Stiffness Enhancement of Metallic Beam-Like Components

Stiffness is an important design criterion. Since bending deformations of structural components are much larger than tension/compression deformations under comparable loads, enhancement of bending stiffness of beam-like components is an important problem. Conventional techniques for stiffness enhancement (beefing up, optimization, use of high Young’s modulus materials) frequently do not achieve the desired results. The paper describes a novel approach to bending stiffness enhancement based on the inverse buckling effect. The beam is composed of the structural external member having an axial hole which is plugged and filled with a fusible metal alloy expanding during solidification thus stretching the external member and enhancing its stiffness. Experimental study resulting in 40% increase in bending stiffness is described.