Analysis of fibreglass reinforced plastic moulded grating

Abstract

Moulded grating is a lattice of connected beams that has wide applications in various industries. In the case of structural applications, deflection control is usually expected to be the limiting factor in design rather than strength control. Thus, this research is mainly focused on an analytical solution to predict the load-deflection behaviour of a moulded grating under concentrated and uniform loads. The general differential equation of an orthotopic plate is expanded by considering a moulded grating as several beams with bending and torsional rigidities. Afterward, the developed model is validated by a finite element modelling technique as well as by the experimental data provided by Strongwell Company. Results showed that the data obtained by the proposed analytical model and those of the finite element method and experimental are in good agreement. Thus, using a developed closed form solution method in this article, the deflection of a grid with any arbitrary dimensions and meshes can be calculated properly.