General load information
Heavy Duty Grip Strut ™ safety grating walkways and planks are
available in three thicknesses of steel and one of aluminum;
walkways have one standard siderail height, planks have four.
In each category, walkways come in three widths, planks in
five. Begin sizing, for maximum economy, with widest practical
grating for the job (shallowest siderails and thinnest gauge); if
this does not meet required load capacity, first consider deeper
siderails, then heavier gauge, and finally narrower grating width,
if necessary.
Flexural load tables have been calculated according to design
load limiting criteria, and if not illustrated in this catalog they can
be obtained from our technical services.
“Strut Load Tables” show flexural strength and deflection of
individual grating surface struts relative to siderails. Since
these are maximum values in the elastic range, lesser loads and
deflections can be proportioned from them.
Design load assumptions differ according to load type:
(1) uniform, (2) concentrated (see Figures 1, 2 and 3 below for
explanation of load application). Concentrated load capacities
generally vary with span, siderail height and material thickness,
irrespective of grating width, although large differences in
grating width cause concentrated loads to be distributed
somewhat differently into siderails.
Siderail strength usually controls, but with shorter spans, deeper
siderails, and/or wider grating surfaces, flexural strength of
individual struts may control. In sizing walkways or planks with
strength as a design criterion, be sure to check Heavy Duty Grip
Strut safety grating for both: (1) strength of walkways/plank
siderails, (2) strength of individual struts in grating surface. With
deflection as a design criterion, loads may be limited by either:
strength of individual surface struts, or total deflection of one
siderail at midspan plus a surface strut at midwidth of walkway
or plank (sum of siderail deflection plus strut deflection).
All load tables show maximum loads, based upon actual load
tests performed at the Pinckneyville (IL) plant, and determined
in accordance with AISI “Specification for the Design of Cold-
Formed Steel Structural Members" , 1980 Edition, using minimum
yield strength of 33 ksi for steel, 23 ksi for aluminum. Loads are
designated:
(U) for uniform, in./ft. 2
(C) for concentrated, in./lb.
(D) for corresponding deflections, in inches
