Comparison between Analytical Equation and Numerical Methods for Determining Shear Stress in a Cantilever Beam

A three meter-length cantilever beam loaded with a concentrated load at its free end is studied to determine shear stresses. In the present study, three cross sections are considered: rectangle (R); I, and T. The study presents a comparison of maximum shear stresses obtained by means of two methods: classical analytical equation derived by Collingnon, and finite element method (FEM) software. Software programs ANSYS and SAP2000 were used. The results show difference between the maximum shear stresses obtained by the analytical equation and the software, being the last is always higher. The average differences for ANSYS and SAP2000, independently of the cross section, were 12.76% and 11.96%, respectively. Considering these differences, correction factors were proposed to the classical analytical formula for each cross section case to obtain more realistic results. After the correction, the average differences decrease to 1.48% and 4.86%, regardless of the cross section shape.

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