Loading Mechanics of the ‘Can’ and Implications for ImprovedStrength and Stiffness Properties

摘要

Improved roof control in high deformation tailgate environments has beenrnachieved over the last decade through development of stiffer and increasedrncapacity standing support products. ‘The Can’ is one such development,rnbeing a steel cylinder containing a weak cementitious fill, designed tornessentially fold in upon itself whilst maintaining strength. A laboratoryrnstudy to better define the relative load contributions of the steel cylinderrnand fill, the confining interaction between these components and mostrnimportantly, the potential impact of varying the steel and/or fill propertiesrnis described. This would enable the support engineer to ‘dial-up’ therndesired strength and stiffness properties and optimise the standing supportrndesign with respect to load capacity, stiffness, weight (handling) and cost.rnDesign curves to optimise strength based on steel casing thickness, fillrnstrength (confined and unconfined) and ‘Can’ geometry were established.rnScaled-down (one-third) samples were used in the test program and foundrnto adequately reflect the loading behaviour of full-scale versions, therebyrnproviding significantly greater scope for further product development atrnless expense compared with testing full-scale products.