I Beam Support

Having chosen the ideal type and dimensions of I-beam I then went on to design the beam support which would be bolted on to the base so as to stop buckling when the beam was loaded. For this support, another industry standard was used, this time in the form of a SQ steel tube with dimensions 2x2x0.25. This is easily machined and would then be machine-cut at 45 degrees from each sized so as to fit perfectly onto the base and the standing I beam. The support itself only weighted a very small 3.592 KG and therefore is more would be very ideal if the structure passes the stress anaylsis.

Having done this it was now possible to carry out a stress analysis test on SolidWorks so as test if our chosen beam and support could take the max load that it will be subjected to.

Having carried out the test with the I beam in both set-ups as shown above, it was eveident that the beam was more structurally sound if the load was applied across the flange. The beam was under a lot more stress with a load applied along its width and therefore the flange was the best solution. When both the load and support where applied from the flange the stress anaylsis showed that the structure was not under any major stress. as shown I modelled the structure as fixtured on two surfaces (bottom of beam and support) which is where the structure would be bolted to the base. A load of 5070N (10140N halved between two beams) was applied at a point where the cable would pass through and the result shown was the van Mises stresses remaing in a comfortable zone.

The above screenashot is one showing the displacement that this load would have on the said beam. This was also a good results as the beam only showed displacement of maximum 9 tenths of a millimetre. As shown in read this displacement would occur at the point where the load was applied. This anaylsis showed that we could carry on with the beam size and support because they we able to take the load well.