Shokrieh M.M. et al.

Available online at: http://journal.ippi.ac.ir

Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic

Iranian Polymer Journal Moulded Grating
16 (8), 2007, 511-520

Mahmood M. Shokrieh* and Mohammad Heidari-Rarani

Composites Research Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran-16844, Iran

Received 30 December 2006; accepted 22 August 2007

ABSTRACT
oulded grating is a lattice of connected beams that has wide applications in

M various industries. In the case of structural applications, deflection control is

usually expected to be the limiting factor in design rather than strength con-
trol. Thus, this research is mainly focused on an analytical solution to predict the load-
deflection behaviour of a moulded grating under concentrated and uniform loads. The
general differential equation of an orthotropic plate is expanded by considering a
moulded grating as several beams with bending and torsional rigidities. Afterward, the
developed model is validated by a finite element modelling technique as well as by the
experimental data provided by Strongwell Company. Results showed that the data
obtained by the proposed analytical model and those of the finite element method and
experimental are in good agreement. Thus, using a developed closed form solution
method in this article, the deflection of a grid with any arbitrary dimensions and mesh-
es can be calculated properly.

Key Words:
moulded grating;
closed-form solution;
finite element method;
experiment.
INTRODUCTION
Fibreglass reinforced plastic (FRP) cy, maintenance-free performance,
products, in comparison with steel, light weight, ease of fabrication and
are being currently used in many installation, uniform appearance,
industrial applications. In recent impact resistance, non-conductivi-
years, research on FRP composite ty, bi-directional load bearing, and
grids has demonstrated that these cost effectiveness have all made
products may be practical and cost- moulded gratings to be more desir-
effective material in various indus- able. Because of the above advan-
(*) To whom correspondence to be addressed: trial applications. Properties such as tages, the FRP grid with stiffened
E-mail: [email protected] corrosion resistance, fire retardan- composite structures are finding
 Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ... Shokrieh M.M. et al.

many applications in industries such as aerospace, ship structures have many advantages over the traditional
building, and construction. construction methods which use panel sandwich cores
Moulded grating has biaxial strength and stiffness and/or expensive framework [5]. The two primary man-
and has much more corrosion resistance than pultruded ufacturing processes used to produce Marco FRP grat-
grating. For a given direction, the strength and stiffness ing products are pultrusion and moulding. Both process-
of moulded grating will, of course, be significantly es produce high quality uniform construction. The
lower than the strong axis properties of pultruded grat- moulded grating, however, is a composite of fibreglass
ing. Biaxial properties are very helpful in many applica- reinforcements and a thermosetting resin system that is
tions. For example, a simple rectangular platform can be mostly produced by open or closed mould processes.
decked with either pultruded or moulded grating. In Compression-moulded FRP gratings offer the best avail-
cases the pultruded grating becomes problematic when able combination of strength, durability, and ease of
cutting a hole in a pipe, the moulded grating, however, installation. The patented matched-die process exerts
may be used with no difficulty [1]. over 600-tons of heated force uniformly throughout the
In many applications the superior corrosion resist- entire fibreglass and resin bonding operation. The
ance of moulded grating is more important than the hydraulic pressure of compression-moulding has forced
structural advantages. In a Battery Plant a corrosion fibreglass deep into the resin, creating an extra dense
resistant grating has been installed around the tanks of and less porous grating than the case of open moulded
sulfuric acid [2]. In structural applications, Bank et al. grating. Contrary to the pultruded grating which is
[3] have reinforced concrete beams with FRP composite machine intensive, moulded grating is labor intensive in
grid and predicted the behaviour of these beams subject- terms of production requirements.
ed to four-point bending by explicit finite element Moulded grating has equal strength in both direc-
analysis. Zhang et al. [4] have tested the flexural behav- tions and is being made with square or rectangular grid
iour of three one-way concrete slabs reinforced with car- patterns. Since it was developed much earlier than pul-
bon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) grid reinforcements truded grating, it is widely used and performs well in
in comparison with those having steel reinforcing many applications. It is also a strong mesh grating panel
rebars. Huybrechts [5] has studied local buckling of grid which allows efficient on-site cutting to minimize grat-
stiffened composite structures by using a finite element ing waste and is significantly lighter than metallic grat-
modelling, and they have evaluated the effect of the lat- ings. Percentage of glass (by weight) must not exceed
eral supports on the local buckling resistance based on 35% for achieving maximum corrosion resistance, and
the finite element modelling result. as required to maintain the structural requirements of the
Whenever a new type of complex structure is being contract. After moulding, no dry glass fibres would be
proposed, designers usually rely on a detailed finite ele- visible on the surface of the bearing bars or cross bars.
ment analysis in its design process. Then, with reliable All bars would be smooth and uniform with no evidence
results and experiences, simple analytical methods and of fibre orientation irregularities, interlaminar voids,
design equations are proposed. It is, therefore, the major porosity, resin rich, and/or resin starved areas. The high
objective of this study to examine the accuracy of the resin content (65%) provides long maintenance-free
developed model for moulded gratings from an performance [6,7].
orthotropic plate with a finite element method and The moulded grating is used in this research work,
experimental results that are provided by Strongwell commercially known as DURAGRATE that has been
Company. The benefit of this work is that the manufac- supplied by Strongwell Co. Their colour can be green,
turers have been readily able to estimate the deflection orange, yellow, dark, gray, or light gray. Typical
of a moulded grating of any arbitrary dimensions and Strongwell panels’ shapes and sizes are shown in Table
meshes without testing. 1 [2].

