JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #36 - October 2007 - 48

Application g…/… Composite flooring Focus Havco is the industry leader in the manufacturing of laminated hardwood flooring for dry van trailers in North America. In the mid-nineties, Havco focused on developing and offering composite flooring for trailers in demanding applications. It was a revolutionary change of mind-set for a wood-working company. This commitment resulted in the development of composite flooring comprised of thinner laminated oak boards with glass fibre reinforcement on the underside of each board. The composite flooring is stronger, lighter and fatigue resistant, and it preserves the desirable properties of wood floors such as nailability, traction and ease of installation. This flooring has been installed in over thirty thousand dry van trailers since its introduction. Transportation companies are finding that composite flooring makes their trailer more versatile, being capable of hauling a wide variety of cargo including paper rolls, beverage and automotive parts without incurring a weight penalty. composite flooring are 26.9, 28.5, and 30.2 mm. The most common thicknesses of conventional wood flooring are 33.3 and 35 mm. Reduction in thickness compared to conventional wood flooring is made possible due to the higher strength of composite flooring. Typically, composite flooring saves about 6.3 mm of wood thickness while providing comparable or better performance than conventional wood flooring. Lifetime economic benefits and ROI The total cost of composite flooring includes the cost of the wood board, the composite panel, hotmelt adhesive and labour for the composite bonding operation. Savings are achieved through the use of thinner layers of wood since thinner composite flooring is structurally equivalent to thicker conventional oak flooring. However, the net cost of composite flooring is higher than the cost of equivalent oak flooring and accordingly, the initial purchase price of composite flooring is also higher. The economic benefits of the composite flooring are derived as follows: 1. Lower overall trailer weight – This weight saving is the result of the reduced weight of the composite flooring and, in some cases, the elimination of the trailer threshold plate. Composite underside inhibits water absorption by wood at the bottom side, which leads to longer service life and also stable weight of flooring. Reduced weight increases fuel efficiency and the payload that the trailer can legally transport, thus resulting in higher revenue. 2. Reduced repair costs – Composite flooring has established a record of reduced repairs in service thus resulting in lower repair costs and reduced downtime. 3. Elimination of the threshold plate – Some users find that composite flooring eliminates the need for a threshold plate over the floor near the trailer doors, thus saving the cost of plates. 4. Improved resale value – Trailers with composite flooring are estimated to receive a higher trade-in value at the end of life. It appears that composite flooring can be cost effective over the trailer’s lifespan, especially with the increasing cost of fuel. Composite material The glass/epoxy panel of the composite flooring is produced by a continuous lamination process. Continuous roving of E-glass fibres is used along with woven glass as the reinforcement. Continuous roving provides longitudinal strength and stiffness to the floor boards while the woven glass roving provides transverse strength properties and resistance to board splitting. The glass reinforced panel has a tensile strength of about 900 MPa and a tensile modulus of 40 GPa. The nominal thickness of the panel is about 1.3 mm. The same thickness of composite panel is used on all composite floors irrespective of their overall thickness. By varying the thickness of the wood layer in the composite floor, higher structural properties are obtained at the lowest additional cost. At the same thickness, a composite floorboard is about 90% stronger than an oak floorboard (figure 3). Future of trailer flooring In the last few years, large transportation companies such as Contract Freighters Inc., Dart Transit, Transport America, Paschall Truck Lines and others have tested the road-service performance of composite flooring in their trailers. The results of these tests have proven the advantages of composite flooring. They have confirmed the benefits of a versatile trailer that can haul a wide variety of cargo including general freight and specialized loads of paper rolls, beverage, and automotive parts. As we learn more about the roadperformance of composite flooring in these versatile trailers, its acceptance in dedicated heavy-haul transport applications remains firm. It is clear from the varied applications of composite flooring that the future of trailer flooring is closely tied to the incorporation of high strength and light weight composite materials. More information: www.havcowp.com Fig. 3: A composite floor board The overall thickness of the composite floor is determined by the desired floor rating (7,257 to 10,886 kg). Typical thicknesses of JEC Composites Magazine / No36 October - November 2007

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #36 - October 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #36 - October 2007