
Assessing the Impact of Changes on Design and Material of Howe Bridges by Finite Element Analysis
Author(s) -
Jairo Aparecido Martins,
Estaner Claro Romão
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of applied physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2684-4451
DOI - 10.24018/ejphysics.2021.3.3.82
Subject(s) - von mises yield criterion , structural engineering , finite element method , truss , bridge (graph theory) , truss bridge , stress (linguistics) , aluminium , materials science , engineering , composite material , medicine , linguistics , philosophy
This paper presents an investigation of changes on design and material of a Howe bridge under vertical loads. Specifically, it aimed to find out how small changes on Howe bridge design and material affected von Mises stresses as well as stresses at Z direction. As a method, it was used a finite element analysis (linear-elastic) by Autodesk F-360. Half of a bridge was designed (one bridge side) and loaded with a central higher load and two equal smaller lateral loads. In essence, von Mises stresses (s) and stress at Z direction (sz) decreased on stresses values until a certain design change, which was proportional to a raise of mass due to beams added on the trusses. With a change of material to a lighter metal, from steel to aluminum, it was possible to overcome the mass drawback brought by steel and utterly possible to end up for a more effective design for a Howe truss bridge by applying minimal design changes.