Research and Development Assignment in Steel Structures

Title: Thermal Loading Equipment for Sandwich Panels, Connected to a Weathering Testing Chamber

Submitted to: Lassi Martikainen Group Members Burak Erkan Ulfet Sernur Sekbanoglu Ebru Huseyinoglu
10.02.2012

Abstract The report presents the design steps of testing arrangement, which will be produced to test sandwich panels due to temperature differences occurred at both faces of the sandwich panel. Testing arrangement is designed to be used with KPK 800 Feutron chamfer. 600 mm x 1500 mm with 100 and 50 mm thickness sandwich panels are taken into consideration. In conclusion, two different frames are designed, and certain drawings and 3d visuals are prepared.

1. Introduction Thermal expansion of metals phenomenon based on the length, thermal coefficient and the temperature change of the metal. Since the sandwich panels are designed to be as an insulator building element, there will be a temperature difference between two faces. Deflection, occurred by the thermal expansion, is restrained by glue between metal sheet and core insulation. Then the deflection cannot be linear, so sandwich panel bends and a curve occurs. The aim of the project is; to design and build an arrangement which will uniquely fit on KPK 800 Feutron Chamber, and to create thermal loading, and to measure the deflections. Design procedure, starts sandwich panel market research and deciding the dimension range. Since there are several producers and different types of panels existing, only Ruukkis products are taken into consideration. After a range investigation, it is decided that, the arrangement should be designed based on with 100 mm and 50 mm core thickness sandwich panels. Sandwich panels should be positioned, such a way they can behave freely. According to that, support conditions had to be handled carefully. There are four swivel supports, two per face at the up and the down of the panel. Because, the arrangement must be designed to test sandwich panels with different thicknesses, supports must be tightened with different spaces. In final design, there are eight long bolts four per side at the up and the down, can be tighten the sandwich panel between supports. Certain amount of insulation has to be placed around the frames to prevent the heat loss, and provide more secure working environment. Design is done based on real dimensions, and prototype is ready to manufacture.

2. Dimensioning Dimensions of the testing machine and sandwich panel is determined to be able to star designing.

2.1 Dimensions of the machine Dimensions of the machine are measured at its place. Feutron Chamfer has a door and design is done without taking the door away. Hinges of the door provides a 130 degree angle opening. With respect to maximum opening of the door, designed frames can be attached to the machine. Machine is placed in a little room, where the arrangement cannot be kept inside the room. In addition to that, since the machine will be used for its own purpose, testing arrangement has to be carried inside the room whenever it is needed. Because of that, design is based on an easy handle prototype which can be carried by one person through the door easily. 2.2 Dimension Range of Sandwich Panels Sandwich panels are used in construction industry in a wide scope. The aim of the project is to test sandwich panels due to temperature differences between two faces of them. Sandwich panels are produced by many different types by different companies, but in this design only Ruukki's products are taken into consideration. In Ruukki's catalog, there are; a. 28 products for External Walls b. 6 products for Internal Walls c. 5 products for Ceilings d. 2 products for Cold Storages e. 4 products for Roofs In between, products listed above, only Sandwich panels for External Walls, Cold Storages and Roofs are taken into consideration. It is believed that in other products, there is not risk for temperature difference between faces. 3. Design 3.1 Design of Frames Sandwich panels have to be placed stable to the machine during the test, and its position must be available for bending freely. Two separate frames are designed to hold sandwich panels into testing position. They are called as first and second frames in this report. First frame is the one which is attached to the machine and the second one is compressing the sandwich panel through the first panel. During the installation of the testing arrangement, first frame is carried and fastened to the machine separately. Frames consist of rectangular hollow sections with 50mm x 30 mm and 2.5 mm thickness steel cross-sections. Certain technical drawings are available in the Drawing chapter below.

