Tuesday, Jan 24, 2012 at 11:25
If we follow the thread and read and comprehend previous posts and follow consistent reasoning.
The thread is about caravans and campers, and that logiclay extends into light trailers because that is what they are......there is a world of difference between light trailers and heavy transport.
In light trailers I doubt very much that anybody would know or care what grade of mild steel they are using, even if they had a choice.
For the most part, when people purchase steel for light fabrication, ya get what ya get and there is pretty much no choice and no discussion about the grade of steel........
Ceratinly it would be exceptional to find any light trailer, camper or caravan built using higher order specificaly chosen steel grades
As for the strenght, hardness and toughness of chequerplate in comparison to the same thickness and grade of flat plate.
Hardness, defined as the ability of a material to withstand indentation, because the base material is the same thus the hardness will also be the same.
Toughness, defined as the material's ability to resist crack growth, because the material is the same thickness and the same base metal AND the sheet is covered in irreglarities and stress points that may assist the starting and propogation of cracks, checkeplate my
well be less tough than regular flat sheet of the same thickness and grade of material.
Strenght, defined as the materials ability to resist being pulled apart, the argument is much the same as toughness.
No matter what you do to MILD steel in the way of processes or heat treatment, you will not significatly improve any of its properties.
A smooth flat flawless material of the same grade and thickness will always be tougher and stronger.
I am sure there are many grades of chequerplate available and some of them may be made from harder grades of material, particularly the better brands.......If a given chequer plate is harder stronger or more durable, that will be because it is a better grade of steel..............but back to comparing apples with apples.
Same grade and thickness of material, chequerplate has little or no structrual or durability advantage over regular flat sheet.
As for the use in truck decks.....no doubt that the majority of steel truck decks are done in chequerplate.....that does not mean it has any 'LOAD TRACTION" advantage over regular flat steel, testing has proven it does not.
In heavy transport, in particular "load restraint" there are many long standing preconcieved ideas that are simply incorrect.
Two areas that are consistenty mis-understood are methods of improving load traction and how much tiedown is required.
When the current "load restraint guidelines" were being put together they did extensive testing and research to establish the facts and recomendations.
The bottom line is that chequerplate is an old outdated product that suppliers and users continue to cling to because of preconcieved ideas and astetic desires.
cheers
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