I have been trying to find out how much force the pins on my spanner wrench can withstand and I just cant seem to get the simulation right. Any help would be appreciated.
Link to the file: http://a360.co/2yDOSmk
How would I test the shear force for the pins on a spanner wrench?
Accepted solution
Hi Joe,
First of all, thank you for providing the model + setup, and a clear description of the issue.
To simulate what you're after, the Event Simulation study type may not be the best choice. If you were hitting the spanner with a hammer (a very small time duration on the order of 1000ths of a second) it would be perfect.
he minimum load needed to yield the material. The only change I made was to remove the fixed constraint on the bottom of the pins, and replace it with a frictionless constraint on the top face of the spanner. The frictionless constraint will lock down the open degree of freedom in the Y-direction (that was left open by the pin constraints). The removal of the fixed constraint was to set up the simulation closer to what I'd expect in 'real life'.
Once the solution is reached with the 1000 lbforce input load, we provide a minimum Factor of Safety result that is based upon the yield stress of the material (SF = yield stress / maximum von mises stress). We can use that minimum SF value as a multiplier of the original load, to arrive at the minimum input load required to induce yielding. I did this by adding a 2nd load case so you can easily switch between the two result views in the Legend control (load case 1 has the original load magnitude).
If you'd like to simulate the material behavior beyond the yield stress, use a nonlinear static stress study type. The NLSS study type can use a nonlinear material that contains a stress-strain curve that can be used to predict what will happen beyond the yield point. Also with an NLSS, the force is a 'follower force' that can update it's direction according to how the structure is bending. This is especially good for large deformations. For the problem at hand, small deformations and LSS is probably sufficient.
Hope this helps!
Best regards,
