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. Many composite access covers look similar, yet perform incomparably, some leaking or even breaking after cyclical loading. Like any highly engineered product, the cleverness is hidden inside.

Composite covers are no different. Here we field test our FL90, multiport and a competitor’s cover for deflection, one of the key indicators (if the composite cover is fit for its intended use) how it will perform over its service life. Excessive repeated deflection causes a cover to fatigue and ultimately fail.