Segmented Beam with Removable Cover for Stiffener Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elongated beams used as purlins or pergolas face challenges with expensive and difficult handling due to the weight of pre-assembled stiffening elements, which also deflect under their own weight and load, making assembly and installation cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
The elongated support is designed as multiple parts with a removable cover allowing longitudinal insertion of the stiffening element, and adjustable spacers to brace the beam against the stiffening element, enabling easier assembly and compensation for deflections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the stiffening element is pre-inserted into the chamber during factory assembly, then the beam achieves sufficient stiffness to resist deflection under load, but the handling and assembly on construction site becomes difficult due to high weight
Solution Approach 1:
The beam is divided into multiple segments that can be assembled on-site. The stiffening element is not pre-inserted but will be inserted later into a hollow chamber, allowing the beam segments to be handled separately with reduced weight while achieving the required stiffness through the chamber-stiffening element combination.
2Strength
If the stiffening element is inserted from the head side over several meters, then the beam achieves the required stiffness, but the insertion process becomes very expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The beam is segmented with a hollow chamber that allows the stiffening element to be inserted from the end rather than being driven through the entire length from the head side. This segmentation approach simplifies the insertion process and reduces assembly costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffening element is extracted from the pre-insertion process and will be inserted separately into the hollow chamber. This separation allows for simpler, less expensive insertion methods compared to driving the stiffening element through the entire beam length from the head side.
3Strength
If the beam is made as a single pre-assembled component, then the stiffness is sufficient, but the deflection under own weight becomes pronounced
Solution Approach 1:
The beam is divided into multiple segments that are assembled on-site. This segmentation, combined with the hollow chamber design, allows for better structural configuration that reduces deflection under self-weight while maintaining the necessary stiffness through the chamber-stiffening element combination.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The carrier (1) has longitudinally extended profile parts (11, 12), where one of the profile parts form demountable cover of another profile part. A chamber accommodating a reinforcing element e.g. steel section, is accessed by demounting of the cover, so that the reinforcing element is inserted and/or placed into the chamber from a longitudinal side of the carrier. The profile parts are clamped against the reinforcing element by adjustable distance elements. The distance elements are formed by plastic plates or hollow plates or rubber plates.