MOULDED GRATING DESCRIPTION STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The lattices of rigidly connected ribs known as grid In this study, a moulded grating was considered as an

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 Shokrieh M.M. et al. Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ...

Table 1. Strongwell panel’s shapes and sizes [2].

Typical DURAGRATE Panels

Tolerances: ±1/8″ (±3 mm) length and width ±1/16″ (±1.6 mm) thickness
Thickness Mesh pattern Panel sizes

3″ × 10″ (914.5 × 3048 mm)

1″ (25.4 mm) 1.5″ (38.1 mm) Square 4″ × 8″ (1219 × 2438 mm)
4″ × 12″ (1219 × 3657.5 mm)

3″ × 10″ (914.5 × 3048 mm)

1″ (25.4 mm) 1″ × 4″ (25.4 × 101.6 mm) Rectangular
4″ × 12″ (1219 × 3657.5 mm)

1.5″ (38.1 mm) 3/4″ × 3/4″ (19 × 19 mm) Micro Mesh 4″ × 12″ (1219 × 3657.5 mm)

1.5″ (38.1 mm) 1.5″ × 6″ (38.1 × 152.5 mm) Rectangular 4″ × 12″ (1219 × 3657.5 mm)

3″ × 10″ (914.5 × 3048 mm)

4″ × 8″ (1219 × 2438 mm)
1.5″ (38.1 mm) 1.5″ (38.1 mm) Square
4″ × 12″ (1219 × 3657.5 mm)
5″ × 10″ (1524 × 3048 mm)

2″ (50.8 mm) 2″ (50.8 mm) Square 4″ × 12″ (1219 × 3657.5 mm)

orthotropic plate that was simply supported at two edges

and the other two edges were free (Figure 1a). By
assuming that a moulded grating was made of several
beams that rigidly connected to each other, an analytical
method was allowed to be developed. According to
ASTM D790 [8] dimensions, location of loading, and
supporting system for three-line bending are shown in
Figure 1b.
According to Figure 2 the load acting on the plate
was assumed to be normal to its surface and the deflec-
tions were small in comparison with the thickness of the
plate. Therefore, the differential equation of the bent
plate versus displacement can be written as below [11]:
(a)
∂4w ∂4w ∂4w
Dx 4 + 2 H 2 2 + D y 4 = P (x, y ) (1)
∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y

where, Dx, Dy, Dxy and Ds are rigidities in the principle

material directions and H= Dxy + 2Ds.

Solution Method
(b) Choosing an appropriate method to solve a PDE
depends on boundary conditions and applied load. The
Figure 1. Geometry and coordinate system of rectangular usual method that can be greatly found in the textbooks
plate: (a) top view and (b) front view. is Navier’s method using double Fourier series for

Iranian Polymer Journal / Volume 16 Number 8 (2007) 513

 Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ... Shokrieh M.M. et al.

Figure 2. Moments and transverse force in plate element.

deflection and load (e.g., in four edges simply support-

Figure 3. Location of concentrated load.
ed plates). The differential equation governing the
deflection of an orthotropic plate (eqn (1)) was solved
by Levy’s method because of special boundary condi- where Pm(y) varies with various loadings.
tions (two edges free) as well as line loading. From this
method, the final solution consisting of homogeneous Concentrated Load
and particular solutions presented by single Fourier Another preference of using Levy’s method is posed on
series were obtained as follows: the line concentrated load. Indeed, in three or four bend-
ing test, the line load was applied in one direction and its
w = wh + w p (2) location was only specified by one variation. Therefore,
expanding the load in a single Fourier series was more
where, convenient. According to Figure 3, while line load was
applied on the plate, the relations P(x, y ) = P0 and Pm(y)
(3) 2db
could be found:

