The Effect of Inclined Loads on the Large Deflection Behaviour of Elastoplastic Work-Hardening Straight and Pre-Bent Cantilevers

Abstract

A theoretical analysis is presented to examine the effect of inclined tip load on the large deflection behaviour of an elastoplastic cantilever with linear work hardening. The cantilever is either initially straight or pre-bent to a tip angle of ø (see Fig. 1). When the load is large enough, the overall deformation of a pre-bent cantilever is smaller than that of an initially straight one as a result of the influence of the guided end. The maximum plastic region s_pm in the cantilever increases with the force angle ø and the plastic-elastic modulus ratio α, but decreases as the beam flexibility parameter β increases. Some unstable deformation may occur in the initially straight cantilever when ø > π/2 and this depends on the value of α and β. Reasonable agreement is obtained between the theoretical analysis and experimental results.