Static Deflection Analyzer

The first project MungosWorks took on was the development of a computer program. A company from the Westland wanted to quickly calculate the structural properties of tube rail systems on which their irrigation vehicles were driving. The tube rails occasionally lifted themselves out of the hooks in which they laid. This behaviour had to be analyzed and predicted. Thanks to this project SDA was born. A screenshot from this piece of software can be found below.

Click on the picture above for a larger version
Program is currently only available in Dutch

This screenshot shows the deformation of the tube rail when the mass of a vehicle riding on top of it is increased. The mass of the vehicle is increased from 150 kg to 250 kg per tube rail. The two final graphs show that the tube rail is being lifted out of the hook. This is indicated by a small circle around the hook out of which the tube rail is lifted. This way it is easily visible where and how large the problem is.

The program has been tested in real life. The forces exerted on the hooks have been measured during the passage of a heavy vehicle, making it possible to analyse a dynamic situation. It has been shown that the forces exerted on the hooks were less than 5% off of the calculated values, mostly a lot less. This test was extremely successful. Further the true deformation of a tube rail has been measured during loading. The difference between real life and SDA never exceeded 1 millimetre. SDA has easily withstood the real life test, and has proven itself a valuable asset for the analysis of the deformation and lifting behaviour of tube rail systems.