By substituting eqn(3) in eqn(1):

(8)

(4)
where, P0 and x1 are load intensity (N/M) and location
where, of applying load, respectively. From this relation, both
mπ H three and four line bending can be applied to plate by
αm = (5)
a Dy selecting x1. Then, by substituting eqn (6) in eqn (1):

In order to obtain particular solution, wp and P(x,y)

should be expanded as single Fourier series as follows: (9)

(6)
It should be mentioned that the plate is symmetric in x-
and axis, thus, coefficients Am, Dm would be zero and
deflection of the plate can be obtained from the follow-
(7) ing equation:

514 Iranian Polymer Journal / Volume 16 Number 8 (2007)

 Shokrieh M.M. et al. Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ...

(10)

Uniform Load
If the applied load is considered to be uniform,
P(x,y)= P0 then eqn (7) should be altered:

Pm (y ) = −
2 P0
abmπ
[ ]
(− 1)m − 1 ⇒ Pm (y )= 4 P0 , m = 1, 3, 5, ... (11)
mπ

and particular solution becomes:

(12)
Figure 4. Dimensions of moulded grating system.

finally, deflection of the orthotropic plate under uniform

The beams are supported at the ends, and the load is
load is obtained by:
applied normal to xy plane. If the distances a1 and b1
between the beams are small in comparison with the
(13) dimensions a and b of the grid, if the flexural strength of
the beams parallel to the x axis is equal to B1 and that of
where Bm and Cm are obtained by applying boundary each of the beams parallel to y axis is equal to B2
conditions at free edge. therefore:
B1 B
Dx = , Dy = 2 (15)
(14) b1 a1

the quantity of Dxy in this case is zero, and the quantity

of Gxy can be expressed in terms of the torsional rigidi-
But it is necessary to note that if an edge of a plate is ties C1 and C2 of the beams parallel to x and y axes,
entirely free, it is natural to assume that along this edge respectively. Also, the following relations between the
∂2w
there are no bending and twisting moments and also no twisting moments and the twist are obtained:
∂x∂y
vertical shearing forces. But three boundary conditions
are too many and two conditions (M y = 0 , Q y = 0 ) are C1 ∂ w
2
C2 ∂ 2 w
sufficient for the complete determination of the deflec- M xy = , M yx = − (16)
b1 ∂x∂y a1 ∂x∂y
tion [10].
The differential equation of the deflection surface is
Calculation of Rigidities obtained by replacing eqn (16) in the differential equa-
In the previous section the closed-form solution of tion related to the moment:
deflection of an orthotropic plate with various rigidities
in the principal directions was obtained. Now, by esti- B1 ∂ 4 w  C1 C2  ∂ 4 w B2 ∂ 4 w
+  +  + = P(x, y ) (17)
mating the rigidities of moulded gratings, the closed- b1 ∂x 4  b1 a1  ∂x 2 ∂y 2 a1 ∂y 4
form equations can be used for them.
According to Figure 4 a grid work system consists of EI EI GJ GJ
two systems of parallel beams spaced equal distances where, B1 = l1 1 , B2 = l2 2 , C1 = l1 1 , C2 = l2 2 and E1 and E2
1 2 1 2

apart in x and y directions and are rigidly connected at are modulus of elasticity, and G1 and G2 are shear mod-
their points of intersection. ulus in x and y directions, respectively [10,11]. Also, J

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 Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ... Shokrieh M.M. et al.

Table 2. Mechanical Properties of Scotch Ply 1002 [9].

Longitudinal stiffness Transverse stiffness Poisson's ratio Shear modulus Volume fraction
Ex(GPa) Ey(GPa) νx Es(GPa) νf

38.6 8.26 0.26 4.14 0.45

is polar moment of inertia that can be estimated for rec-

tangular cross-section by eqn (18):

