Measuring angle

[Anonymous]

Hello,

We would like to know if it possible to measure the angle of a face which was deflected. See the picture.

The dimensions and load (force, moment etc.) are not relevant at this moment. The red arrow points at a face, which is clearly rotated with respect to its unloaded counterpart. What is the angle between these faces? Help would be really appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

AJ

[scott.kohls · Accepted solution]

That is not possible since deflection is typically not linear or uniform.  That is, the part bends into a curved shape so there is no flat face to which an angle can be measured.  The best you can do is evaluate the amount of deflection at a given point.  Using some trigonometry, you could then calculate the angle to that particular point but the answer would not necessarily be valid for others points on the deflected face.