Expanded Metal: Materials, Surface Finishing, Applications, and Advantages
This article will give an in-depth discussion on expanded metal.
What is Expanded Metal?
Expanded metal is a sheet metal mesh. It is made by stretching a slitted sheet of malleable metal. The orientation of the slits is perpendicular to the direction of the stretch. The result of such stretching is an array of holes on the slits – to give a mesh form.
The concept emanates from the idea that metals change size – expand and contract – when subjected to various conditions. The most natural of these changes arises from the chemistry of these metals and the behavior of their atoms. This brings about the development of expanded metal.
Expanded metal is distinct from, and competes with, the following:
Perforation is the punching of holes, in this case, into a metal sheet. The result of such perforation is a (metal) perforated sheet. In many cases, sheets that can be perforated can also be expanded. Perforation is a subtractive process – the punching of holes implies the removal of material. This comes as a disadvantage as the removed material is regarded as wastage. Perforation does not subject the perforated metal sheet to stretching, at least not necessarily. One of its advantages is the feasibility of very small openings and drainage casings for various applications. It can also have shapes that are not feasible with other meshing techniques – this comes in handy if the mesh is intended for decorative purposes.
Computer equipment often comes fitted with perforated metal sheets as part of the housing.
l Woven Mesh
In this meshing process, metal wires are bought together more like threads of a piece of cloth. The weaving is held together by friction together with the rigidity of the wire, otherwise, there is no bonding between individual wires. The edges tend to unravel if not bound. Screens for sieving sand are often woven.
l Welded Mesh
An array of straight wires is placed on top of one another, with the two arrays being perpendicular to one another. A welded joint is placed wherever any two wires meet. This mesh is usually used when large spaces are left. Finer meshes are less convenient to make because of the substantial number of welds required per unit area.
Welded mesh is commonly used in concrete reinforcement.
Types of Expanded Metal
There are various types of expanded metals and here are the most common types:
Standard Expanded Metal:
The most flexible and effective price stability of the product is Standard expanded metal. It’s available in a range of gauges and open sizes. It’s frequently used to create a stiff, lifted, and slip-resistant base. The strands and bonds of normal extended metal are all set at the same angle. This adds power and rigidity while still allowing for optimum airflow.
Flattened expanded metal
Flattened expanded metal is made through flattening expanded metal through cold rolling it. Where a smooth surface is desired, it is chosen. The flattening mechanism usually extends the duration of the sheet by 5 percent.
Hexagonal expanded metal
Instead of regular diamond openings, hexagonal extended metal has hexagonal openings. The metal’s hexagonal form adds strength while allowing air, light, fire, sound, and liquid to move through. When the metal is extensively extended, hexagonal openings are favored as diamond openings.
The diamond design is enhanced with architectural elements in an architectural extended alloy. As a result, the architecture achieves a balance of good looks, increased protection and privacy, and better ventilation. It may be used for both utilitarian and aesthetic purposes and a mix of the two.
Micro expanded metal
Micro stretched metal is a light gauge metal with small holes. Regular, flattened, hexagonal, and square openings are all possible. Sensors also use this kind of expanded aluminum.
Stainless Steel Expanded Metal
Stainless steel is less susceptible to corrosion than mild steel and performs better for high temperature applications.
Decorative Laser Cut Metal Fence Panels
Decorative laser-cut metal fence panels are made of high-quality stainless steel and other metals, which have strong corrosion resistance and rust resistance, and are also very mechanical. The product dresses up the place more colorfully in the process of use.
Decorative laser-cut metal panels are very popular home decorations in current life. The product has a beautiful appearance and firm quality. It has been widely used in many places, such as homes, yards, parks, hotels, other high-end places, etc. area. Moreover, in the process of making stainless steel screens, different styles, styles, patterns, colors, etc. can be changed according to different places.
Applications and Advantages of Expanded Metal
This chapter will discuss the applications and advantages of expanded metal.
Applications of Expanded Metal
Expanded metal has a wide range of applications. These include:
1. Metal Platforms
Many platforms that are required to be used at considerable heights use expanded metal mesh. This is done to utilize the advantage of lightweight. An example of such application is in rigging, be it for the transport industry, oil industry, telecommunications industry, etc.
2. Machine Guards
The mesh can be placed over rotating shafts and parts of machinery. It is lighter than solid guards and equally effective in protecting machine operators.
3. Drainage and Ventilation
Expanded metal can be put as part of a structure to allow for drainage and/or ventilation. It can be put on top of drainage trenches such as those on roadsides, those along or across walkways, and those on factory floors, etc.
4. Protective Screens
Expanded metal mesh can be used to make protective screens for building windows and vehicle windows, such as for cash-in-transit vehicles.
5. Walkway Applications
Certain bridges use expanded metal for their pedestrian walkways to reduce the weight of the deck but maintain structural performance. Many other suspended walkways use expanded metal mesh for similar reasons.
6. Use in Barriers
Expanded metal mesh can be used to make barriers. This is ideal if light, air, and sometimes water are required to pass freely. Such barriers are used in aquariums, buildings, tunnels, etc.
7. Fence Applications
Expanded metal can be used for protective fences, demarcating yards, making cages, and other animal enclosures.
8. Gabion Walls
Expanded metal can be used to make gabion walls. It is more suitable that welded mesh if a finer aggregate of stones is used.
9. Equipment Ventilation
Expanded metal mesh can be part of the covering for equipment. Using the mesh can be ideal for cases where neither using a solid sheet nor leaving the area uncovered would be acceptable.
Such equipment whose covering includes sections of expanded metal includes generators, tractors (engines), earth-moving machinery engines, air and water pumps, etc.
10. Uses for Decoration
Expanded metal mesh can be used for architectural reasons. The mesh can be included in gardens, building openings, building walls, roofs, guard rails, demarcation walls (as distinct from gabion walls), etc. The much finer meshes can be used to make jewelry.
11. Metal Mesh Trays
An array of trays may be made using expanded metal mesh. Such trays can be used in agriculture, for example, in the harvesting and transporting of green tea from the fields.
12. Recreational Uses
Some recreational parks put expanded mesh over steep and high cliffs to provide thrill and entertainment.
Advantages of Expanded Metal
As much as the expanded metal has demerits, such as its larger surface area per unit length, which exposes it to corrosion and chemical attacks, the merits outweigh the demerits. Some of the merits of expanded metal include:
Relatively lighter, compared to a solid sheet of the same outer dimensions and the same material
Decorative
n Allows light and ventilation
n The amount of light can be varied by varying strand thickness
n It yields up to three times the original solid sheet metal size
n It has no material wastage
n Does not require joining any material – it is built from a single sheet of metal
n Easy to cut (shear) as compared to the solid metal sheets
n It can be recycled
n Allows drainage and fluid flow
Conclusion
It can be reasonably inferred that the need for expanded metal products will persist into the distant future. The combination of (relatively) light weight, high strength, and moderate cost will continue to place a distinct attractiveness on expanded metal products. The general trends of structural and industrial development also seem to agree – amongst other things, the requirement for civil structures to become increasingly taller will persist, with it the need for platforms, barriers and ornamentation.
Want to learn more about expanded metal and its many uses, or interested in any of our other custom steel services? Speak to the experts at Ares today.
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