DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

MEC 4630 - Vehicle Structural Design & Material Selection

Assignment #1 (LO1)
Due Date: 2 March 2016 (3:30 pm Beginning of lecture)

Question 1 [20 marks]

Question 2 [20 marks]

Use the principal of virtual work.

Question 3 [20 marks]

(a) Define strain energy. (5 marks)
(b) The simply supported beam having a square cross section is subjected to a uniform load w =
9 kN/m. Take E = 3G = 210 GPa, L = 6 m, a = 100 mm. Using the principal of virtual work:
i. Determine the maximum deflection of the beam caused by bending and shear (fs = 6/5).
(9 marks)
ii. If shear is neglected, what would be the maximum deflection? Comment on the results in
(i) and (ii). (6 marks)
Question 4 [20 marks]
(c) The four-bar truss is subjected to a vertical force of 10 kN and a horizontal force of 75 kN. If
the cross-sectional area of each member is 1935 mm2 and E = 203 GPa, use Castigliano’s
theorem to determine the horizontal displacement at point B. (10 marks)
(d) If the horizontal force of 75 kN is removed, what would be the new value of the horizontal
displacement at point B? (10 marks)

Question 5 [20 marks]

(a) Briefly describe the measures to realize lightweight constructions of the vehicle structure.
(3 marks)
(b) The wide-flange beam has a length of 2a and a constant EI. Using Castigliano’s theorem:
i. Determine the slope at point A when the beam is subjected to a load P at point C (Fig.
5a). (7 marks)
ii. If the beam is subjected to a moment M0 instead of the load P (Fig. 5b), what would be
the slope at point A? (7 marks)
iii. Comment on the conditions for the slope at point A to be the same in (i) and (ii).
(3 marks)

Fig. 5a Fig. 5b