Strongwell’s ability to meet very tight tolerances enabled smooth assembly of the tower.
“There was a huge 128,000-pound section they lifted into place, and the guys on the boom had to feed a bolt through the holes,” says Myers. “We were told by various folks doing the construction and assembly in the field that it was very impressive how it all went together so well.”
While Viziv was satisfied with the pultruded tower, their testing of low RF wave power transmission did not achieve the anticipated results. The company is now working with higher frequency radio waves and will be able to use off-the-shelf products like spun fiberglass poles for these antennas. That means it won’t be building any more tall composite towers, at least for now.
Construction of the record-breaking composite tower, which won the CAMX 2023 Unsurpassed Innovation Award, has served another important purpose, however.
“The project offers a glimpse of what is possible with pultruded FRP as a structural material in a wide variety of larger designs,” says Myers. “Producing very large parts while maintaining strict manufacturing and fabrication tolerances and specific structural performance requirements showcases the ability of FRP to reach new heights – literally and figuratively – and to be applied to a whole host of new structural applications.”
Mary Lou Jay is a freelance writer based in Timonium, Md. Email comments to mljay@comcast.net.
Strongwell pultruded all the bolts used to join the tower sections.
Photo Credit: Strongwell
