Lightweight gate structures

Abstract

The ever-growing demand for automated gate structures has led to more innovative and improved materials being introduced to the gate structures industry. Offering lightweight and cost-effective structures, glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP) were a recent addition to the market, which have gained popularity in gate structures. GFRPs offer several benefits over conventional materials, including, but not limited to, high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance and high durability. Typically, pultruded profiles are utilised in such applications. Pultruded profiles are constant cross-section, structural sections manufactured through the automated and continuous pultrusion process. A major drawback of such material is the limited fittings found in the market for the connection of profiles. This study offers an overview on a GFRP pultruded profile structure with focus on the designing and testing of a new adhesive connection for joining two pultruded profiles perpendicular to one another. The project comprises of numerical and experimental testing of the newly designed fitting made from a ratio of cast resin and calcium carbonate powders. Prior to this, material testing on the distinct ratios which were going to be used in the fabrication of the designed fitting was undertaken. Furthermore, four different materials composed of isophthalic and orthophtalic resin and calcium carbonate powder were tested. Prototypes of the designed fitting were then produced using the same materials. Bending and shearing tests of the designed fitting were conducted to assess strength for type of loads present in the gate structure. Moreover, the dimensions of the samples produced required the designing, fabrication, and commissioning of two custom, application oriented testing jigs. The results obtained from testing were analysed thoroughly and compared to the numerical models.