[VAC] Re: Structural loading / aircraft flooring

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson, electrical engineer]

McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) does show some round rods and flat
sheets of titanium. No structural shapes. A 1' long swizzle stick is
$22.50. A sheet .032" thick, 1 foot square is $231.71. The cost of a
titanium frame probably would pay for the extra fuel to haul a steel
frame at least 100,000 miles.

Honeycomb or foam core floor would be poor above the radiant tubing.
Poor for heat transfer, good structurally. It would be better to have
embedded the radiant tubing in the floor deck and have only the top skin
above the radiant tubing.. E.g. separate the two skins with foam or
honeycomb blocks and run the tubing amongst those blocks. I think
probably it would be most practical to make a lower skin of aluminum
sheet or thin plywood, and the spacer of foam or honeycomb. There was an
article in "ham radio" magazine (want a reference for interlibrary
loan?) in the late 60s about using aluminum sheet, honeycomb, and a
suitable epoxy to make a parabolic antenna dish. That same technique
could still apply to making an RV floor. The Aircraft Spruce Company
catalog offers materials and some instructions as well as detailed
instruction books on precisely such construction techniques. Their
catalog is free for the asking. Don't dream aircraft techniques without
it. You can ask for it on their web page
http://www.aircraft-spruce.com/. There are a lot of home built aircraft
that have been built using foam or honeycomb covered with aluminum or
fiberglass. Its a good technique and if the skin is fiberglass can be
any conceivable shape.

I doubt a radiant heat foam core floor can be built for the cost of 3/4"
exterior grade plywood, but it sure could be a whole lot lighter and as
strong.

As long as we are tossing about wild ideas... Why not a two layered
water bed. Start with one chamber (the top one) filled with clean water.
Use that for domestic water (cooking, washing, drinking, etc) and
dedicate the other chamber to gray water. Except for water spilled and
drunk, the total water volume could be close to the same. One would have
to monitor the clean water for leaks, and sanitary standards would
require the separating membrane be double walled for safety. It probably
would be practical to use two separate bags to get the double walled
separation. Then monitoring the space between them for water would
detect leaks in either bag. If the trip was long, might need to have a
third air bag on top for extended sleeping comfort.

Gerald J.



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