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Plastic applications
Glass-fiber reinforced plastics, gaskets
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Plastic applications
Plastics are increasingly finding their way into a variety of applications in industry, road construction, and hydraulic engineering. Not only because of the possibilities that have resulted from the development of new types of plastics, but also because of environmental criteria dictating the use of polymeric materials and low maintenance costs.
KEMA’s industrial plastics team provides consultancy and support, both in the application of these polymeric materials and in the development of new processing techniques. Quality control and practical applicability serve as the guiding principles for the activities of the industrial plastics team.
A special fields of expertise of the industrial plastics team is composite materials. Research has been done into the durability of glass-fiber reinforced plastics, the application of GRP’s in tubes for the process industry and the development of high-voltage lines on basis of composite materials. Beside this, we advise on many subjects, such as: failure mechanisms in CD covers, testing of rollable asphalt and the development of flexible wall systems.
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Glass-fiber reinforced plastics
Fiber-reinforced plastics have a number of advantages in comparison with traditional construction materials like steel and concrete: a better weight/strength ratio and greater corrosion resistance. The application of fiber-reinforced plastics in piping systems enables reduction of the total service life cost as compared with traditional tubing systems. Moreover, fiber-reinforced plastic pipes are highly fire-resistant. A drawback of fiber-reinforced pipes is their poor accessibility to inspection of the joints. This aspect requires further research. In repair jobs, an additional layer is usually applied, which in principle equals a laminate joint.
Glass-fiber reinforced plastics consist of glass fibers that in most cases are embedded in a resin matrix made of a material such as polyester or epoxy. During production, the glass fibers are placed in the still liquid resin and subsequently the polymerization process starts. The fibers give the matrix greater strength and stiffness. The matrix serves to transfer load onto these stiff, brittle fibers and to protect them from aggressive conditions.
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Gaskets
Since 1992, production and sale of asbestos-containing products has been prohibited. Regulations then came into force requiring that other materials be used in these applications. Asbestos in asbestos-containing gaskets can be replaced at three different levels:- fiber substitution, in which the sealing as a whole remains the same and only the asbestos fiber is replaced by a different fiber type (glass, graphite or ceramic fiber)
- sealing substitution, in which a sealing type without fibers is used (graphite, PTFE)
- system substitution, in which not only the sealing is replaced, but also the construction is modified (flange grinding, spring-mounted stuffing box, secondary sealings, extended stuffing box neck).
In the field of asbestos-free gaskets for flanges and stuffing boxes, KEMA has performed extensive research at the electric power companies, but also in cooperation with Dutch industry. Focal points in this research included failure cause analysis of flanged joints and selection of gaskets, both in light of the initially many problems accompanying materials replacing asbestos.
For more information, please contact us.
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