Section Modulus calculation and optimization

Section modulus is the resistance provided by the cross sectional area of an object to resist the bending force applied on it. It is calculated by taking the ratio of moment of inertia to the distance between the neutral axis and the extreme end of the object.

Here I have attached the cross sectional area of the hood I designed and it's moment of inertia, before and after modification. The distance between the neutral axis and the extreme end of the hood was found to be 439.789mm.

The minimum moment of inertia before modification was found to be 2.9914*e⁵ mm⁴ and thus after calculation, the section modulus before modification is 680.1921mm³.

The hood's cross section was then modified by increasing the distance between inner panel and outer panel by 0.5mm. After this modification, the minimum moment of inertia before modification was found to be 3.0306*e⁵ mm⁴.

After the calculation, the section modulus of the hood after modification was found to be increased to 689.1123mm³. The pictures of the hood cross section are attached here for reference.