FEA of a Zipline Structure & Manufacturing Processes
Project Info: Fa21-ME-0010-01-Materials & Manufacturing I, Final Assessment, Group Project
Project Type: Finite Element Analysis
Project Timeline: 1 week (December 2021)
Skills and Techniques: SOLIDWORKS Simulation Finite Element Analysis
OVERVIEW
Brief: Doing an FEA study on a zipline structure that has four main components (the wooden posts, the horizontal supports, the rail, and the handle) and providing a convincing narrative on what manufacturing processes would be chosen to make the handle and the rail.
Instructions
a) Using the parts provided (handle, horizontal support, rail and wooden post) assemble the zipline such that the handle is exactly in the middle of the rail. Use alloy steel for all the parts, including the wooden posts, and apply the load of 1200 N (equivalent of a person weighing 120 kg) on the handle. Apply the required fixtures and create the mesh and finally run the analysis (you might be required to do some mesh control along the way).
b) Plot the “vonMises stress” and the “deflection along the y axis “on the top edge of the rail. Compare the maximum stress and deflection from the ones we get from the theory (above) and comment on any discrepancies you see.
c) Is the rail the part that experiences the highest stress? If not, which part of the structure experiences the highest stress? Comment on the safety of the product with relevant plots and data, for example how does the maximum stress in the structure compare to the yield strength of alloy steel. Remember the users of the structure while making your comments.
d) Show some of the areas where you see stress concentrations. List three changes that you would make as a designer to reduce these stress concentrations.
e) To reduce the costs, the manufacturer suggests two solutions:
i. To change the material of the rail to aluminum 1060 alloy.
• Would you approve this change? Justify your answer by the relevant results that you get from FEA when you change the material of the rail to aluminum (e.g. comparison of the maximum stress experienced by the rail to the yield strength, etc.) and any other economical or environmental factors you think is important.
ii. To reduce the thickness of the rail from 4 mm to 2 mm (all the way around the cross section of the rail part) while keeping the alloy steel as the material of the rail.
• Would you recommend this change? Again, justify your answer with the relevant results that get from FEA (when changing the thickness of the rail) and with any other factors you find important.
