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04 Apr 2007  -  United States

DION® IMPACT 9102 provides corrosion resistance and good looks

CASE STUDY

Fabricators who supply the corrosion-resistant market rely on a number of crucial performance characteristics when it comes to materials selection. 

Above all else, resins employed in corrosion-resistant applications must provide protection from corrosion in pipes, tanks and other composite parts in a variety of chemical
environments and operating temperatures. 

After corrosion resistance, fabricators look for ease of handling, low-shrinkage and aesthetics, or good looks. DION IMPACT 9102 from Reichhold excels in each of these
categories and then some as fabricator Triple M Fiberglass, a division of ZCL, has learned in its successful use of this new resin. 

DION IMPACT 9102 is a premium, epoxy-based vinyl ester resin designed to provide reduced viscosity and improved curing at low accelerator levels while maintaining the
mechanical properties and chemical resistance of standard bisphenol epoxy-based vinyl ester resins. 

Triple M Fiberglass and parent company ZCL both have operations in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Operations Manager Glenn Maber says Triple M produces composite pipes from as small as one inch in diameter through composite tanks up to 22 feet across. Triple M sells its wares to pulp and paper manufacturers and the general chemical industry. 

However, the main market for DION IMPACT 9102-based vessels are the widespread oil sands plants in Alberta. 

These vessels find use in large water treatment facilities that treat water from boilers and other applications in the oil sands plants. Alberta is home to a significant portion of the world's reserves of "tar sand" oil deposits, also known as "bituminous sands." Conventional oil deposits are extracted by drilling wells into the ground whereas tar sand deposits are mined through strip mining techniques. 

Maber says Triple M employs a number of fabrication processes for its products including filament winding, lay-up and hoop chop, with hoop chop being the predominant process used for the vessels Tripe M manufacturers. Hoop chop is a combination of filament winding and chopping. 

Triple M had previously used a competing resin, but was looking for a light, clear, vinyl ester resin. Reichhold Salesman Jim Camozzi provided a sample of DION IMPACT 9102-70, and Maber liked what he saw. 

"We liked the coloring and the general appearance of the DION IMPACT resin," Maber said. "We like the clarity and the color," Maber continued. 

"This resin provides us with a much nicer looking vessel vs. the dark brown parts you get with older vinyl ester formulations," Maber said. "Other resins tend to discolor and give you that 'patchy' look, but we don't get that with Reichhold DION IMPACT resins." 

"The handling of this resin is good too," Maber explains. "We can lay up thicker parts with the DION IMPACT 9102. We get much less foaming than with traditional vinyl esters. 

"Our guys in the fitting area like the DION IMPACT resin due to the much thicker laminates it makes possible. We can produce a thicker laminate, but with less exotherm than you would expect with a vinyl ester. With less exotherm, there's less shrinkage in the completed parts. 

“Most reactive resins create 'pull-back' on the flanges, but we don't see that with this resin. Since we've switched to the DION IMPACT resin, we can use 2,4 pentanedione (initiator) so we get the longer gel times that our manufacturing process requires." 

Triple M fabricators use the DION IMPACT resin throughout the entire structure of the pipes and tanks they produce. Whereas some fabricators use CR-resins only for protective veils, Triple M uses the higher-performance DION resin for the complete parts. 

Technical Support
Maber says Reichhold's technical support has been outstanding as Triple M switched to the DION IMPACT 9102 resin. "We've had Reichhold Technical Manager Lixin Jin up here a couple of times, and have gotten a lot of support," he says. "We were able to get the material in quickly followed by Lixin working with our personnel to create a formulation that met our needs." 

Reichhold’s team of technical support and development professionals are available to assist you in your use of Reichhold resins in applications from corrosion resistance and windmill blades to cultured marble and boat building. 

Source : Reichhold