same length, width and material, capable of withstanding the same tensile force with the same factor of safety. Assume Von Mises failure criterion apply, i.e. the maximum Von Mises (unaveraged) stress should not exceed 50 MN/m2. Your final thickness must be an integer millimetre value to use standard size material. Dimensions L and W will be provided for individual students in the spreadsheet on UniLearn.