Dow has expanded its composites portfolio with the VORAFORCETM TW 1100 series of polyurethane systems developed for composites fabrication by filament winding, to enhance the existing epoxy systems offering.
According to Dow, this series allow for continuous reinforcement and manufacture of cylindrical and conical structures as found in power and transmission poles, and offers enhanced toughness and robustness while enabling easy installation and maintenance.
Dow explains that due to the light weight of the material, transportation is more efficient and installation becomes fast and easy. In case of severe weather events, composites offer improved reliability and maintenance thanks to their toughness. Product design and life, overall cost-effectiveness and durability are additional advantages of using composites in infrastructure applications.
Dow VORAFORCE TW 1100 series is designed to enable full 110 KV composites pole winding capabilities and thus complement the available range of polyurethane systems for smaller poles, like 10 KV. In this application, VORAFORCE polyurethane systems help improve elongation, toughness, and crack resistance as compared to conventional materials and other type of resins.
Thanks to its fast reaction profile as well as excellent performance in secondary operations like cutting and drilling, Dow says polyurethane solutions may also offer more cost-effective production. In testing, Dow claims the solutions demonstrated good processability and results also in critical manufacturing conditions with humidity. To complete the solution package, Dow has also developed a UV resistant finishing polyurethanesystem, which it says can be wound in a one-step production process to create the final protection layer for the pole.
"Made to perform in demanding production environments, this new series with polyurethane resins round off the existing VORAFORCE TW 100 epoxy systems offering used for filament winding of pipe, tanks, pressure vessels and rollers," explains Francesca Pignagnoli, Market Manager Industrial Composites at Dow, "Dow's approach is to use its deep expertise and broad portfolio across multiple chemistries to tailor solutions for customers that best match the material and processing properties to the requirements of the market application."