Static Analysis of a Tapered Beam Using Excel and Ansys

Beams are slender members that are used for supporting transverse loading, and produces significant bending deformation measured as a transverse displacement and a rotation. Long horizontal members used in buildings and bridges and shafts supported in bearings are some examples of beams. Degrees of freedom at each node of a beam element are transverse displacement and rotation. A beam is a long prismatic bar either in 2D or in 3D space, designed to support external pressures and forces. The external forces may be perpendicular or inclined at an angle to the axis of the beam. Beams are normally considered to be horizontal and straight, whose one dimension is longer than the other dimensions. In this paper we present analysis of a tapered beam using finite element method concepts. Extracting the results using Excel and comparing the results using ANSYS software. The main objective of this thesis are to calculate the displacement and stresses for the tapered beam using excel and comparing the results gained using ANSYS.