{"id":1571,"date":"2024-12-23T14:34:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T22:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/superwomansolutions.com\/engtechnica\/?p=1571"},"modified":"2024-12-24T11:21:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T19:21:57","slug":"the-candy-cane-drops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/superwomansolutions.com\/engtechnica\/the-candy-cane-drops\/","title":{"rendered":"The Candy Cane Drops and Shatters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

‘Tis the season for festive engineering. This year, I decided to put my finite element analysis skills to work on a seasonal icon: the candy cane. We all know the perils that follow once you see your beloved candy cane fall and shatter. With Ansys LS-Dyna, I set out to simulate what happens when a candy cane falls onto a rigid surface. Read on to see how I designed the experiment, developed a material model, and simulated the drop test\u2014all while keeping things festive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building the Model<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To capture the candy cane’s iconic stripes in the model, I utilized mesh morphing. Although the candy cane’s twisting introduced some skewing in the elements, we embraced the festive spirit and made the engineering assumption that this was acceptable. Hopefully, this keeps us off Santa\u2019s naughty list!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I started this project with a candy cane plan, A sweet little profile to fit in my hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A cylinder came next, with a mesh oh so fine, to twist into something quite festive, divine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some profiles I made to help with the task, for morphing the mesh\u2014it\u2019s easy, just ask!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The stripes now appear in a classic design, they twist and they shimmer, a sight so fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 With morphing complete, the mesh is just right; this candy cane\u2019s ready\u2014it\u2019s quite the delight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Material Definition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand the candy cane’s brittle behavior, I performed a simple 3-point bend test on a sample. The Sample broke around 50N of pressure. I did a quick bend test simulation in LS-Dyna to help determine Young\u2019s modulus and fracture stress to use in the drop simulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are many material models available in LS-Dyna, and a quick search of material databases yielded no results for candy canes. So, to keep things simple, I used *MAT_ELASTIC and *MAT_ADD_EROSION to add a sudden failure criterion since candy canes shouldn\u2019t have much, if any, permanent deformation before failure. A more sophisticated material model could be built, but in the interest of having more time for family this holiday season, we will keep it simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Candy Cane Bend Test 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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