Experimental Investigation on Behavior of Folded Plate

This article is based on the works of P. Dhanabal, P. Narendra Reddy, and K.S. Sushmitha and their article of the same title.

This is a newer published article in the Journal of Modern Materials. This article builds and tests the structural integrity of a folding plate

The goal of this article is to make a structurally sound plate while still being cost effective. The main focus of the project that they were testing out was ferrocement, which is emerging as an alternative to regular cement. Ferrocement is created by putting plaster over an armature of a flexible metal substance like metal mesh/metal fibers and rebar (steel rods). They first used a 3D modeling software called ANSYS to use the built-in tests as predictions on how it would behave in real life. After the tests were completed in the 3D modeling software, they made and tested them in actual conditions.

They used their model as a reference to construct the plate in real life. Next, they compared their ferrocement against regular concrete, using a 10 ton press to test how much force they can take. The regular concrete cracked under 6.66 kN with a deflection of 9.73 mm but it ultimately stood until 10.67 kN of force was applied with an ultimate deflection of 15.8 mm. The ferro-concrete was significantly stronger but broke more abruptly with the first crack appearing under 8 kN with a deflection of 6.08 mm but remained standing until a miraculous 16 kN – for reference, 10 kN is the force of a small jet engine. In conclusion, the ferrocement showed a roughly 25% increase in structural integrity, eventually succumbing to a swift fracture and eventual collapse. In my opinion, this is an amazing proof of concept and will be used soon, hopefully in the construction of new bridges or houses. While concrete may seem boring, it can have massive impacts in our lives, since many things we make and love use concrete. This is a big step forward in both materials science and engineering, but also civil engineering, since ferrocement can help us construct a better future.

SAM CORRADO

Senior Editor — Social Media Manager at The City Voice

Hello, my name is Sam Corrado. I am a science and opinion writer for the City Voice. I run our social media and contribute ideas for others. Some of my interests include electronics and science. I am planning to go to college for chemistry and enjoy baking in my spare time.