ME 272 Final Problem 3 By Valerie Lease

Problem #3 requested the maximum deflection for a 5 lbf/in load as well as the first 5 modes of a bicycle pedal. To begin this model, points were created in the plane with their XYZ coordinates. These points were used to create curves which were in turn used to create surfaces. These surfaces were then extruded into solids. The results of this process is seen below.

To create the elements, each curve of the solid was defined to have a certain number of mesh seeds. Care was taken to make sure the seeds matched up for each solid. The solids were then meshed to create elements.

The end of the pedal was fixed by creating zero displacements nodes. A distributed force was placed on the pedal by first calculating the load needed for each node (ie 5 lb/in*5in/11 nodes). This load was then placed along the nodes in the center of the pedal.

After a material of steel was defined and the elements properly defined, two separate load cases were created. First, a load case for the deflection was created with both the fixed end and the load. Second a load case for the modal calculation was created with the fixed end only as there are no loads needed.

The resulting analysis for the deflection case can be seen below. This shows the deformation of the pedal only.

The stress locations found with the analysis are shown here. The deformation is also shown for reference.

The first mode of the modal calculation is shown here. Bending along Z

Second mode = Bending along X

Third mode = Bending along Y

Fourth mode = Bending along Z and X

Fifth mode = Bending along Z and Y

I know this mode wasn’t asked for but I included it because I thought it looked cool. Have a great summer!! See you in ME 276.