Spring Positioning on a Cantilever beam

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around determining the optimal position for a spring attached to a cantilever beam to achieve a specific deflection at the beam's tip. The context includes concepts from structural mechanics, particularly focusing on cantilever beams, point loads, and the application of the method of superposition.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes a cantilever beam with a point load at the tip and seeks assistance in formulating a method to find the spring's position that results in a known deflection.
  • Another participant questions whether the inquiry is related to coursework and suggests posting efforts in the homework forums, indicating that the problem is statically indeterminate and can be approached using various methods.
  • A participant confirms the cantilever setup and clarifies the spring's perpendicular attachment to the beam.
  • Further inquiries are made about the participant's understanding of cantilever mechanics and the method of superposition.
  • One participant expresses familiarity with the method of superposition and indicates that they were attempting to apply it to the problem.
  • Ultimately, a participant claims to have solved the problem using superposition, polynomial manipulation, and verification through finite element analysis (FEA) software.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion includes a mix of guidance, clarification, and a claim of resolution. While one participant asserts they have found a solution, there is no consensus on the methods or approaches discussed, and the initial inquiry remains open to interpretation.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not provide explicit details on the mathematical expressions or the specific manipulations used to arrive at the solution, leaving some assumptions and steps unresolved.

HawksOkeyoJr
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Hallo guy,
I hope its not asking too much, but i really need help with this, Urgently.
I have a cantilever, with point load P=100 at the end tip.
A spring(K=500) attached to the cantilever perpendicularly at UNKNOWN position.
I KNOW the deflection at the end tip. and the rest of the parameters, the only thing UNKNOWN is the POSITION where i can place this spring to generate the known deflection at the tip.
Can somebody help me formulate a formula which can help me get this position.
I will appreciate your help guyz, am really stuck on this.
I hope its well understood, if not, i can generate a drawing and attach it.
Thank you guyz.
 
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Urgent or not, is this coursework?

If so post your efforts so far in the homework forums.

You should be able to find an expression for the distance of the spring from one end (call it s) and solve the expression for s.

Hints, there are several ways to do this - the cantilever is propped and therefore statically indeterminate.
You can use direct force methods to solve the beam equations or use indirect energy methods.
 
Thank you, i will do that next time.
The cantilever is fixed at the far end and the force is at the tip, the spring should lie and attached to the beam perpendicularly.
 
So what do you know about cantilevers and statically indeterminate structures?

Do you understand superposition?
 
Last edited:
Yes i do understand the Method of superposition. its the method i was trying to evaluate the problem with
 
So what do the equations you are trying to superpose look like?
 
I got the solution already, Using the Superposition formulas, i did some manupulations, used excel to solve a polynomial and cross-checked my Analytical process with FEA software.all is well.
Thank you.
 

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