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Flashback
40 years ago In 1957, a polyester/ glass fibre greenhouse went on display at a plastics exhibition in London. The all-plastic construction was claimed to be tough, rot-proof, virtually unbreakable, yet light, and compact to transport.
One of the selling points of this reinforced plastic greenhouse was its invulnerability to supersonic bangs which, according to the report, could devastate latge areas of ordina y greenhouse glass.
A prototype developed by BIP Chemicals Ltd, the greenhouse for designed for use by amateur gardeners or commercial growers and could be extended by adding extra sections.
In a patented process, Fibreglass Ltd’s Supremat chopped strand mat, woven rovings and an Atlac corrosion resistant resin were applied to a shaped and welded PVC inner hoop. Hoop strength was provided by the addition of Suprewind rovings also from Fibreglass.
10 years ago Fibreglassforms in place around the reactor containment vessel at Oswego.
The air space was designed to ensure that a flying object from within the reactor could strike the containment vessel without damaging it. The steel would not crack or rupture since the missile would be contained by the thick fibreglass concrete protective barrier. GRP forms were chosen because, unlike steel, they would not be affected by condensation of moisture on the concrete side of
Reinforced Plastics July/August 1997
vessels were installed at the Runcorn, UK, chemical plant of ICI Mond Division in July 1997. The tanks, 18 high, 4 m in diameter and 20 tonnes in weight, were believed to be the largest in Europe at that time. Designed and manufactured by Plastics Design & Engineering Ltd, they were used for storing sodium hypochlorite.
With a weight advantage of 3050% over conventional lined steel tanks, the composite products were installed by conventional means and bolted to a concrete plinth 6.1 m above ground.
30 years ago A protective barrier of fibreglass reinforced forms and concrete gave a nuclear reactor in Oswego, New York, room to ‘breathe’, according to a report in Reinforced Plastics in 1967. The breathing space, an air channel measuring a few centimetres, permitted the steel vessel enclosing the reactor tank to expand and contract freely with changes in internal temperatures and pressures.
20 years ago Two reinforced plastic storage
the air space, and GRP is not harmed by heat of reactor operator. Unlike wood forms, GRP can be custom-made to conform to unusual contours of the vessel and to the pipes emerging from it. More than 22 tonnes of glass fibres supplied by Owens Corning were used to make the forms. Sprayed on chopped glass fibre and polyester resin and some glass fibre fabrics went into form construction.
Hong Kong was the destination of a large scrubbing tower made by Kerton Plastics Ltd, UK, in 1987. Manufactured for a air pollution control company, the tower was made from Courtaulds’ Celmar polypropylene/fabric laminate. The structure was approximately 9.2 m high with an internal diameter of 1.8 m. The fabric backing of the Celmar was used as the bonding medium for the external Atlac polyester resin and glassfibre reinforcement.
One of the selling points of this reinforced plastic greenhouse was its invulnerability to supersonic bangs which, according to the report, could devastate latge areas of ordina y greenhouse glass.
A prototype developed by BIP Chemicals Ltd, the greenhouse for designed for use by amateur gardeners or commercial growers and could be extended by adding extra sections.
In a patented process, Fibreglass Ltd’s Supremat chopped strand mat, woven rovings and an Atlac corrosion resistant resin were applied to a shaped and welded PVC inner hoop. Hoop strength was provided by the addition of Suprewind rovings also from Fibreglass.
10 years ago Fibreglassforms in place around the reactor containment vessel at Oswego.
The air space was designed to ensure that a flying object from within the reactor could strike the containment vessel without damaging it. The steel would not crack or rupture since the missile would be contained by the thick fibreglass concrete protective barrier. GRP forms were chosen because, unlike steel, they would not be affected by condensation of moisture on the concrete side of
Reinforced Plastics July/August 1997
vessels were installed at the Runcorn, UK, chemical plant of ICI Mond Division in July 1997. The tanks, 18 high, 4 m in diameter and 20 tonnes in weight, were believed to be the largest in Europe at that time. Designed and manufactured by Plastics Design & Engineering Ltd, they were used for storing sodium hypochlorite.
With a weight advantage of 3050% over conventional lined steel tanks, the composite products were installed by conventional means and bolted to a concrete plinth 6.1 m above ground.
30 years ago A protective barrier of fibreglass reinforced forms and concrete gave a nuclear reactor in Oswego, New York, room to ‘breathe’, according to a report in Reinforced Plastics in 1967. The breathing space, an air channel measuring a few centimetres, permitted the steel vessel enclosing the reactor tank to expand and contract freely with changes in internal temperatures and pressures.
20 years ago Two reinforced plastic storage
the air space, and GRP is not harmed by heat of reactor operator. Unlike wood forms, GRP can be custom-made to conform to unusual contours of the vessel and to the pipes emerging from it. More than 22 tonnes of glass fibres supplied by Owens Corning were used to make the forms. Sprayed on chopped glass fibre and polyester resin and some glass fibre fabrics went into form construction.
Hong Kong was the destination of a large scrubbing tower made by Kerton Plastics Ltd, UK, in 1987. Manufactured for a air pollution control company, the tower was made from Courtaulds’ Celmar polypropylene/fabric laminate. The structure was approximately 9.2 m high with an internal diameter of 1.8 m. The fabric backing of the Celmar was used as the bonding medium for the external Atlac polyester resin and glassfibre reinforcement.