Design, Manufacturing and Testing Process of Buckling and Bending Testing Machine Using Systematic Method

Abstract

In this work, a new testing machine is designed and manufactured with two main functions, i.e., buckling and bending experiment. This machine is designed for classroom demonstrations, or students working in pairs or small groups. The buckling experiment is used to show the buckling phenomenon and to determine critical buckling load for struts with pinned and clamped ends for various strut lengths. The struts for buckling test are made from aluminum alloys with section 2 mm × 20 mm and various lengths of 300mm, 350mm, 400mm, 450mm, 500mm. The bending experiment is carried out to find the flexural rigidity of a strut. The supports of strut in bending test can be changed to fixed, pinned, and rolled supports. The strut of bending test is made from aluminum alloys and common steel with section 3 mm × 20 mm and length 600 mm. Using a systematic method, the development of the machine is broken downinto 3 stages. The first stageof the systematic process is to define the specification based on requirements and objectives. In the second stage, the conceptual design is performed. It comprises the evaluation of the function to find advantages and disadvantages of the components based on the design requirements setup earlier and the comparison of the design concepts against several existing machines was made. Based on this evaluation, the final design is selected for stage 3 of the detail design stage. In this final stage, each component is designed and analyzed in detail. Based on the result of design stage, the testing machine is then manufactured in the Universitys workshop. The evaluation of the machine shows a new design that meets the requirements and objectives. The measurements of critical buckling loads and bending displacements for various strut lengths are in good agreements with analytical calculation. The margins are less than 5 percent.