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Composite Advantage

Winter 2020 Newsletter

Congested Urban Areas No Problem For FRP—FiberSPAN Elevates Pedestrians Above The Fray In 9/11 Rebuild Project For Downtown New York

Automakers are looking to develop all-electric personal air vehicles to liberate people from gridlock in congested urban areas. At a slightly lower altitude, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) pedestrian bridge systems are leapfrogging traffic to take commuters in overcrowded communities where they want to go. Manhattan, New York has 1.63 million daily commuters in just 23 square miles of real estate. In 2017, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the BatteryPark City Authority began searching for just the right mix of materials and design to build a signature pedestrian bridge to replace the Rector Street Bridge— a temporary structure installed almost a decade earlier after two bridges in the community were destroyed during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The agencies chose Composite Advantage’s FiberSPAN bridge system. READ MORE>>>

Quartz Architectural Decking non-slip (5)

Take the ‘Slip’ Out of Slippery With A Non-Slip Surface

When it comes to pedestrian bridge decks, safety is a big concern. Another is aesthetics, because a bridge deck’s surface is its’ most visible feature. Owners [and users] want a bridge deck to look great, last a long time and require minimal maintenance. Here’s how we do it. A polymer aggregate non-slip overlay is applied to the top surface of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) pedestrian bridge decks. Quartz provides durability in a people-friendly grit size and is available in a variety of colors. For vehicle bridge decks, CA uses an aluminum oxide coating to withstand the bite of steel snow plow blades. This coating is also available in a smaller grit size for pedestrian bridge deck and rail applications where snow plows will be used. Because aluminum oxide comes in black or white, CA blends the two colors to create gray. Find out more about our non-slip surfaces or check out our Resource Center.

FRP Camels Travel From Ohio To Guam To Join The Navy

When it comes to customer service Composite Advantage goes the distance. In this case, two fiber reinforced polymer (FRP ) submarine camels travelled 7,600 miles from Ohio to Guam to join the Navy. Located on Apra Harbor, Naval Base Guam is a strategic point of strength and sea power for the Western Pacific. The camels were final assembled at a Guam shipyard, set in the water and pushed by tugboat to NBG for delivery in January 2020. The camels will be used for all classes of submarines from attack to ballistic. Lack of support services on the island and the need for corrosion resistant products to eliminate maintenance issues made the FRP camels a perfect fit.

A ‘Team’ of FRP Advocates Agree That Education Is Key

Newer technologies like composite materials rely on education to spread the word through a variety of channels. Let’s take a look.

Composite Advantage and it sister companies in the Creative Composites Group offer Lunch & Learn presentations with Professional Development Hour credits to agencies, engineering firms and construction companies. Find out more about the program and how to request one.
Education includes our elected officials. Last month was the fifth annual “Composite Infrastructure Day” on Capitol Hill sponsored by the American Composite Manufacturer’s Association (ACMA). We spoke with representatives on the benefits of FRP composites in rehabilitating the nation’s infrastructure. ACMA members advocated for support of the IMAGINE Act to encourage government agencies to use innovative materials and to establish a composite information and standards program at NIST.
Another avenue for education are our media partners. Articles like the one authored by CompositeWorld’s Scott Francis on “Building Bridges with Composites” is a good example.

Take A Virtual Tour To Learn More About FRP In Everyday Settings

When it comes to material selection for buildings or infrastructure jobs, engineers and architects have a lot of things to consider along with performance criteria and cost. They have to make selections that will be attractive to the project’s stakeholders. That includes everyone from those that will use the building or structure (i.e. bridge, rail platform, cantilever sidewalk) to contractors, construction crews, maintenance personnel and the surrounding community. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is flexible, light weight, corrosion resistant and stronger than steel to name a few of its’ benefits. That’s why builders and users are adopting FRP for a variety of applications. Take our virtual tour and see for yourself.