/ Marley Reflex™ RTM Fan Cylinder /
Having designed and manufactured
cooling tower fan cylinders since the
1930s, Marley began producing FRP
(fiberglass) fan cylinders in 1958, which
quickly became the accepted standard
within two years’ time. With considerable
modeling and full scale testing, this
experience led to the development of
several new fan cylinder designs for a
variety of tower types and fan sizes. One
such development resulted in the Reflex
velocity recovery cylinder in the 1980s,
and is the standard design still in use
today for 10’ diameter and larger fans.
21st century manufacturing technology
has enabled further advancement and
the introduction of the new Marley Reflex
RTM industrial fan cylinder, offering a
more dimensionally accurate, high quality
surface finish, better fit and robust
structural integrity. A light RTM (resin
transfer molding) closed-molding process
lends itself to increased durability for
the final product, and ensures laminate
thickness and weight consistency.
Because the cavities are infused using
rigid forms in the ribs, there is no porosity
or potential sites for delamination or
structural fracture to begin. Therefore, the
cylinder load capacity is greatly enhanced.
The “green” benefit of the closed-molding
process is the virtual elimination of VOC
emissions because the resin is injected
and cured in a sealed, closed mold. And
because the lay-up process is now dry, a
more precise laminate can be achieved,
with no hand-working of resin-soaked
materials, no cleaning requirements for
application equipment, no hand tools using
hazardous chemicals and no chemical
disposal concerns.
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