Design and Structural Dynamic Analysis of Overhead Elliptical Conveyor
Design and Structural Dynamic Analysis of Overhead Elliptical Conveyor
Pranesh. K. G
PG Student
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Vijaya Vittala Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka,
India
Abstract
Over Head Conveyors are used to transport material or components from one place to another place either for assembly or for
transportation purpose. In the present work, overhead conveyor designs need to be done to for transporting the components for
sand blasting applications. These members should be loaded and unloaded with an elliptical orbit. So the structure designed
should take all types of loads resulting from the dynamic effects of the moving load. So channels sections which will reduce the
weight to be selected and proper weld sizes need to be specified for structural safety to a take a maximum component load of
500Kg. Also the design should consider loading and unloading effects on the structure at overlap time. Due to the vibration
with the hoist, the load effect on the structure should be analyzed properly and structural safety should be maintained under
buckling and structural loads. Every section of the member should be checked for dynamic moving load.
Keywords: overhead conveyor, channel section, structural load, dynamic moving load
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I.
INTRODUCTION
A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another.
Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transportation of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow
quick and efficient transportation for a wide variety of materials, which make them very popular in the material handling and
packaging industries [1].
Overhead conveyor is an elevated system similar to floor level conveyor that is used to transport the materials throughout a
facility. They are known as overhead conveyor because load is carried on the moving carriages which move on overhead track.
Overhead conveyor find many applications in transporting casting, forging and assembly units in shops and between
transporting machine, parts between machine tools, transporting subassemblies between the stations and transporting the parts
for sandblasting.
The main parts of the overhead conveyor are Rail, Carrier, Drive, Suspension attachments, Speed controller, Overhead tracks
and structure [20].
In the present work overhead conveyor structure including track has to be designed for sandblasting application to carry a load
of 500kg. For design and analysis CAD/CAE softwares are used. For modeling CATIA and analysis ANSYS softwares are used.
II. PROBLEM DEFINITION
Conveyor design and design optimisaiton is the main definition of the problem. The main objectives include
1) Section calculations using theoretical approach.
2) Modeling through modeling software CATIA
3) Structural analysis through finite element software Ansys.
4) Modal and Harmonic Analysis for dynamic and cyclic loading due to movement of the hoist through finite element
software Ansys.
III. DESIGN SPECIFICATION FOR OVERHEAD CONVEYOR
1) Length x width x height : 6805x3057x3387 mm
2) Desired capacity
: 500 kg.
3) Material
: Steel 42
Material
1) Steel 42
Cr-0.8 to 1.1%, C-0.48 to 0.53%, Mn-0.75 to 1.0%, Si-0.15 to 0.35%, P-0.03%, S-0.04%, Mo-0.15 to 0.25% [17]
2) Young Modulus
: 2e5 Mpa
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3) Poissons Ratio
4) Ultimate Tensile Stress
: 0.3
: 420 Mpa
IV. OVERALL DIMENSION
V.
Fig. 1: All dimensions are in mm Overall dimensions of overhead conveyor
Fig. 2: Reaction forces considering simply supported beam for I-section Reaction
122
123
Fig. 4: Reaction forces considering simply supported beam for C-section Reaction
124
125
Deflection:
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Geometrical Model:
The figure 10 shows meshed view of the problem. Total of 82945 elements with 90242 nodes are used. SHELL63 has been
used. It both bending and membrane capabilities. Both in-plane and normal loads are permitted. The element has six degrees of
freedom at each node: translations in the nodal x, y, and z directions and rotations about the nodal x, y, and z-axes. Stress
stiffening and large deflection capabilities are included. After meshing in hypermesh, the meshed geometry is exported to ansys
in cdb file format. Elements are grouped to different collectors to assign thickness properties and materials. Number of
triangular elements is minimized. The load collectors and displacement collectors are provided to apply the boundary conditions.
Boundary Conditions:
The frame is fixed in all degrees of motion at the bottom and a load of 5000Newtons is applied on the track as a point loads
simulating the four wheel positions. The distance between wheels 500mm is maintained.
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The figure 11 shows deflection in the problem equal to 0.001968 m or 1.968mm due to self-weight. The maximum deflection
is observed at the right overhung. This can be attributed to more length compared to the frontal sections from the supporting
pillars.
