Jewels mechanics: structural research applied in conception and development

Abstract

The creation and production of jewelry, as adornment objects, started at the beginnings of humanity. Throughout the history, the construction techniques were improved, but production methods of the jewelry industry still have an empirical feature. With this premise, this research analyzes the simulation and evaluation of jewelry, in stages before the production. Searching how the structural analysis through finite elements can support designers in first steps of jewelry development. First the test body, a virtual model, is created through the software Rhinoceros 3D. This model is exported to software Abaqus CAE, where material properties, loads and support conditions are inputted, simulating the situation of daily use. For the material, it is opted for the silver because it is a precious metal widely used in the jewelry industry. The results of simulations in Abaqus CAE allow the evaluation of minimum and maximum von Mises stresses as the displacements generated in the 3D model. The process helps to identify fragile points in the structure or points in which it is possible to be a reduction of the used material. The results show the importance of this kind of analysis applied before the production, taking jewelry as structures subject to external loads of destructive character and searching for the suitable way for optimizing the use of materials.