Wednesday, July 18, 2007

COMPARISON OF GRP/FRP CABLE TRAYS V/S METAL CABLE TRAYS


1.Corrosion Resistance
GRP/FRP - Excellent corrosion resistance against sea water and most chemical fumes
METAL - Poor corrosion resistance, pitting takes place even in SS or aluminum in sea water. Galvanic Corrosion takes place between Stainless Steel trays and MS supports

2.Hot Working
GRP/FRP -No Hot working, all assembly by Nut & Bolts
METAL -Hot working , welding cutting and joining requires special permission in hazardous areas

3.Light weight
GRP/FRP -
Sp.gr. 1.9, 1/4th that of steel, even lighter than Aluminum(sp.gr.2.8), just one person required to lift a big size cable ladder, so very easy and fast Installation, saving time and money
METAL -Very heavy, 4 times to GRP/FRP, hence crane or 3 people required to lift a cable ladder

4.Fire Retardant
GRP/FRP -
Meets most stringent offshore fire resistance norms as per British, ASTM and UL specifications
METAL -In heavy fire even steel de-shapes and needs replacement

5.Installation Cost
GRP/FRP -
Very low, as lighter in wt hence only one man can lift, and very easy to cut and fabricate at site, thus faster installation and easy site adjustment and modifications
METAL -HIGH, needs 2-3 persons or special equipment to lift, also difficult to cut and refabricate as per site requirement as cutting takes time.

6.Risk of cable damage
GRP/FRP -
Very low, as being plastics have much less hardness and even its sharp edges cannot damage a cable
METAL -When any site modification is done, sharp edges are created in metal which can cause damage to cables and pose risk of current.

7.High insulation ands Safe
GRP/FRP -
No earthing of cable tray is required as it has high Insulation value. In case of any cable stripping, the tray being Insulated is safe for the Humans.
METAL -Earthing is must, hence cost of earthing increases overall cost, which is not generally considered when evaluating.

8.Part consolidation
GRP/FRP -
As GRP/FRP is extruded section, inbuilt ribs for reinforcement, collars for fixing covers are possible in single section
METAL -This is not possible in metal, and if welding is done it looks very bad.

9.U.V. resistance
GRP/FRP -
All GRP/FRP cable Trays are made from very high U.V. additives, in addition to special surfacing Veils for glass blooming prevention, and carbon black for additional U.V protection
METAL -N/A

10.Antistatic
GRP/FRP - Cable trays are available in antistatic option as well for oil hazardous areas on demand, thus safe even in hydrocarbon atmosphere.
METAL -N/A

11.First Time COST
GRP/FRP - FRP/GRP cable trays are competitive to SS trays with all above advantages
METAL -SS trays are very costly compared to GRP/FRP Trays

FRP or GRP Cable Ladder/Tray

General
Known as glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) in Britain, fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) in the USA, or by the trade name fibreglass (after the manufacturing company Fibreglass Ltd.), GRP has been used for a wide range of applications from car body panels and boat hulls to furniture and tennis rackets. It has the virtue of a good weight to strength ratio, rust resistance, and ability to be moulded in a wide variety of ways. It became increasingly widely used in the post-Second World War period, a pioneering design being the celebrated DAR Armchair by Charles and Ray Eames for the 1948 Low-Cost Furniture Design Competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Very much paralleled by the organic forms found in much contemporary product, train, and automobile design in Italy, the flowing, sculptural form of the seat (supported on a metal frame) expressed the creative possibilities of the new medium. These were realized in subsequent designs such as Eero Saarinen's elegant Tulip armchair of 1956. Verner Panton was another designer to explore the expressive qualities of the medium in his moulded, cantilevered chair of 1960 first manufactured in West Germany. Many furniture designs first manufactured in GRP have subsequently been manufactured in ABS plastic. Early use of GRP in automobile manufacture included the roof of the Citroen DS (1955) and the body panels of the Chevrolet Corvette (1953). From the 1970s improved production processes engendered more widespread uses in architecture and interior design, whether in terms of weather resistant details and services or bathrooms.