The figure 12 shows vonmises stress distribution in the conveyor frame. Maximum stress is around 9.7Mpa which is localized
at the connections. Generally vonmises stress is considered for the ductile materials, as it is most favored theory to predict
failure of the ductile materials. Even shear stress theory also can be applied, but as per the literature 90% ductile failures match
by vonmises criteria.
Vonmises stress is calculated based on the stored energy. Since this stress is much smaller than the allowable stress of the
material, the structure is safe for the self-weight.
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The figure 13 shows deflection due to self-weight along with external loading 5000N. Maximum deflection of 2.27151mm can
be observed in the problem as shown in the status bar. The deflection developed is less than the allowable deflection of 2.9mm.
Structure is safe for the given loading conditions. The location of maximum deflection is shown by red colour. Also the
variation of displacement is represented on the status bar.
The figure 14 shows Vonmise stress of 35.2 Mpa due to the given loading 5000N. This stress is much smaller compared to the
allowable stress of the material. Since higher factor safety in the problem the conveyor structure can be optimized.
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T5= 12mm
The figure 15 shows design parameters used for the problem. Totally 5 design parameters are used for design optimization.
Design optimization module in Ansys requires design variables and state variables. Design variables are geometric parameters
and state variables are nothing but deflection and stress conditions. The component represents the thickness used for the problem
also as initial values. CP collector is used for connecting the shell geometries. The design optimization also requires objective
function which is nothing but weight of the structure. Sub problem approximation is used for obtaining the design sets.
Parameters
MAXD
in mm
T1
in mm
T2
in mm
T3
in mm
T4
in mm
T5
in mm
WT
in Kg
Parameters
MAXD
in mm
T1
in mm
T2
in mm
T3
in mm
T4
in mm
T5
in mm
WT
in Kg
Variables
Table - 1(a)
Design optimization
Set 1
Set 2
(Feasible) (Feasible)
Set 3
(Feasible)
Set 4
(Feasible)
SV
2.2715
2.7385
3.9719
2.8230
DV
5.0000
4.6943
4.2358
4.5855
DV
8.0000
5.2859
7.2392
5.9106
DV
9.0000
5.3280
3.0200
7.1709
DV
10.000
7.8466
6.2837
3.4900
DV
12.000
7.8380
5.8826
6.1255
OBJ
2039.2
1606.3
1354.4
1616.6
Set 12
(Feasible)
Set 13
(Feasible)
Variables
Table - 1(b)
Design optimization
Set 6
Set 11
(Feasible) (Feasible)
SV
2.8517
4.0010
4.0308
4.0266
DV
4.5441
4.2119
4.1976
4.2061
DV
5.7731
7.2384
7.2360
7.2349
DV
5.8654
3.0186
3.0137
3.0137
DV
8.6297
6.2832
6.2815
6.2815
DV
10.528
5.0940
3.5374
3.1471
OBJ
1657.9
1343.8
1329.1
1327.9
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Totally 13 sets are obtained with design optimization. The initial weight of 2039kgs is reduced to 1327.9kg after 13 iterations.
The results show 13th set gives the best weight satisfying the functional requirements. The final results are as follows.
The figure 16 shows deformation in the problem after design optimization. Maximum deformation is around 4.0266mm as
shown in the figure. Maximum deformations are observed at the right and left overhung regions due to higher unsupported
length. Also more deformations can be observed at the loading regions. The deformation should be within the limits as higher
deformations create problems. Higher deformations also create buckling of the structures. The blue region shows minimum
deformation in the problem as compared to the other regions.
The figure 17 shows maximum stress of 82.26Mpa after complete optimisaiton of the geometry using the design optimiser
tool. The stresses are maximum at the loading regions. But this stress is also less than the allowable stress of the material. Since
the deflection are reaching to limiting levels, the design optimiser closing the optimization by 13sets.
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Sl No
1
2
Theoretical
9.07
140
Table 2
Results comparison
Self-weight Initial Analysis (before optimization)
1.968
2.271
9.7
35.2
Table 2 shows the results comparisons of theoretical calculation, self-weight, initial analysis and final analysis after
optimization. The analysis result shows that the deflection and vonmises stresses are within the allowable limits and hence the
frame is safe.
