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