Strength of wheat and Barley stems and design of new beam/columns (Q710405)

Summary: In this study, physical and mechanical properties of wheat and barley stems are examined. Transverse sections of the stems are magnified by a microscope and the material structure in the transverse sections are analysed with image processing programs. Geometric properties such as inner, outer radius, stem wall thickness and density variation of the material along the radius are measured and density variations are approximated by a mathematical model. Moment of inertia of the cross-sectional area which plays a vital role in resistance against bending and buckling is calculated approximately. Using the material density variations of the wheat (Triticum sativum L.) stems, new beam/columns are designed. Stress distributions in this new design and conventional designs of equivalent weight are compared using ANSYS program. It is found that stresses are more uniformly distributed in the new design with maximum stresses being lower than the conventional designs.