Definition of FRP Composites


Not all plastics are composites. In fact, the majority of plastics today are pure plastic, like toys and soda bottles. When additional strength is needed, many types of plastics can be reinforced (usually with reinforcing fibers). This combination of plastic and reinforcement can produce some of the strongest materials for their weight that technology has ever developed...and the most versatile.

Therefore, the definition of a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite is:
A combination of

- a polymer (plastic) matrix (either a thermoplastic or thermoset resin, such as polyester, isopolyester, vinyl ester, epoxy, phenolic)

- a reinforcing agent such as glass, carbon, aramid or other reinforcing material


such that there is a sufficient aspect ratio (length to thickness) to provide a discernable reinforcing function in one or more directions. FRP composite may also contain:

- fillers

- additives

- core materials


that modify and enhance the final product. The constituent elements in a composite retain their identities (they do not dissolve or merge completely into each other) while acting in concert to provide a host of benefits ideal for structural applications including:

High Strength and Stiffness Retention - composites can be designed to provide a wide range of mechanical properties including tensile, flexural, impact and compressive strengths. And, unlike traditional materials, composites can have their strengths oriented to meet specific design requirements of an application.

-Light Weight/Parts Consolidation - FRP composites deliver more strength per unit of weight than most metals. In fact, FRP composites are generally 1/5th the weight of steel. The composite can also be shaped into one complex part, often times replacing assemblies of several parts and fasteners. The combination of these two benefits makes FRP composites a powerful material system- structures can be partially or completely pre-fabricated at the manufacturer's facility, delivered on-site and installed in hours.

-Creep (Permanent Deflection Under Long Term Loading) - The addition of the reinforcement to the polymer matrix increases the creep resistance of the properly designed FRP part. Creep will not be a significant issue if the loads on the structure are kept below appropriate working stress levels.

-Resistance to Environmental Factors - Composites display excellent resistance to the corrosive effects of:
-Freeze-thaw: because composites are not attacked by galvanic corrosion and have low water absorption, they resist the destructive expansion of freezing water.

-Weathering and Ultra-Violet Light: FRP composite structures designed for weather exposure are normally fabricated with a surface layer containing a pigmented gel coat or have an ultraviolet (UV) inhibitor included as an additive to the composite matrix. Both methods provide protection to the underlying material by screening out UV rays and minimizing water absorption along the fiber/resin interface.

-Chemicals and Temperature: Composites do not rust or corrode and can be formulated to provide long-term resistance to nearly every chemical and temperature environment. Of particular benefit, is composites ability to successfully withstand the normally destructive effects of de-icing salts and/or saltwater spray of the ocean.



-Fire Performance of Composites - FRP composites can burn under certain conditions. Composites can be designed to meet the most stringent fire regulations by the use of special resins and additives. Properly designed and formulated composites can offer fire performance approaching that of most metals.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Proses membuat Instrument Location Plan

Langkah-langkah untuk menghasilkan Instrument Location Plan secara manual

1. perlu dapatkan Equipment Layout sebagai background
2. dapatkan Piping General Arrangement (GA) untuk mendapatkan kedudukan Instrument tapping point
3. Information dari Piping GA dipindahkan ke Equipment Layout
4. P&ID digunakan untuk menyemak / memastikan segala process instrument dilakarkan diatas Instrument Location Plan

Langkah-langkah untuk menghasilkan Instrument Location Plan dengan menggunakan Model 3D

1. perlu dapatkan Equipment Layout sebagai background
2. Instrument Tapping point dan Instrument Location perlu di “extract” dari Model 3D dan di”superimpose”kan keatas Equipment Layout.
3. P&ID digunakan untuk menyemak / memastikan segala process instrument dilakarkan diatas Instrument Location Plan