Fibrelite and Competitor’s Covers Tested for Deflection

It’s very difficult to look at a composite access cover and know how it will perform over time and under repeated heavy wheel loads.The simplest way to measure this is by level of deflection. Here Fibrelite test their FL90, multiport and a competitor’s cover with interesting results.

Excessive deflection indicates a lack of stiffness and potentially leads to fatigue and premature failure in manhole covers.

Repeated deflection beyond the elastic limit results in permanent deformation. Permanent deformation presents safety issues with rain water pooling on the manhole cover, the cover no longer seating correctly within the frame and ultimately failure of the cover.