Q1) Design a minimum mass spring (shown in Fig.

) to carry a given axial load

(called tension-compression spring) without material failure and while satisfying
the performance requirement: the spring must deflect by at least D (in.)

Solution
Q2) Design a minimum cost cylindrical tank closed at both ends to contain a fixed
volume of fluid V. The cost is found to depend directly on the area of sheet metal
used.
Q3) The step-cone pulley shown in Fig. is to be designed for transmitting a power
of at least 0.75 hp. The speed of the input shaft is 350 rpm and the output speed
requirements are 750, 450, 250, and 150 rpm for a fixed center distance of a
between the input and output shafts. The tension on the tight side of the belt is to
be kept more than twice that on the slack side. The thickness of the belt is t and the
coefficient of friction between the belt and the pulleys is μ. The stress induced in
the belt due to tension on the tight side is s. Formulate the problem of finding the
width and diameters of the steps for minimum weight.

Solution
Determine the objective in terms of weight of the step cone pulley system.
Determine the constraints so as to have the belt equally tight on each pair of
opposite steps; the total length of the belt must be kept constant for all the output
speeds.)
Q4)Design a can closed at one end using the smallest area of sheet metal for a
specified interior volume of 600m3. The can is a right circular cylinder with
interior height h and radius r. The ratio of height to diameter must not be less than
1.0 and not greater than 1.5. The height cannot be more than 20 cm. Formulate the
design optimization problem.

Q5)Design a shipping container closed at both ends with dimensions b ￥ b ￥ h to

minimize the ratio: (round-trip cost of shipping the container only)/(one-way cost
of shipping the contents only). Use the following data:
Mass of the container/surface area: 80kg/m2
Maximum b: 10m
Maximum h: 18m
One-way shipping cost,
full or empty: $18/kg gross mass
Mass of the contents: 150kg/m3
Formulate the design optimization problem

Q6)Design a uniform column of tubular section, with hinge joints at both ends,
(Fig.) to carry a compressive load P = 2500 kgf for minimum cost. The column is
made up of a material that has a yield stress (σy ) of 500 kgf/cm2, modulus of
elasticity (E) of 0.85 × 106 kgf/cm2, and weight density (ρ) of 0.0025 kgf/cm3. The
length of the column is 250 cm. The stress induced in the column should be less
than the buckling stress as well as the yield stress. The mean diameter of the
column is restricted to lie between 2 and 14 cm, and columns with thicknesses
outside the range 0.2 to 0.8 cm are not available in the market. The cost of the
column includes material and construction costs and can be taken as 5 W + 2d,
where W is the weight in kilograms force and d is the mean diameter of the column
in centimeters.
Example Figure 2 shows two frictionless rigid bodies (carts) A and B connected
by three linear elastic springs having spring constants k1, k2, and k3. The springs
are at their natural positions when the applied force P is zero. Find the
displacements x1and x2 under the force P by using the principle of minimum
potential energy.