ALUMINUM A356-T6 PLATE COVER DESIGN

[exvo]

Hi everybody:

I need to select a aluminum cover for a floor box in a convention center and I'm not sure about the calculations.
I need a strong but no heavy cover. Could you help me telling the way to get the procedure to know how many pound (kilos) an aluminum plate can support?
A 16 1/2" x 16 1/2" x 1" A356-T5 aluminum plate, for example.
The cover is for a 16" x 16" hole.

 

[sbi]

A356.0 T6 is a sand cast & p-mold alloy
from a casting design, flat top plate say 5/16" thick
the bottom would be a web layout say on 4" cc
opptional alloy is 319.0-T6 which is 10% stronger
For casting help feel free to call us

You need to pick a load ,then it can be designed to that
with a safty factor built in

 

[arto]

MAybe look in the latest version of ASCE 7-88 [ANSI A58.1]or your local building code for live load to use in design