Steel membrane floors for bodies of large rear-dump mining trucks

This paper presents the development of an innovative curved steel membrane floor for the bodies of large rear-dump mining trucks. Three profiles of curved steel membrane floors were considered. The performance of the profiles were evaluated by comparing the dent resistance of the structures against rock impacts. A finite-element dynamic analysis program MSC/DYNA was used to model the impact behaviour of these membrane floors and on a typical conventional flat-plate type floor. The results of the analyses are presented in this paper. A prototype of the recommended structure based on this study has since been built and successfully implemented in a mine-site.