3.2 Design of Supports Sandwich panel gains bending freedom from supports. Sandwich panel is compressed between two panels, and it is hold with two pads on each frame. Pads are welded to the bearings, which are providing the rotation. There are many types of bearings on the market; in our design project YAR 204-2F from SKF is used. System can be installed with same parameters with any bearing with 20 mm shaft diameter. During the design procedure, two different solutions are created, 3.2.1 Bearing Supported A shaft (D 20mm) is placed in C shaped housings. And 10 cm by 60 cm steel pads are welded to the outer shell of bearings. Shaft will be stable and bearings provide the rotation. Advantages of this system are, easy to install and cheaper solution since no bearing housings are needed to be used. Disadvantages are during the preparation of the test it is hard to stable the supports due to gravitational rotation. 3.2.2 Shaft Supported A shaft (D20 mm) is placed in two bearings at the end of the shaft. And bearings are placed by bearing housings or welded to the frame. Basically in this system, shaft is providing to the rotation. Advantages of this system are easy to handle with the gravitational rotation of the supports during the installation of test equipment. Disadvantages of the solution are, expensive and the rotational curvature is bigger than the first solution. Final design is done with the first solution, a stable shaft and rotational pads are supporting the sandwich panel, two on each side at the top and the bottom. 3.3 Design of Connections There are two main connections in the system, connection to the machine and the connection of the frames to each other. 3.3.1 Connection of First Frame to the Machine First frame is carrying the sandwich panel and the second frame. Connection has to be strong enough to keep system stable during the testing. However the machine itself is an unknown in case of to find a proper place to fix the first frame, it can be fixed with six M 16 bolts around the whole frame. There is a steel welded frame at the bottom of the machine, and it can be used for fastening of the frame.

3.3.2 Connection of The Second Frame to The First Frame Second frame is compressing the sandwich panel. Compression is provided by 8 bolts in total, four at the top and four at the bottom. An idea of welding bolts to a rectangular steel piece would be easier for connecting and reduces the local damages during fastening. At first project is done for 50 mm and 100 mm thick sandwich panels, but system can be used for other thicknesses too, a range from 0 mm to 100 mm thick sandwich panels can be tested with this system. 3.3.3 Connection of Shaft to The Frames Main supporting elements are shafts in the system; they are holding the pads which are compressing the sandwich panel from both sides. To be able to test sandwich panels with different lengths, shafts have to be replaced. Shafts are placed to the frames with C shaped welded housings, which provide different span lengths.

4. Drawings and Figures 4.1 Main Parts 4.1.1 Frames

Figure 4.1.1 (a) Section cut of frame member

Figure 4.1.1 (b) First Frame

4.1.2 Supports

Figure 4.1.2 Shaft, Bearings and Pad

4.1.3 Shaft Housing

Figure 4.1.3 (a) C Shaped Housings for Shaft

Figure 4.1.3 (b) Housings are placed against the compression axis

Figure 4.1.3 (c) Housings Can Provide Shorter Span Length

4.1.4 Bolt Group

Figure 4.1.4 (a) Bolt Group

Figure 4.1.4 (b) Fastened Bolt Group and Steel Piece as a Washer 4.1.5 Connections

Figure 4.1.5(a) Bottom of the First Frame and Bolted Connections

4.2 Photos from Innosteel

Photo 4.2 KPK 800 Feutron Chamfer

4.3 Previous Prototypes

Figure 4.3 (a) Bearing Housings

Figure 4.3 (c) Bigger Rotational Curvature

Figure 4.3(b) First designed whole system

4.4 Animations Animations can be found on Youtube. 4.4.1 Bending of the Sandwich Panel http://youtu.be/AdxSOHU6L94 4.4.2 Installation of Frames http://youtu.be/pSvFPoNIdmY 4.4.3 Installation of System http://youtu.be/rwaRcqwDzrY 4.5 Production Drawings For detailed view please see attached dwg file

Figure 4.5 Production Details

5 Conclusion Thermal expansion of metals phenomenon is the main idea of the project. Thermal linear expansion on steel sheets is restrained by glue between the sheet and the core insulator material in case of sandwich panels. When both faces are exposed to the different temperatures, bending of the sandwich panel is expected. Aim of the project is to design a testing arrangement which will uniquely fit on the KPK 800 Feutron chamfer, and test sandwich panels against temperature loadings. Design procedure started with dimensioning and visualization and followed by prototype creation. There are many different and possible answers for that design work, but in very first step of the project, some criteria are decided to follow. Such as, economical, ergonomic, multiuse and adjustable design solutions. Designed system consists of two main frames and sandwich panel is compressed between them by bolt groups. Rotational pads, supports are providing sandwich panel to bend freely. As it is mentioned above, design could be done in different ways but our solution is simple and effective. Exact tools can be used for sandwich panels with different length and thickness. Our Design provides effective freedom to sandwich panel to bend with cheapest solution. Parts are moveable easily and machine can be used for its own purpose whenever needed. With provided drawings and animations system is ready to build and use.