INTRODUCTION • Modern Engineering Plastics (P) Ltd was formed in 1994. Prior to its formation, the business was conducted as a Partnership Firm under the name of Modern Fabricators & Engineers from 1979. It was set up as small unit specializing in FRP lining & piping. • A small group of experts visualized the potential in FRP technologies and began designing and building on a small scale in the early 80s. • MEPPL is located in Mettur Dam, Tamil Nadu India, reigning with two modern factory units over 6 acres land with 22,000 Sq. ft. factory building housing state-of-the-art filament winding machines, vacuum infusion equipment, testing equipment and a fully-established R&D Lab. • Set-out operations with major focus in design and product development FRP, Thermoplastic lined FRP equipments such as Tanks, Chlorine drying towers, Scrubbers, Lamella Clarifiers, Pipes & fittings and components for wind turbines. • ISO 9001:2008 certified company with a strong quality management program encompassing, chemical & material engineering, production control, testing, safety factor, structural design and vendor/material selection processes •Pioneers in All Composites FRP Road Tanker fabrication •Familiarity with client’s requirements based on past experience in handling similar assignments • Seamless delivery capabilities and ability to manage large production and supply volumes as demonstrated to the current clients managed by us. Page 1
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
• Modern Engineering Plastics (P) Ltd was formed in 1994.Prior to its formation, the business was conducted as aPartnership Firm under the name of Modern Fabricators &Engineers from 1979. It was set up as small unit specializing inFRP lining & piping.
• A small group of experts visualized the potential in FRPtechnologies and began designing and building on a smallscale in the early 80s.
• MEPPL is located in Mettur Dam, Tamil Nadu India, reigningwith two modern factory units over 6 acres land with 22,000Sq. ft. factory building housing state-of-the-art filamentwinding machines, vacuum infusion equipment, testingequipment and a fully-established R&D Lab.
• Set-out operations with major focus in design and productdevelopment FRP, Thermoplastic lined FRP equipments suchas Tanks, Chlorine drying towers, Scrubbers, LamellaClarifiers, Pipes & fittings and components for wind turbines.
• ISO 9001:2008 certified company with a strong qualitymanagement program encompassing, chemical & materialengineering, production control, testing, safety factor,structural design and vendor/material selection processes
•Pioneers in All Composites FRP Road Tanker fabrication
•Familiarity with client’s requirements based on pastexperience in handling similar assignments
• Seamless delivery capabilities and ability to manage largeproduction and supply volumes as demonstrated to thecurrent clients managed by us.
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FRP ROAD TANKERS
FRP ROAD TANKERS - FIRST IN INDIA
MEPPL takes immense pride in having introduced, for the firsttime in India, FRP tanks able for road transportation.
FRP Tankers replace the conventional steel tankers known forits heavier weight as well as corrosion. FRP Tankers eradicatedeterioration under usage in adverse environment unlike steeltankers.
FRP (Composite) tanks are non-metallic, non-corrosive andlighter in weight (45% lesser than steel tankers).
FRP tanks are designed and made integrally as a single unitwithout any structural joints that willnot cause leakage like insteel tanks with joints.
Integral winding of the FRP shell body and the dished-ends ofthe tank adds to the tank’s sturdiness thereby making it ‘road-worthy’ with a longer life.
Composite, lightweight, non-corrosive, long life and integrally wound FRP Tankers can be used for transporting
drinking water, edible oils and chemicals.
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FRP ROAD TANKERS
FRP TANKER DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING
Specifically for this FRP tankers, MEPPL developed split mouldsfor casting the resin-rich inner skin of the tank, windingmandrels of steel to support the tanks, jigs and fixtures withflanges/fittings to fix and rotate the tank on the winding machineand adapted the 4-axis computer controlled winding machine,supplied by CNC Techniques, Hyderabad, for winding the tankwithout sagging, whipping and flexing under its self-weight.
The shape of the tank is noncircular to keep the CG low on thetanker lorry- bed. Dr N.G. Nair of NGN Composites, Chennai ,who was formerly, the Head of the Department of Composite ,Engineering in IIT, Chennai, specialized in FRP Design forindustries around India, designed the tank shape, sized it andchose the winding patterns (thickness) for the tank. It analyzedthe tank structure to be able to withstand static and dynamicloads, environmental stresses, handling stresses etc. encounteredon typical Indian roads. NGN composites guided the windingprocess and extended all design support for FRP Tanks.
For designing the tank, in the absence of any approved standardsand Specifications for road tankers in India, the Designers andthe project teams tarted on a clean slate to create a freshvoluntary design standard specification suitable for Indian roadoperations of this tank. TIFAC approved the voluntary standardproposed by MEPPL. The tank was designed purely on such avoluntary specifications.
MEPPL maintains an approach that is open to revisions andupgrades and progressively elaborate the design usingoperational experience with the tanker manufacturing gainedfrom large scale production.
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FRP ROAD TANKERS
FRP TANKER DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING – Contd..
In the manufacturing process, the computer controlled 4-axiswinding machine required special program for accuratelycontrolling the winding head movement and rotation (in thenumerically controlled 4 axis winding machine), for laying theroving layers in the desired and correct angles, in propersequence over the tank body.
For winding different shapes of tanks, with different volumecapacity and varying cross-sections/lengths, appropriate‘programs’ were developed by a UK Company, in associationwith CNC Technics.
For testing FRP samples, all essential test equipment wereprocured by MEPPL, augmenting its labs and seeking assistancefrom other labs. Support was sought for testing the strength,elongation and strains from IIT Madras.
