In applications where the consumer is the end user, composite materials usually must meet certain aesthetic requirements. However, fiber-reinforced materials are equally valuable in industrial applications, where corrosion resistance, high strength and durability are the performance drivers. #Resource Manual#Function#Upload
Although the use of composite materials in high-performance end markets such as aerospace and automotive has often attracted widespread industry attention, the fact is that most of the composite materials consumed are used in non-high-performance parts. The industrial end market falls into this category, where the material properties usually emphasize corrosion resistance, weather resistance and durability.
Durability is one of the goals of SABIC (located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), which is located at the op Zoom manufacturing plant in Bergen, the Netherlands. The plant began operations in 1987 and processes chlorine, strong acids and alkalis at high temperatures. This is a highly corrosive environment, and steel pipes may fail in just a few months. In order to ensure maximum corrosion resistance and reliability, SABIC selected glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) as key pipes and equipment from the very beginning. Material and manufacturing improvements over the years have led to the design of composite parts The life span is extended to 20 years, so there is no need for frequent replacement.
From the beginning, Versteden BV (Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands) used resin-made GFRP pipes, containers and components from DSM Composite Resins (now part of AOC, Tennessee, USA and Schaffhausen, Switzerland). A total of 40 to 50 kilometers of composite pipelines were installed at the plant, including approximately 3,600 pipe sections of different diameters.
Depending on the design, size and complexity of the part, composite components are produced using filament winding or hand-laid methods. A typical pipeline structure consists of an internal anti-corrosion layer with a thickness of 1.0-12.5 mm to achieve the best chemical resistance. The structure layer of 5-25 mm can provide mechanical strength; the outer coating is about 0.5 mm thick, which can protect the factory environment. The liner provides chemical resistance and acts as a diffusion barrier. This resin-rich layer is made of C glass veil and E glass mat. The standard nominal thickness is between 1.0 and 12.5 mm, and the maximum glass/resin ratio is 30% (based on weight). Sometimes the corrosion barrier is replaced with a thermoplastic lining to demonstrate greater resistance to specific materials. The lining material may include polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE). Read more about this project here: “Long-distance corrosion-resistant piping.”
The strength, stiffness and light weight of composite materials are becoming more and more beneficial in the manufacturing field itself. For example, CompoTech (Sušice, Czech Republic) is an integrated service company that provides composite material design and manufacturing. It is committed to advanced and hybrid filament winding applications. It has developed a carbon fiber robotic arm for Bilsing Automation (Attendorn, Germany) to move 500 Kilogram payload. The load and existing steel/aluminum tools weigh up to 1,000 kg, but the largest robot comes from KUKA Robotics (Augsburg, Germany) and can only handle up to 650 kg. The all-aluminum alternative is still too heavy, yielding a payload/tool ​​mass of 700 kg. The CFRP tool reduces the total weight to 640 kg, making the application of robots feasible.
One of the CFRP components CompoTech provided to Bilsing is a T-shaped boom (T-shaped boom), which is a T-shaped beam with a square profile. T-shaped boom is a common component of automation equipment traditionally made of steel and/or aluminum. It is used to transfer parts from one manufacturing step to another (for example, from a press to a punching machine). The T-shaped boom is mechanically connected to the T-bar, and the arm is used to move materials or unfinished parts. Recent advances in manufacturing and design have improved the performance of CFRP T pianos in terms of key functional characteristics, the main ones being vibration, deflection and deformation.
This design reduces vibration, deflection and deformation in industrial machinery, and helps to improve the performance of the components themselves and the machinery that works with them. Read more about the CompoTech boom here: “Composite T-Boom can accelerate industrial automation.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired some interesting composite-based solutions aimed at solving the challenges posed by the disease. Imagine Fiberglass Products Inc. (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) was inspired by the polycarbonate and aluminum COVID-19 test station designed and built by Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) earlier this year. Imagine Fiberglass Products Inc. .(Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) developed its own lighter version using glass fiber reinforced composite materials.
The company’s IsoBooth is based on a design originally developed by researchers at Harvard Medical School, allowing clinicians to stand internally separately from patients and perform swab tests from gloved external hands. The shelf or customized tray in front of the booth is equipped with test kits, supplies and a disinfectant wipes tank for cleaning gloves and protective covers between patients.
The Imagine Fiberglass design connects three transparent polycarbonate viewing panels with three colored glass fiber roving/polyester fiber panels. These fiber panels are reinforced with a polypropylene honeycomb core, where additional rigidity is needed. The composite panel is moulded and coated with a white gel coat on the outside. The polycarbonate panel and arm ports are machined on Imagine Fiberglass CNC routers; the only parts not manufactured in-house are gloves. The booth weighs about 90 pounds, can be easily carried by two people, is 33 inches deep, and is designed for most standard commercial doors. For more information on this application, please visit: “Glass fiber composites enable a lighter COVID-19 test bench design.”
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The first V-shaped commercial storage tank of the Composites Technology Development Company heralds the growth of filament winding in compressed gas storage.