The figure 18 shows displacement variation with reference to iterations. As iterations increased, the deflection is reaching to
the limiting deflection. From the 10 th set, almost the deflection is closing to the limiting deflection line indicating the
convergence of geometrical parameters satisfying the state functions.
The figure 19 shows weight variation with iterations. The weight is almost converged after 11 iteration as show in figure 19 (Not
much variation is observed). The weight is influenced by many parameters and is difficult to estimate theoretically. But design
optimiser has many tools to select the suitable values for the design parameters.
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The figure 20 shows influence of design parameters on weight optimization. The parameter T4 and T5 has more influence on
the weight as shown in figure. So design optimizer tool helps in estimating the influence of different parameters on objective
function. This objective function may be weight, natural frequencies or harmonic response.
Weight reduction due to optimization
Table 3
Weight reduction comparison
Before optimization 2039.2 Kg
After optimization
1327.79 Kg
Modal Analysis:
It is used to calculate the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a structure or structure.The modal analysis deals with the
dynamics behavior of mechanical structures under the dynamics excitation. The modal analysis helps to reduce the noise emitted
from the system to the environment. It helps to point out the reasons of vibrations that cause damage of the integrity of system
components. Using it, we can improve the overall performance of the system in certain operating conditions.
Stiffness of simply supported beam
K=48EI / l3
[16]
= (48 x 2 x 1011 x 4.5 x 106 x 10-12) / (6805 x 10-3)3
= 137087.974 N/m
Wn = Square root of (K/m)
= square root of (137087.97/5000)
= 5.23 rad/sec
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Mode shapes
134
135
Harmonic Analysis:
Since the conveyor is subjected to movement of the loading platforms, it is subjected to cyclic loads at the support locations. So
a response analysis is carried out to find possible resonance frequencies under loading.
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The figure 26 shows displacement due to harmonic loading. The response is taken from the highest response condition.
Maximum deformation is observed at the loading regions.
The figure 27 shows vonmises stress due to harmonic loading. Maximum stresses are limited to the loading regions. The
maximum stress development of 62.8Mpa is less than the allowable stress of the problem. So the design of conveyor is safe.
The figure 28 shows harmonic response due to the loading. The graph shows sufficient rigidity in the problem for the given
boundary conditions. Harmonic analysis helps to find the level of damping required to maintain structural safety.
137
Sl No
1
2
Table 5
Result comparison of structural and Harmonic analysis
Strain and Stress
Theoretical Structural Analysis Harmonic Analysis
Deflection in mm
9.07
4.026
4.66
Vonmises Stress in Mpa
140
82.76
62
The vonmises stress in harmonic analysis is less than the structural analysis this indicates that the structure is safe [18].
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
The analysis for overhead conveyor is carried out based on basic mechanics of materials equations and finite element software
ansys and the results are summarized as follows.
1) Initial secional dimmehnsions are calcualted based on simple bending moment equaiton and axial loadinng conditios.
2) The frame is constructed for the required dimensions and analysis is carried out by changing the load location after
identifying the critical locations. Shell element is used fo represeting the problmem. The mid surface is extracted and
meshed with 4 noded quad elemets and later shell properties are attached for analysis.
3) The results for stress and deformation of selfw weight are recorded alog with stress, lesser deformation then the allowable
deformation of 5mm. Ansys plot controls style option helps in three dimensional visulization of the problem. The analysis
results indicate design optimization is required due to over factor of safety in the problem.
4) A quad mesh with appropriate qulaity critier is applied for the better results satisfying the aspect ratio, warpage, skew angle
and jacobian. The loads are applied at the edge location as analysis is carreied out only for critical locations. Point loads
are applied simulating the 4 wheel positions. Both deformation and stress pictures are captured. Since the material is
ductile, vonmises stress is captured. The analysis results shows sucesses for stress conditions for the given loading
conditions.
5) The conveyor is optimised by varying the thickness of members until the structural safety is obtained and all the design
sets are represented. .Further analysis is carried out to find spectru aalysis.
IX. FURTHER SCOPE
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
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