FACULTY OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA

86400 PARIT RAJA, JOHOR

BDA 20402 (ENGINEERING MATERIALS SELECTION)

EXERCISES – FUNCTION, OBJECTIVE & CONSTRAINT

Task: Identify the function, objective, constraint(s) and free variable(s) for each design
cases below.

S1 In the filament winding process for advanced composites, the high strength fiber is unwound
from a spool and wound around a form to produce the final shape, which is then
impregnated with an epoxy matrix. The fiber passes through a guide that keeps the fiber
from tangling, and must elastically bend to even out the tension in the fiber as it is wound
onto the final form. The fiber guide can be modeled as a cantilever beam of circular cross
section with an end load. An important feature of the design is that the guide does not
permanently deform (yield) under the load applied by the fiber winding operation.

Assume the length, L, is fixed, but the radius, r, is free to vary. For dynamic considerations,
the mass must be kept as small as possible.

S2 You need to design an axe handle for a standard fireman's axe. Since the head will hit the
wall or door of the burning building while being held in two hands, you decide to model the
axe handle as a simply supported beam with a center load, F. The handle length is fixed by
fire fighting standards, but the cross sectional area is not. You decide to design the
strongest axe handle (maximum load, F) for which the cost, $, does not exceed $max.

S3 You have been asked to help a world famous sculpture artist with a new project. Part of the
design calls for an array of long, slender cantilever beams extending from the side of a
building. The artist has a fixed length in mind for each beam, and for esthetic purposes, she
wants the beams to be square cross sections (b X b) that are as thin as possible (smallest
possible b).
Each beam has a limit on the end deflection, DELTA, and also it should not break under load.
S4 You were asked to design a lightweight artificial igloo, modeled as a hollow hemisphere, with
diameter, 2R, is fixed. The wall thickness, t, is free. It must support a top load, W, with a
deflection of less than . The shell must not conduct more heat than q o [W] for a fixed
temperature difference, .

S5 A recent engineering graduate wants to make the world a better place for burger-flippers
everywhere by designing a better spatula. To work well, the burger-flipping tool must meet
two constraints:

o The end deflection (DELTA) while under load (F) must be less than DELTA o, and
o The heat conducted (h) up the handle from the cook surface must be less than ho for
the temperature difference of DELTA-T.

To make the flipper useful, it must cost as little as possible. Assume the flipper to be a
cylinder of radius R and fixed length, L.

S6 I am in the process of building a cryogenic refrigerator for liquid helium temperatures

(4.2K). A part of the design includes a control valve that will throttle the flow of gaseous
helium through a tube at low temperatures. To adjust the valve, the operator will have to
turn a knob that is not at 4K, so that the valve stem must be long enough to extend out of
the liquid helium into the warmer room temperature outside the experimental container.
Help me pick a material for the job. The length of the valve stem is fixed, but we can change
the cross sectional area, as well as the shape. The measure of performance is minimum
cross sectional area, because whatever the material is, I need to reduce the heat flow from
room temperature to the liquid helium through the valve stem. The main constraint is
yielding in torsion of the stem as it is turned (the valve often sticks and a fairly large torque
must be applied to free and turn the valve.
ANSWERS:

Question Function Objective Constraint Free Variables

S1 Beam Minimize mass - the guide does not Radius, r
permanently deform
(yield) under the
applied load
S2 Beam Maximize load, F - the cost, $ must not Cross-sectional
exceed $max. area, A
S3 Beam Minimize thickness, - deflection must not Cross-sectional
b exceed  area, A (b)

- should not break

under load, F
S4 Hollow Minimize mass - support top load, W Thickness, t
hemisphere with deflection < 

- must not conduct heat

> qo
S5 Beam Minimize cost - the end deflection Radius, r
must be < deltao

- the heat conducted

must be < ho
S6 Control Valve Minimize cross- - yielding under torsion Cross-sectional
sectional area (heat of stem area, A
flow)