Structural Analysis of Support Structures for Industrial Cooking Pans A Finite Element Study of the GS23 Series

Sammanfattning

This study presents structural analyses of the right-side support structures used inthe GS23 series of industrial cooking pans developed by Steeltech. The analyseswere performed using the finite element method (FEM) to assess stress, deformations,and structural stability under representative static load cases. Two supportstructure variants were considered, corresponding to pan sizes of 150-300 L and 50-100 L, respectively.The results show that both structures are conservatively dimensioned, with all stresslevels remaining below the material yield strength of 252 MPa. The safety factorswere approximately 3.2 for the 150-300 L structure and 3.6 for the 50-100 L structure.The most critical region in both designs was identified at the motor mountinghole. The stress levels always remained within acceptable limits.A linear eigenvalue buckling analysis showed high load multiplier factors, suggestingthat both structures are far from their critical buckling loads. The maximum totaldeformation was small in all load cases and is not expected to affect performance.A thickness sensitivity study showed that the 150-300 L structure is sensitive tothickness reductions of rectangular hollow sections (RHS) beams below 2 mm, wherestresses increase significantly. The 50-100 L structure is less sensitive and shows nosignificant increase in stress when the RHS beam thickness is reduced from 3 mmto 1.5 mm. This suggests potential for material savings.The current designs provide sufficient structural performance under the consideredload cases. While optimisation potential exists through thickness reduction, greaterimprovements may be achieved through design modifications aimed at manufacturingefficiency.