Buckling analysis of cyclone separator stand using SolidWorks
Aim :
The aim of this analysis is to perform a Buckling Analysis on a Cyclone Separator Stand and comparison of the values of Factor Of Safety with and without the Stiffner.
Introduction:
What is Buckling Phenomenon ?
What is Buckling Analysis ?
Buckling Analysis is an FEA routine that can solve all the difficult buckling problems that cannot be solved by hand calculations. Linear Buckling (LBA) is the most common Buckling Analysis.
Types Of Buckling:
Lateral Torsional Buckling When the beam is in beginning, half of the cross-section is compressed, while the other half is in tension. The compressed part wants to “buckle” while the tension part tries to stabilize the whole beam. In the end, the beam will “twist” and fail if it won’t be supported laterally in a proper way. Think about it like about “normal buckling, but in bending not compression”. It’s also way worse to calculate… since you need to know the Critical Bending Moment.
Local buckling If you have a beam with a very slender web, it can happen that the web will buckle on its own, before the beam will fail due to buckling (or LTB in bending). This failure of a slender part may mean failure. However, often (especially in welded steel I-sections in bending) it can lead to another state of equilibrium where the beam is still working. Such conditions are usually called as “post-critical capacity” or “post-critical work”.
Buckling under shear Not only compression can cause buckling. Shear does this as well. You could argue that shear by default leads to compression and tension. But still, your FEA software will show you shear, rather than compression, so I think it’s fair to treat this as something different. You usually won’t have issues with this kind of stability… unless you are doing beams with slender webs, or you are designing shells/plate structures.
Shell stability Shells can fail due to compression in the longitudinal or circumferential direction, or due to shear. But usually, due to all of those effects combined in one way or another. Plus, this can happen in a local or global manner.
Cyclone Separator Stand model :
Cyclone Separator Stand model With a load of 150 kN withthe base being fixed
Meshing: Basic mesh
Material : Alloy Steel (Default)
Results Obtained :
Without Stiffener :
FOS Obtained without Stiffener:
With Stiffener:
A parametric Study is setup to vary the length of the stiffener from 250 mm to 1750 mm to find the optimum value.
Conclusion :
By the above analysis the results obtained are as follows.
The FOS value varies significantly from with the Stiffener to without the stiffener.
The FOS value Obtained without Stiffener is 9.3932 whereas the FOS value with a stiffener is 27.825 which means that the load carying capacity is 3 times the the original load carying capacity.