To craft the pipe, FiberSystems made a foam mold using a CNC machine, then fabricated the pipe using hand lay-up in several stages. First, a 100-millimeter, four-ply corrosion liner was made with a layer of C-veil, one ply of Nexus veil and two layers of Owens Corning’s 1.5-ounce chopped strand mat, which was torn into shape by hand. The corrosion liner was then infused with CoREZYN® VEX229-041, a Bisphenol-A vinyl ester resin specifically formulated by Interplastic Corporation for this project and similar applications. Afterward, the liner was cured.
Next, eight structural plies were put down using two additional layers of 1.5-ounce chopped strand mat and a layer of Owens Corning’s 24-ounce woven roving fabric, which were infused with VEX 229-041 and left to gel before adding the remaining plies – another two layers of chopped strand mat, a single layer of woven roving and a final two layers of chopped strand mat. The laminate was then fully cured. The whole process took two days.
The pipe was laid up standing flange face down, which was difficult. “The biggest challenge that we found, because of the shape and the length, was to get this thing to stand up,” says Morton. “We had to build a jig or a framework to hold it up. So you had people working on the floor [and] you had people standing on a table to reach the top of it. It was definitely a group effort.”
After the pipe was extracted from the mold and deburred, the end was contoured, flange holes were drilled and the exterior was painted with SPECTATRON® 300, a polyurethane enamel from PPG. Three FRP lifting lugs were then affixed to the pipe to help workers place the pipe, which weighs approximately 375 pounds, into place.
Gaskin says the installed pipe “fit like a glove.” Morton believes it will have a lifespan of 30 years or more, adding that “fiberglass will outlast metal every time.”
