PSI - Issue 63

Petr Lehner et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 63 (2024) 43–50

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3. Numerical analysis 3.1. Geometry and boundary conditions

This paper describes the basic design procedure, numerical analysis, and evaluation of several detail variants. For this purpose, a wooden arch bridge joint was selected from a potential real experimental model. This mentioned arch bridge will be implemented and tested experimentally in the future. Therefore, it is advisable to analyse its joints numerically and determine their stiffness. Fig. 1 shows a simplified numerical model prepared in Ansys Workbech/Mechanical (ANSYS, 2020) software with its boundary conditions. The geometry of the model is based on a main wooden element of 10 x 10 mm cross-section, which is longitudinal, and a second element forming a diagonal upward. These two elements are connected by a 3D printed joint into which they are slid. The diagonal is also secured with two bolts. This model has clearly defined boundary conditions to infer the thrust in the diagonal direction. The contacts between the materials are set to a friction value of 0.4 and the model also contains 2 joints simulating a bolt (see Fig.2). Contacts between materials allow only the transfer of compressive forces. The force in the diagonal direction has a value of 1 KN.

Fig. 1. Part of the FEM model of joint and boundary conditions.