CFTRI Food testing labs tested the tank for food-gradecertification. ARAI and scores of engineering industries wereassociated in the project.
After the design process was evaluated and approved by thecommittee of experts, few ‘prototype’ tanks were produced forevaluating and testing the process of winding this complexshaped tank and for establishing a reliable repeatable andmeasurable technique to make the tanks.
MEPPL and the team were honored with the
“JEC innovation award” in Singapore in 2010 and with
“ICERP innovation award” in Mumbai in 2013 for this pioneering development project
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FRP TANKER SPECIAL FEATURES
Corrosion Free: Unlike steel tankers that contaminate liquids, FRP is chemical and corrosion resistant
Minimum service life of 40 years: Has a life of more than five times of steel body. FRP tankers draws a long life of more than 30 years.
Light Weight and Durable: 45% lighter than steel tankers of the same capacity. Added tanker capacity is added returns.
No Joints, No Leaks: Specially developed 4- Axis polar winding helps in making the shell and enddomes as a one integral part without joints.
No metallic parts in the entire tanker except bolt and nut used for mounting
Tankers are manufactured using food grade resins certified by Central Food Processing research Institute (CFTRI) Mysore.
The sample cutout from the tanker has also been tested at CFTRI and confirmed that the product is intended use for contact with potable eater and Edible oil
Tankers of capacity 1KL to 30 KL can be made in the existing facility
FRP TANKER SPECIAL FEATURES
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FRP TANKER SPECIAL FEATURES
Ideal for all transporting ‘non-inflammable’ liquids like water, waste-water, edible oils, etc.
The FRP tank is designed and made for easy fitting and removal from the truck. Saddles and brackets fix the tank within the load span of the vehicle.
Double D shaped cross-section along its cylindrical length, with end closing domes. The tank profile is smoothly curved without sharp corners and edges to make it suitable for polar winding and for giving it an aesthetic look. The double-D shaped tank shell, while filled with full volume, gives a lower CG (Centre of Gravity) when mounted on trucks. This low CG location enhances road holding capacity of the tanker when fully loaded.
The base skin of the straight cylindrical shell and the end-domes of the tank are moulded together as a single joint-less body. When this shape is wound in both hoop and polar directions, we get an integral and joint-less tank. The inner and outer fittings on the tanks like the slosh preventing baffles, support saddles and the manholes are hand-lay-up parts which are bonded with the filament wound shell.
The tank structure is wound with glass fibre roving as reinforcements. Suitable matrix resin is selected to make the tank body, to be compatible with the chemicals to be filled in the tank. The resin system varies for different chemicals to be transported in the tank.
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FRP TANKER SPECIAL FEATURES – Contd..
FRP TANKER SPECIAL FEATURES
Use of lightweight FRP shell makes the FRP tank 45% lighter than steel tank of equivalent capacity.
The tank, with its saddles, intermediate frames and brackets can be positioned along the loading span of a truck, to suit the longitudinal and vertical location of the CG of the load on the truck.
No metallic parts are used in making the FRP tank. Steel bolts and nuts are used for attaching the manhole cover and for connecting the U bolts.
The tank is protected, when required, with a steel frame around the tank for transportation by sea/train
The FRP shell of the tank can be repaired easily for damage during usage.
For seamless loading, unloading and to manage the tanker during speeds, design considerations include all dynamic forces acting on the tanker are selected based on the practice followed in automobile design. In addition to static loads, the dynamic loads arising due to acceleration, sudden braking, up-ward and down-ward accelerations due to ride over gutters and bumps on Indian roads have been considered in the design.
Centrifugal forces due to negotiating curves at speeds and weight during curve driving and overtaking are also considered for the design.
FRP TANKER SPECIAL FEATURES – Contd..
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FRP TANKER Vs STEEL TANKER
FRP TANKER STEEL TANKER
BODY
➢ Non-metallic body➢ High-corrosion resistance.➢ Longer life.
➢ Metallic➢ Highly corrosive➢ Shorter life-span
USAGE
➢ Ideal for Potable drinking water with safety against rust or chemical contamination.
➢ Only use certified food grade resins for manufacturing.
➢ Water contamination cannot be avoided when the tank rusts.
WEIGHT
➢ Lighter tank saving laden weight by about 45% compared to steel tank.
➢ Empty return trip of the tanker will be at lower weight and yields lesser cost per trip.
➢ Heavier than FRP tank by 45%, resulting in reduction of load transported per trip.
ECONOMICAL➢ Less fuel consumption➢ Lesser wear and tear.
➢ Fuel consumption ismore than FRP tankerfor the sametransported weight.
LIFE-SPAN
➢ Has a life of more than fivetimes of steel body.
➢ As the FRP tanks are properlydesigned and fabricated innumerically controlledmachines, the tank body isstronger than steel tanks and isresilient against stress.
➢ The life of steel body ofthe tank is almost halfof FRP tank. Most ofthe steel tanks are notdesigned to withstandIndian Road conditions,as there is no designspecifications laid downfor tanks to be fitted onchassis for roadtransportation.
DURABLE
➢ FRP does not crack as it hasstrong fibres reinforcing thematerial.
➢ It stands strong against impactloads without rupture. The tankbody has no joints. Jointleakages thus are completelyabsent in FRP tanks.
➢ Simple patch-fixing is sufficientfor repairs against damages.Does not require draining ofthe tanker.
➢ Repair against surfaceleak of steel bodyespecially at thewelded joints is costlyand equires a largedown time of thetanker vehicle. Steel isprone to cracking andcorrosion inducedweakening.
