Aluminium Design and Construction John Dwight

Figure 2.11 Some typical plank sections: (a) flooring for offshore accommodation module;
(b, c, d) truck body sections.
Figure 2.12 Two designs of chassis member using special extrusions: (a) welded; (b) bonded.
Note use of bolt-head slots for the connection of cross-members, thus improving the
fatigue rating.
Figure 2.10 shows some of the well-known tricks of the trade. Plank
sections are a widely used class of profile (Figure 2.11) with various
possible features such as anti-slip surface, concealed fixing and positive
interlock between adjacent planks. Figure 2.12 shows two designs by
British engineer Ron Cobden for truck chassis members, one welded
and the other bonded. An important feature in each is the use of boltslots
to receive the heads of the bolts connecting the cross-members,
thus improving the fatigue performance. Free advice on the design of
extruded profiles may be had from The Shapemakers (page 16).
Copyright 1999 by Taylor & Francis Group. All Rights Reserved.