Finite Element Analysis of a Beam with Corrugated Web of a Jib Crane

Abstract

A crane is a machine for lifting and lowering a load and moving it horizontally with the hoisting mechanism being an integral part of the machine. Jib cranes are simplest types and widely used in the small scale industries. A satisfactory design should ensure that the beam of the crane is stable and has enough strength and stiffness against the applied loads. For steel beams having an I-shaped cross section, lateral torsional buckling is a typical mode of instability. In this study a Jib Crane Boom is analysed on FEM software ANSYS. Conventional plane web cantilever steel I beam S10@25.4lb/feet having a span of 2.54m has been analysed to study the buckling behaviour of the beam under the action of self weight and vertical load at free end. Models are created on AutoCAD and analysed on ANSYS. Buckling load is calculated by using a load multiplier. Further a new design approach of using a web with trapezoidal corrugations has been proposed to study the lateral torsional buckling behaviour of the beam subjected to self weight and vertical load at free end. A total of 32 models with different corrugation angles, web thicknesses and web widths are created and analysed to see the effect of variations in corrugations on the buckling capacity of the beam. From the analysis results, it is also observed that not only web thickness, but also the corrugation plate length, corrugation angle and the corrugation width influence the buckling capacity of the beam. Further the corrugated beam is compared to flat beam on the basis of weight and buckling load and it is observed that corrugated beam is economical and has higher buckling capacity than the flat beam.