We're all shade tree mecahnics, I need a shade tree Engineer.
This is difficult for me because I tend to talk with my hands.... 
Two pieces of 1" angle iron 30" long lying on a bench facing each other. Two "L" shapes that if were touching would make the letter "U".
These two bars are 3" apart. At each end is a 3" square of metal welded and another 3" square welded in the center. The two pads on the end are going to be bolted to something, the pad in the center will have an unknown amount of force pressing down from above.
OK, now flip the thing over. Same attachment points at the ends, same force pressing down from above only now the U is upside down.
In the first scenario the vertical uprights of the angle iron are in compression.
In the second scenario the vertical uprights of the angle iron are in tension.
Is one arrangement preferable or stronger than the other?
Thank you for your support.
Dan
Tension. In compression it is free to buckle side to side. That's why you see I beams used, it reinforces and stablizes the webbing in that application.
As my civil engineer friend told me, it's like a pencil: Push on both ends and you will break it. Pull on both ends as hard as you can and it won't break.
"Push on both ends and you'll poke a hole in your hand"
Yep - place one leg of each flat with the vertical legs facing down. It may even be advantageous to have the downward facing legs on the insides of the flat faces, ie. closer together than farther apart.
motomoron wrote:
"Push on both ends and you'll poke a hole in your hand"
Yep - place one leg of each flat with the vertical legs facing down. It may even be advantageous to have the downward facing legs on the insides of the flat faces, ie. closer together than farther apart.
Yeah, I think it would be stronger like T than like U or n unless the downward force is unevenly distributed to the edges.
It's finished, angled in tension.
Thanks guys!
914Driver wrote: Thank you for your support.
I see what you did there. 
