Estimating Weight Reduction Effects of Material Substitution on Joints with Constant Stiffness

The concept of a structural index, λ, is developed using the simple example of a hollow beam with a cantilever load case. It is assumed that when performing material substitution, only the thickness, t, is changed. It is shown that the stiffness, K, of the beam can be defined as a function of tλ, th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Patton, Richard, Edwards, Micael
Format: Report
Language:English
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The concept of a structural index, λ, is developed using the simple example of a hollow beam with a cantilever load case. It is assumed that when performing material substitution, only the thickness, t, is changed. It is shown that the stiffness, K, of the beam can be defined as a function of tλ, that 1 ≤ λ ≤ 3, and that λ can be used to predict the weight savings from material substitution where stiffness is held constant. It is then demonstrated that λ can be used to predict the weight savings from material substitution in the more complex cases of the joints of a light truck cab.
ISSN:0148-7191
2688-3627
DOI:10.4271/2002-01-0368