omposite materials are made up of two or more component material with dissimilar chemical and physical properties to create a new material with superior properties. Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) combines fibres of glass or carbon called the reinforcement with thermoset resins called the matrix. The resin matrix determines the chemical, electrical, and thermal properties while fibres provide strength, dimensional constancy and heat resistance properties. FRP composites are widely used in cooling tower equipment manufacturing industries due to its various advantages like corrosion resistance, high specific strength, dimensional stability, high dielectric strength and low moisture absorption.

Since corrosion of cooling tower components operating with seawater is inevitable, hence composites make a better choice for mechanical parts due to its proven resistance against salt water with higher chloride content.  ENCON’s design and production department makes every effort to develop more innovative applications of composites and considered FRP a popular choice of material in manufacturing FRP clamps due to its enhanced properties as compared to metal.

The main objective of the development of FRP clamps is to improve the overall blade life by reducing the operational stresses experienced by the critical region of blade shank. Due to homogeneity of material between clamp and fan blade, the vibration damping phenomena is augmented. The uniform distribution of vibratory loads over the Fan blade and Clamp causes absorption of the maximum amplitude by the Clamps and hence, operational life & reliability of the Fan blade will be improved significantly.

The FRP clamps are not manufactured by a common layup process, instead, the manufacturing is a specialized and quality intrinsic process mastered by ENCON over the years. Additionally, expensive selection of material with an efficient and complex manufacturing process through skilled teamwork of craftsmen produces high strength, low weight complex clamp parts in a wide variety of sizes. Due to considerable reduction in self-weight as compared to metal alloys, the axial load imposed on the other components will be reduced, hence reduction in overall vibration and related stress.

The assured life of FRP clamps is well above 10 years in contrast to the assessment of Stainless Steel clamps having lower reliability in comparison