Strategies for the analysis of uniform shafts

This section describes the structural details and the modeling strategy for the analysis of shafts using the SOLIDWORKS simulation environment.

Structural details

The technical details presented for the analysis of beams/frames in Chapter 3, Analyses of Beams and Frames, are also applicable to the analysis of simple shafts. This means you will need to know the following technical details ahead of the analysis:

• Dimensions:
  • Details of the cross-section
  • Geometric length
• Material properties
• External loads applied to the shaft
• The support provided to the shaft to prevent rigid body motion

Modeling strategies

The strategy to be adopted for creating the geometric model of a shaft to be analyzed will often depend on the complexity of the structural details. Assuming we restrict ourselves to long straight shafts with simple and uniform cross-sections, then we may choose to adopt either of the following approaches...