Forces on a C-frame

[dogarila]

Suppose I have a C-frame with the base on the ground. There is a hydraulic cylinder on the lower side of the C pressing a tube into a part clamped and supported at two locations by the upper side of the C. The cylinder force is 10000 lbs. How should I describe the loads to do a quick FEA of the frame in CosmosExpress? Just a general idea.

1. Base fixed and the whole force in the centre of the upper side of C?
2. Base fixed and the force divided in two applied at the support locations of the upper side of C?
3. Base fixed and half of the force applied to the upper side of C and half to the lower side of C?
4. ???

Thanks,

 

[mloew]

netshop21,

Draw the Free Body Diagram to resolve the forces. This is really elemental to what you are doing.

If you will be performing analysis with a FE code, it is recommended that you only constrain your model such that you only remove the rigid body motion and your constraints are not reacting any (significant) load back on the model. Your forces should be applied so that the model is in static equilibrium (use your forces from the FBD).

Good luck!


Best regards,

Matthew Ian Loew
"Luck is the residue of design."
Branch Rickey

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.