IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 232 FE-INVESTIGATION OF SEMI CIRCULAR CURVED BEAM SUBJECTED TO OUT-OF-PLANE LOAD Rakshith N 1 , Chethan S 2 , Manjunatha H S 3 , Suresh Kumar S 4 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engg, ATME College of engineering, MYSORE, Karnataka, India. 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engg, ATME College of engineering, MYSORE, Karnataka, India. 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engg, ATME College of engineering, MYSORE, Karnataka, India. 4 Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engg, ATME College of engineering, MYSORE, Karnataka, India. Abstract Curved beams are used as machine or structural members in many applications. Based on application of load they can be classified into two categories. Curved beams subjected to In-Plane loads are more familiar and are used for crane hooks, C- clamps etc. The other categories of curved beams are the ones that are subjected to out-of-plane loads. They find applications in automobile universal joints, raider arms and many civil structures etc.The results of this research on semicircular curved beam subjected to out-of-plane loads have revealed some interesting results. For semicircular curved beams subjected to out-of-plane loads, it is shown that every section is subjected to a combination of transverse shear force, bending moment and twisting moment. By using ANSYS tool it is shown that Maximum principal stress occurs at section 120 degrees from the section containing the loading line. Moreover it is observed that fixed end of this curved beam is subjected to a state of pure shear. Key Words: Semi circular curved beam, Stress in curved beam, Out-of-plane load, FE analysis. --------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION Curved beams are the parts of machine members found in C clamps, crane hooks, frames of presses, punching machines, planers automobile components etc. In straight beams the neutral axis of the section coincides with its centroidal axis and the stress distribution in the beam is linear. But in the case of curved beams the neutral axis of is shifted towards the centre of curvature of the beam causing a non linear distribution of stress. Rakshith et al.[1]derived an expression for semi circular curved beam subjected to out of plane load. Fonseca et al. [2] studied curved pipes subjected to in-plane loads, Stefano Lenci et al.[3] a 3-d mechanical model of curved beam is analysed by them, Saffari et al.[4] sudies by using circular arc element based on trignometric functions foe in-plane loads, Clive et al.[5] investigated end loaded shallow curved beams of in-plane load type, Öz et al.[6] analysed in plane vibrations of curved beam having open crack, Aimin Yu et al.[7] made a work on naturally twisted curved beams of thin walled sections that of inplane loads. Stress analysis of curved beams subjected to out-of-plane loads also is important as such beams are used in many machine and structural applications. This paper attempts to analyse the stresses induced in such a curved beam by using analysis tool Ansys. 1.1 Assumptions Some of the assumptions made to derive expression of principle stress for curved beam subjected to Out-Of-Plane load case are as follows,  The radius of curvature is assumed much larger than the section radius.  The material is assumed to be linearly elastic.  The beam is assumed to be geometrically planar, i.e., the un-deformed axis of the beam is assumed to be a circle lying in the plane of the beam.  The cross section is assumed to be constant and with the same orientation with respect to the plane of the beam, so that there is no initial torsion.. Figure 1: Curved beam with In-Plane load