Variable Mass Elongate Structure for Load Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing structural assemblies with elongated members face challenges in attaching these members to adjacent support members with adequate load transfer without increasing weight and cost, particularly under high loading conditions, and designing such members with desired weight and performance characteristics is complex, leading to increased manufacturing time and cost.
Innovation Solution
The structural assembly features an elongate structure with a varying mass, height, and web thickness along its length, where the mass and height decrease near the support structure and increase away from it, optimizing material distribution to resist bending moments and buckling, and using a method that includes loading, reacting, and unloading the structural load.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If elongated structural members are used to provide flexural and torsional stiffness, then structural performance is improved, but weight and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flange width of the elongated structural member is made variable along its length, with the first flange portion having a different width than the second flange portion. This local variation in geometry allows the member to provide adequate stiffness where needed while reducing material usage and weight in regions where full stiffness is not required, directly resolving the contradiction between structural performance and weight.
2Strength
If elongated structural members are designed with desired performance characteristics, then structural efficiency is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The design implements local quality by varying the flange width only in specific regions (first and second flange portions) while maintaining a simpler web structure. This targeted approach provides the necessary structural performance characteristics without requiring complex geometry throughout the entire member, thus improving structural efficiency while limiting the increase in device complexity and manufacturing cost.
3Reliability
If elongated structural members are attached to support members with adequate load transfer, then reliability is improved, but weight and cost increase due to attachment fittings
Solution Approach 1:
The variable flange width design serves multiple functions: it provides adequate stiffness for structural performance, reduces overall weight of the member, and creates optimized attachment surfaces that can improve the efficiency of load transfer to support members. By making the flange width variable, the structure achieves better multi-functionality, potentially reducing the need for additional heavy attachment fittings while maintaining reliable load transfer.
Data Source
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AI summary
A structural assembly includes a support structure and an elongate structure intersecting the support structure. The elongate structure has a length and a mass. The mass of the elongate structure varies along the length of the elongate structure. A localized mass of the elongate structure decreases toward the support structure and increases away from the support structure.