Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Floor Structure for Refrigerated Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle body floor structures, particularly in refrigerated vehicles, face issues with weight optimization and moisture sensitivity due to the use of wooden cross beams, which compromise stability and increase weight.
Innovation Solution
The floor structure incorporates cross and longitudinal members made from fiber-reinforced plastic material, embedded with reinforcing fibers like glass, carbon, or natural fibers, which are pultruded, extruded, or injection molded to create lightweight, stable, and moisture-resistant components that can be designed with complex profiles to optimize space and insulating capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If wooden cross members are used in the floor structure, then the structure is simple to manufacture, but the weight increases and moisture sensitivity compromises stability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by replacing traditional wooden cross members with fiber-reinforced plastic materials. This composite construction combines the lightweight properties of plastic with the strength of embedded fibers, achieving both weight reduction and improved mechanical properties while maintaining ease of manufacture through modern composite fabrication processes
2Ease of manufacture
If wooden cross members are used in the floor structure, then the structure is simple to manufacture, but moisture sensitivity weakens mechanical properties and reduces stability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials that inherently resist moisture while maintaining structural integrity. The plastic matrix protects the reinforcing fibers from moisture exposure, eliminating the rot and degradation issues associated with wooden cross members, thereby significantly improving reliability and stability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters by transitioning from hygroscopic wood to hydrophobic plastic-based composites. This fundamental material parameter change eliminates moisture absorption, preventing the weakening of mechanical properties and maintaining consistent stability across varying humidity conditions
3Weight of moving object
If fiber-reinforced plastic material is used for cross members and longitudinal members, then weight is reduced and stability is increased, but manufacturing complexity may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials that, while advanced, utilize well-established manufacturing processes such as pultrusion, injection molding, or hand-layup techniques. These processes, though more sophisticated than traditional woodworking, are industrially mature and can be automated, balancing the benefits of weight reduction and stability against manageable manufacturing complexity
4Volume of stationary object
If cross members are made with complex shapes to optimize space, then insulating effect is improved, but manufacturing difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the formability of fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials to create complex three-dimensional cross member shapes. These materials can be molded into intricate geometries that optimize space utilization and enhance thermal insulation performance, while the composite nature allows for integrated manufacturing of complex features without proportionally increasing difficulty
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the viscoelastic properties of composite materials during processing to achieve complex shapes. By controlling parameters such as mold temperature, curing time, and fiber orientation during fabrication, the material can be shaped into optimized geometries that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional wooden members
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a floor structure (10) of a vehicle body, in particular a refrigerated vehicle, with several cross members (11) and several longitudinal members (12), wherein the cross members (11) extend between the longitudinal members (12), and at least one upper cover layer (13) and one lower cover layer (14) which are firmly connected to the cross members (11) and/or longitudinal members (12), wherein at least the cross members (11) are arranged in a space (15) between the two cover layers (13, 14), wherein at least one of the cross members (11) and at least one of the longitudinal members (12) are formed from a plastic material with embedded reinforcing fibers.