Strength study of thermoplastic elements: Methacrylate Manhole
This project consisted of studying the resistance under internal pressure of a transparent methacrylate manhole belonging to the inspection door of a beer tank. The door was located at the bottom of the cylinder and was elliptical in shape.
Following classical calculation methods, the required thickness was too great, and so the visibility would be excessively reduced. Therefore, a FEA analysis was finally carried out, consisting of the study of the resulting Von Mises stresses and strains, verifying that these values in no case exceeded the tensile strength of the material, applying and adequate safety factor.
The thickness of the methacrylate cover was optimized to achieve the smallest value that complies with the standards, achieving a 30% reduction compared to the value obtained by analytical methods.
Project takeaways:
Special attention must be paid when simulating athermoplastic material such as methacrylate, which has very different characteristics to the steels we usually work with. The correct validation of the results is the most delicate process in a project like this.
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