A HIGH-STIFFNESS, LIGHTWEIGHT BEAM STRUCTURE

摘要

A lightweight, high-stiffness structural beam having a web and a chord, which features a cross-sectional geometry featuring a plurality of sides arranged in an asymmetrical, non-closed, convex polygon shape. At least three of the sides of the chord are substantially parallel to one another, and are substantially perpendicular to the web. The beam is easily manufactured using fully-automated fabrication machinery and may serve as the main, flexure-resistant structural component of a sunlight-concentrating photovoltaic module.