Stresses Due to Gravity

The force acting on a structure under the influence of gravity is commonly called the gravitational force. When designing the structure, it is important to take the gravitational force into account. Even in the absence of external operating loads, the weight of the structure is always acting on the body and is trying to pull the structure towards the earth” the larger the structure, the more its weight. Therefore, large structural components such as lifting cranes and forks are designed considering the gravitational load and the actual external loads during operation. In this course, we will learn about these stresses developed due to the Earth's gravity on a canonical structural component.

This SimCafe Structural Course was developed by Dr. Rajesh Bhaskaran, Swanson Director of Engineering Simulation at Cornell University, and Matthew Ryan Scott, in partnership with Ansys. It was last modified by Sebastien Lachance-Barrett. It serves as an e-learning resource to integrate industry-standard simulation tools into courses and provides a resource for supplementary learning outside the classroom. The following course demonstrates the use of the end-to-end workflow on Ansys Mechanical to simulate and study stresses in a component subjected to Earth's gravitational force.

For more ways to learn, check out the Cornell edX course, A Hands-on Introduction to Engineering Simulations at ansys.com/cornell.

Cornell University also offers a Fluid Dynamics Simulations Using Ansys online certificate authored by Dr. Rajesh Bhaskaran. Learn more here: https://ecornell.cornell.edu/fluiddynamics

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