Pultruded Walkable Surface With Integrated Anti-Slip Projections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing walkable surfaces made of wood, plastic, or metal are prone to deterioration, slippery when wet, and require additional anti-slip elements that can detach or compromise structural integrity, leading to high costs and reliability issues, especially in outdoor and maritime environments.
Innovation Solution
A pultrusion process that integrates anti-slip projections into a composite pultruded product by impregnating reinforcement fibers with polymerizable resin and using a web-shaped body with cavities to form non-slip projections during pultrusion, ensuring the projections are monolithically joined with the main body without compromising structural continuity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional anti-slip elements (rubber strips or surface machining) are added to wood, plastic, or metal walkable surfaces, then slip resistance is improved, but product cost increases and structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the anti-slip function with the base structure by integrating protrusions directly into the pultruded composite product. This eliminates the need for separate anti-slip elements (rubber strips or machined surfaces) and combines multiple functions into a single monolithic structure, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining or improving slip resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite materials (reinforcement fibers impregnated with polymerizable resin) to create a pultruded product that inherently provides both structural integrity and anti-slip properties through integrated protrusions. The composite nature allows for tailored mechanical properties and surface characteristics without requiring additional materials or layers.
2Reliability
If additional anti-slip elements are added to walkable surfaces, then slip resistance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By combining the anti-slip protrusions with the base structure in a single pultrusion process, the invention eliminates the need for separate manufacturing steps and additional materials. This integration reduces manufacturing complexity and cost while ensuring consistent quality and structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The anti-slip protrusions are formed during the initial pultrusion process rather than being added later. This preliminary formation of the final structure eliminates subsequent manufacturing steps, reduces labor costs, and ensures the anti-slip features are integral to the product from the start.
3Reliability
If anti-slip elements are added or surface processing is performed, then slip resistance is improved, but product strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the anti-slip protrusions with the base structure as a single monolithic component formed during pultrusion. This integration ensures that the protrusions are structurally sound and do not compromise overall product strength, as they are not separate elements that could detach or create stress concentration points.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of composite materials with reinforcement fibers provides high strength-to-weight ratio and structural integrity. The pultrusion process creates a continuous fiber reinforcement that maintains strength while allowing for the formation of integrated anti-slip protrusions that do not weaken the overall structure.
4Strength
If wood or metal structures are used for walkable surfaces, then structural strength is achieved, but weathering resistance and durability are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses fiber-reinforced composite materials that combine the strength of reinforcement fibers with the protective properties of polymer resin. This composite structure provides both structural strength and resistance to weathering, corrosion, and deterioration, significantly improving durability compared to traditional wood or metal structures in outdoor and maritime environments.
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 process efficiently creates a durable, non-slip walkable surface that maintains structural integrity, effective in wet conditions and aggressive environments without the need for additional anti-slip elements, reducing costs and ensuring reliability.
Implementation Method 1
at least partially solidifying said polymerizable resin (4') forming, at the exit or downstream of the pultrusion die, a pultruded product (1) in the solid state
Data Source
Figure 1~1A
Figure 2~2A
Figure 3~3A
AI summary
The present invention relates to a pultruded product (1) having an anti-slip exterior surface (2a) and a pultrusion process and equipment for making such a pultruded product (1) having an exterior surface that can be walked on (2a). The process involves arranging across a pultrusion die (36) impregnated reinforcement fibers (3') and an operative tract (40) of at least one web-shaped body (39); the operative tract (40) comprises a plurality of cavities (41), spaced apart, facing toward said impregnated reinforcement fibers (3') and suitable for receiving part of the polymerizable resin present in the pultrusion die (36); as it exits the pultrusion die (36), the pultruded product (1) is formed in the solid state, which has a walkable outer surface (2a) provided with a plurality of projections (5) formed, in one piece with the rest of the pultruded product, by the solidification of the polymerizable resin that has occupied the spaced cavities (41) present on the web-shaped body (39).