Practical Structural Design and Construction of an Innovative Composite Plastic Greenhouse

Abstract

A composite plastic material made of recycled Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Nylon, and glass fiber reinforced Nylon was innovated and applied to the construction of a prototype simple greenhouse in this study. With reference to the mechanical properties of a conventional galvanized steel greenhouse, sectional dimensions of the composite plastic structural members were determined. Structural performances of the conventional galvanized steel and the composite plastic greenhouse models were analyzed under static design wind loads. It was realized that the greenhouse model designed with composite plastic 田-sections of 5 mm wall thickness could have peak displacement response and sectional forces comparable to that of the galvanized steel greenhouse. Therefore, the 田-sections with 5 mm wall thickness were manufactured and used to construct the prototype simple greenhouse. On-site free vibration tests were conducted to estimate the dynamic characteristics of the prototype for validating the design assumptions and assembly procedure. The test results indicated that the prototype had a similar vibration period to that predicted from the numerical model. Moreover, the composite plastic greenhouse could have an average damping ratio of 6.2%.

Keywords

• composite plastic
• greenhouse
• structural design
• construction