Since the mid-1980’s, the cooling tower market has been utilizing Strongwell pultruded fiberglass products. Pultruded FRP is now recognized as the best structural material for cooling tower construction because it offers:
- Cost Competitiveness with Traditional Materials (i.e. wood, metal, concrete, etc.)
- Design Innovations
- High Strength, Lightweight
- Corrosion/Rot Resistance
- Consolidation of Parts
- Ease of Erection
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"Stick Built" towers follow the existing wood
designs using FRP components of similar size. Products used
in this design are:
- FRP structural shapes (i.e. angles, square tubes, round tubes, channels and plate)
- SAFPLANK® and SAFDECK®(for use in the fan deck and hot water
basin)
- Fabricated ladders, walkways, platforms
- FRP grating
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Modular towers take advantage of FRP properties to achieve
quick assembly with fewer parts. Typical of these designs
are custom designed FRP shapes. Far quicker field erection
can be achieved by utilizing custom designed parts and connections.
Although custom pultrusions are typically used as the structural members in this
type of tower, standard FRP shapes as mentioned in the "stick built" option
can be used in some tower designs.
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In reconstruction of existing towers, FRP products are excellent replacements for rot-prone wood beams and columns. FRP parts can be made to the exact
wood dimensions if necessary.
Standard Strongwell products such as SAFPLANK® are often used
to replace traditional materials. The photo at left shows SAFPLANK® replacing a rotten wood fan deck. Designing FRP to wood connections
is also an important consideration in tower renovation.
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A "shop built" tower is a smaller tower that
is factory assembled and shipped complete - ready for use
by the customer. The HVAC market is the primarily user of
these types of towers. Standard or custom shapes can be
used in construction of this type of tower.
Strongwell is committed to growing this market
with our standard and custom products, fabrication services
and design expertise. The use of FRP in the cooling tower
market is growing fast. Strongwell expects this market to
continue to show rapid growth for many years. |
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