J = k1a 3b (18)
b
where, k1 is equal to 0.246 for ratio = 2 [12].
a
Finite Element Modelling
In the previous sections, the closed-form sections of a
plate under concentrated line load (three or four-line Figure 6. Finite element modelling of moulded grating with
bending) and uniform load were discussed. By using square mesh.
finite element method the moulded grating was ana-
lyzed in ANSYS 8 [13]. The moulded gratings that were One of the most important points in the finite ele-
made by closed or open mould processes with different ment software is the use of symmetry in the modeling,
resins (i.e., vinyl ester, isophthalic, orthophthalic) and which would lead to reduction of run time and greater
volume fractions had various mechanical properties. accuracy of the solution. Therefore, half of the moulded
However, a moulded grating was considered as an grating with Strongwell dimensions for square mesh
orthotropic material in this research and mechanical [12] was modelled that is showen in Figure 6. It is to be
properties of Scotch Ply 1002 as a glass/epoxy material noticed that static analysis was done on grating model
are used that are shown in Table 2. under line concentrated load and uniform load. Though
Solid 45 element was used for 3-D modelling of grat- half of the moulded grating was modelled, deflection
ing. This element was defined by eight nodes having perpendicular to the surface was constrained
three degrees of freedom at each node and orthotropic (Symmetric B.C’s). The boundary condition and line
material properties. The orthotropic material directions load for the meshed grating is shown in Figure 7. Also,
corresponded to the element coordinate directions. The deflection of a moulded grating with rectangular mesh is
geometry, node locations, and coordinate system for this shown in Figure 8.
element are shown in Figure 5. It should be noticed that one way for obtaining
typical uniform load was to contact a flexible plate

Figure 7. Boundary conditions and applied load on finite ele-

Figure 5. Solid 45 element [13]. ment model.

516 Iranian Polymer Journal / Volume 16 Number 8 (2007)

 Shokrieh M.M. et al. Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ...

Figure 8. Deflection of moulded grating with rectangular mesh.

with isotropic properties to xy plane of grid and then meshes have been published by Strongwell company
force was applied on the centre of plate as it is shown which a summary of these experimental data was refer-
in Figure 9. But, the better way was to use appropriate enced [2]. To evaluate the results obtained in different
distribution of pressure, because it is obvious from the sections of this work, results of proposed closed-form
experiment that the applied load does not behave uni- solution were compared with FEM and real tests.
formly. Thus, Gaussian distribution was used on finite The results of closed-form solution were only
element model to predict real pressure distribution. declared in elastic region. Because assumptions used for
obtaining general differential equation were not realistic
beyond elastic region and the results would not be so
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION accurate. Thus, the mentioned equations are not suitable
in finding deflection until the end of elastic region.
Comparison of the Results of Developed Method, At first, by considering concentrated load as shown in
FEM, and Experimental Data Figure 10 and panel’s features in Table 3 [2] the results
The typical data of mid-span deflections with various were compared with each other as shown in Figure 11 for
a square mesh on the right-hand side of Table 3. Also, by
assuming features of a rectangular mesh in Table 4 and
shape of the mesh on the right-hand side of this table,
results are compared in Table 5. The results of maximum

Figure 9. Finite element modelling for uniform load with

contact element. Figure 10. Concentrated load using by Strongwell [2].

Iranian Polymer Journal / Volume 16 Number 8 (2007) 517

 Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ... Shokrieh M.M. et al.

Figure 11. Load-deflection behaviour of square mesh under Figure 12. Uniform load using by Strongwell [2].
concentrated load.

ry and experimental data in uniform load would be high-

deflection of square mesh, under uniform load in er than concentrated load. Although FE is easy to use,
Figure 12, are compared in Table 6 and then for the rec- the analytical method developed in this research, how-
tangular mesh are presented in Table 7. ever, is a basic tool for understanding the basic concepts
Due to complex behaviour in conjunction with each which give us a tool for design. Therefore, the main
of the two beams in a moulded grating and assuming advantages of the proposed method are its ease of use
uniform load as a concentrated line load on each bar where the user does not access to any computer or a
during this research work, the differences between theo- finite element programme to solve the problem.

Table 3. Feature of 51 mm (2″) thick 51 mm (2″) square mesh DURAGRATE [2].

A, mm2/cm (in2/ft ) of width 60.96 (2.88)
S, mm3/cm (in3/ft) of width 505.4 (0.94)
I, mm4/cm (in4/ft) of width 13109.1 (0.96)
No. bars per 305 mm (foot) 6
Open space 72%
Approx. weight, N/sq.cm 0.02 (4.0)
(lbs/sq.ft)

Table 4. Features of 25.4 mm (1″) thick, 25.4 mm (1″) × 101.5 mm (4″) rectangular mesh DURAGRATE [2].

A, mm2/cm (in2/ft ) of width 54.4 (2.57)

S, mm3/cm (in3/ft) of width 231 (0.43)

I, mm4/cm (in4/ft) of width 3004 (0.22)

No. bars per 305 mm(foot) 12

Open space 69%

Approx. weight, N/sq.cm 0.013 (2.8)

(lbs/sq.ft)

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Shokrieh M.M. et al. Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ...

Table 5. Mid-span deflection of rectangular mesh grid under concentrated load, L=610 mm
(24’’), (experiments provided by Strongwell [2]).

