Composite Beam With Steel Flitch Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wooden beams used in structural support applications face issues such as inconsistent performance, water absorption leading to strength loss, susceptibility to rot and insect damage, and environmental toxicity due to chemical treatments, making them unsuitable for exterior use.
Innovation Solution
A composite beam assembly comprising a plastics-based composite beam member and a steel or glass fiber reinforced flitch plate, secured together with rods, providing enhanced structural rigidity and strength, with the flitch plate's design allowing for longitudinal movement to accommodate expansion and contraction, and being resistant to water and chemical absorption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If wooden beams are used for structural support, then they are readily available and relatively inexpensive, but they absorb water and lose strength, becoming water-logged and heavy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining plastics-based composite beam members with flitch plates (steel or glass fiber reinforced resin) to create a reinforced composite beam assembly. This composite structure provides the availability and cost benefits of plastics while adding the strength and stability of metal or reinforced resin flitch plates, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and strength maintenance in wet conditions.
2Ease of manufacture
If wooden beams are used for structural support, then they are readily available and relatively inexpensive, but they are prone to fungus and insect attack, rotting and deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The plastics-based composite beam members in the reinforced composite beam assembly are inherently resistant to fungus, insect attack, rotting and deterioration. By combining these durable plastics composites with flitch plates, the patent achieves both the availability/cost benefits and the extended service life with high reliability, eliminating the biological degradation issues of traditional wood.
3Reliability
If wooden beams are treated with chemicals to preserve them, then they resist rot in wet conditions, but they leach toxic chemicals back into the soil
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful chemical treatment process into a beneficial inert material selection. Instead of treating wood with toxic chemicals, the invention uses plastics-based composite materials that are inherently resistant to rot and deterioration without requiring any chemical treatments. This eliminates toxic chemical leaching while maintaining reliability in wet conditions.
4Ease of manufacture
If wooden beams are used for structural support, then they are readily available, but they are quickly eroded under the load and abuse of heavy equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The plastics-based composite beam members provide resistance to erosion and wear from heavy equipment, while the flitch plates add structural strength. This composite construction maintains availability while solving the erosion and wear problems of traditional wood beams under heavy loads.
5Reliability
If composite plastics material is used for railroad beam applications, then they resist rot and deterioration, but they have limitations in structural strength and rigidity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges plastics-based composite beam members with flitch plates (steel or glass fiber reinforced resin) to create a reinforced composite beam assembly. This combination combines the rot and deterioration resistance of plastics composites with the structural strength and rigidity of metal or reinforced resin flitch plates, resolving the limitations of using plastics alone for railroad beam applications.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composite beam assembly is lighter, stronger, and more durable than wooden beams, maintaining its properties and load-carrying capacity without degradation over time, even in wet conditions, and does not require chemical treatments, thus offering a consistent and environmentally friendly solution for structural support.
Implementation Method 1
The rod compresses the flitch plate and beam against each other in a lateral direction
Implementation Method 2
The beam assembly does not lose strength in prolonged wet conditions, nor does it absorb water, rot or otherwise deteriorate during use or exposure
Implementation Method 3
The hole in the flitch plate is in the form of a slot extending in the longitudinal direction to allow relative longitudinal movement between the flitch plate and the beam in response to longitudinal expansion and contraction of the beam
Data Source
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AI summary
A beam assembly includes a plastic composite beam and a flitch plate, where the flitch plate is secured to the plastic composite beam to improve the strength and rigidity of the beam. The assembly may include a plurality of rods extending through holes defined in the flitch plate and the beam to compress the flitch plate and the beam and to create a frictional engagement between the flitch plate and the beam. The flitch plate may have a height that is less than the height of the beam, such that upper and lower surfaces of the flitch plate are recessed from the upper and lower surfaces of the beam. The assembly may include two beams with a flitch plate disposed laterally between the beams. The flitch plate may include projections or protrusions that engage the beams to secure the flitch plate to the beams.