Deflection analysis of uniform cross-section hollow rectangular cantilever beam with transverse stiffeners under UDL and concentrated load

Abstract

Offshore, bridges, steel structures, and heavy-duty equipment all use hollow cantilever beams. The great challenge for design engineers is to provide a better robust design of a cantilever beam that can withstand applied load with optimized design parameters. According to the literature review, strengthening a beam or plate can be accomplished by providing transversal and/or longitudinal stiffeners that can withstand post-buckling and lateral buckling moments. Thus, it is not sufficient for designers to provide only a better design of a part or component with the minimum weight and cost while ensuring optimum reliability and keeping the design secure in all loading conditions. The behavior of beam strength is influenced by various factors such as the number of stiffeners, their location, and their dimensional properties. In the present research, the slope and deflection equations of a uniform cross-sectional hollow rectangular cantilever beam with stiffeners subjected to concentrated and uniformly distributed load (UDL) and their combination are derived using Mohr's Moment area method. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was used to validate the results under known load and boundary conditions. The results demonstrate that the mathematical formulation can assist the design engineer in predicting the deflection of a cantilever beam under known loading and boundary conditions.