Verification of the Mechanical Behavior of S235JR Steel Using Finite Element Analysis Approach and Theoretical Engineering Calculations

This study aims to investigate the differences and deviations between theoretical engineering calculations and numerical results obtained from finite element analyses for S235JR steel, which is widely used in structural and mechanical engineering applications. Tensile, torsional, and three-point bending loading conditions were considered. The loading cases were modeled using the finite element software ABAQUS and ANSYS. The numerical results were compared with reference values calculated using classical engineering equations. Because S235JR steel is widely used in engineering designs, examining the consistency between theoretical calculations and numerical results obtained from different software environments is important for both academic research and engineering practice. For this purpose, specimen geometries, material properties, boundary conditions, and loading types were defined identically in both software programs. This approach ensured that the observed differences mainly resulted from solution algorithms and numerical formulations rather than modeling choices. Key parameters that directly affect the analysis results, such as mesh density, element type, and solver selection, were carefully controlled. Stress distributions, deformation behavior, and maximum displacement values were evaluated separately for ABAQUS and ANSYS and compared with theoretical calculations. The results indicate that the deviations between theoretical and numerical outputs vary between approximately 1% and 10%, depending on the type of test. Overall, the numerical results show good agreement with theoretical predictions. However, small but measurable differences were observed due to software-specific numerical approaches. These findings demonstrate that a comparative numerical analysis approach supported by theoretical calculations is effective for validating finite element models and obtaining reliable results in engineering applications.