Load Experiment Theory FEM

N (lb) (mm) (mm) (mm) Theory/Experiment FEM/Experiment

222.5 (50) 0.762 0.610 0.737 0.8 0.97

445 (100) 1.524 1.219 1.549 0.8 1.02

667.5 (150) 2.260 1.828 2.312 0.81 1.02

890 (200) 3.022 2.438 3.010 0.81 0.99

1112.5(250) 3.784 3.048 3.886 0.81 1.03

1335 (300) 4.546 3.657 4.673 0.8 1.03

1780 (400) 6.045 4.876 6.223 0.81 1.03

Table 6. Mid-span deflection of square mesh grid under uniform load, span= 610 mm(24’’),
(experiments provided by Strongwell [2]).

Load Experiment Theory FEM

N (lb) (mm) (mm) (mm) Theory/Experiment FEM/Experiment

222.5 (50) 0.254 0.304 0.254 1.2 1

445 (100) 0.533 0.61 0.508 1.14 0.95

667.5 (150) 0.787 0.914 0.762 1.16 0.97

890 (200) 1.067 1.245 1.016 1.17 0.95

1112.5 (250) 1.320 1.549 1.295 1.17 0.98

1335 (300) 1.600 1.854 1.549 1.16 0.97

1780 (400) 2.110 2.489 2.057 1.18 0.97

Table 7. Mid-span deflection of rectangular mesh grid under uniform load, span= 610 mm
(24’’), (experiments provided by Strongwell [2]).

Load Experiment Theory FEM

N (lb) (mm) (mm) (mm) Theory/Experiment FEM/Experiment

222.5 (50) 0.94 0.990 0.920 1.05 0.98

445 (100) 1.879 2.006 1.854 1.07 0.99

667.5 (150) 2.845 3.022 2.768 1.06 0.98

890 (200) 3.785 4.013 3.733 1.06 0.98

1112.5 (250) 4.724 5.029 4.597 1.06 0.97

1335 (300) 5.664 6.045 5.562 1.07 0.98

1780 (400) 7.569 8.052 7.417 1.06 0.98

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 Analysis of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic ... Shokrieh M.M. et al.

CONCLUSION Houston, Texas, available in 10 February 2006.

8. ASTM D790-02, Standard test methods for flexural
The observations and results from this work can be sum- properties of unreinforced and reinforced plastics
marized into following conclusions: and electrical insulating materials, American
- A procedure for analytical analysis of moulded grat- Society of Mechanical Engineering, New York,
ing has been developed to obtain a closed-form solution 1998.
for load-deflection. From this method, a moulded grat- 9. Tsai S.W., Hahn H.T., Introduction to Composite
ing was considered as an orthotropic plate with plane Materials, Technomic, Westport, Ch. 1, 1980.
stress behaviour and then obtained a differential equa- 10. Timoshenko S., Theory of Plates and Shells,
tion which would govern the load-deflection behaviour McGraw-Hill, New York, Ch. 11, 1970.
of a plate. 11. Ugural A.C., Stresses in Plates and Shells, McGraw-
- By considering a moulded grating as several beams Hill, New York, Ch. 6, 1981.
and defining bending and torsional rigidities in principal 12. Timoshenko S., Goodier J. N., Theory of Elasticity,
directions versus grid dimensions, the differential equa- McGraw-Hill, New York, Ch.10, 1951.
tion of an orthotropic plate was revised. 13. ANSYS Help System, Ver. 10, 2002.
- The proposed procedure was convenient for all
moulded grids with any arbitrary mesh under concen-
trated and uniform load.
- By comparing the results presented in the tables, one
can conclude that the developed model for moulded
gratings is in excellent agreement with finite element
modelling and experimental data.

REFERENCES

1. Xie M., Tom L., Advances in FRP molded grating in

Asia, Reinforced Plast. J., 44, 46-47, 2000.
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PDFfiles/Molded%20Products_Duragrate%20.
Duratread/DURAGRATE%20Load%20Tables.pdf,
Birstol, U.S.A, available in 2 September 2005.
3. Tavarez F.A., Bank L.C., Plesha M.E., Analysis of
fiber-reinforced polymer composite grid reinforced
concrete beams, ACI Struct. J., 100, 250-258, 2003.
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of one-way concrete slabs reinforced with CFRP
grid reinforcements, Const. Build. Mater., 18, 625-
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5. Huybrechts S., Advanced grid stiffened composite
structures, published article in
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520 Iranian Polymer Journal / Volume 16 Number 8 (2007)