ABSTRACT

The demand for fluoropolymer lined highway cargo tanks has risen dramatically as the industry pushes for chemicals with

higher concentrations and higher purity. Recognizing the higher concentrations difficulties associated with flucropolymers and present day difficulties associated technology to manufacture fluoropolymer lined highway cargotechnology to manldfactU~e fluoropciymer lined highway ~arg~

tanks, we successfully developed a fusion welding machne to weldtanks, we successfully tJ1.3 weld

the fluoropolymer and combined this with the proven performancethe fluoropolym.

tanks, we successfully developed a fusion welding nacb.ine

tJ1.3 weld

the fluoropolym.er ~qd tom,-~ined this with the prover. performance

~eirlforced plasti~ of fiberglass

~,n;

(~~P} ?highway CargC ta~lk. ..LLS

new fl?uoropolymer lined FRP cargo tar,k does away with numerous?

problems associated wit~h other constructlc.ns specifically lirier

inte~.rity, liner bonding, and secondary welding. This :LLsi3?.

we]ding ~~~~~nolOgy a~lows the welding af coils of flluoropoiymer,

effectively reducing the n?umber of welds, and testing the l~rii~g

integrity prior to appli~~.ti~~~ of a~y structural material, such

Upon completion of the l~n~ng, IEP was applied to -the as FPbF.

~laSS backing embedded into the thermoplastic, ensuring a

permanerlt. arid corj~lete b~nd $~ trAe load ?L:earin.gstructure of the

b a~~e~ . T~lis -f~~~ar: .,polyiner lined FRP

Copyright

01996 by NACE International. Requests for permission to publish this manuscript in any form, in part or in whole must be made in writing to NACE

International, Conferences Division, P.O. Box 218340, Houston, Texas 77218-8340. The material presented and the views expressed in this

paper are solely those of the author(s) and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association. Printed in the U.S.A.

~~rre~ W=JS bolted down Onta a S%ee~ cradle with a ty-pical running

gear cf highway cargo tank. We have now effectively intr~d~~ed ~

new generation of cargo tar.ks t?nat meets specific transpcrtaticm

industry needs.

This paper deals with

INTRODUCTION

fluoropoly-mer lined Fiberglass

Reinforced Plastic (FRP) highway ~argo tank.

- ??

The use of

fluoropolymer as an effective barrier of chemical resistance

dates back to the early 70?s and the use of FRP as a structural

material to construct highway cargo tanks dates back to the mid

60?s.

In fact, since the early 60?s, FRP has been used to

construct ~ig~way cargo tanks in c~ada, as can be seen cm Fig-ure

I., WRP cargo t~k built in 1965, which to a recent picture of a,n ..

this day cop.tinues to see service. ?TO d2t.e, such tanks have

already covered nearly 25 millicns road miles and hiave proven

tlhat.they are as safe as cop.ver.ticn~~ metal highway cargo tar.?ks.

As the transportation industry grows, the range and type of

chemicals transported increases dramatically and new containment

materials are in growing demand. ~:qer~J~p~as~iCS S?UClh as

fl?uoropolymers became a focal point, specifically given their

significant corrosion resistance characteristics and, this, in

spite of the fact that it has been necessary to develop new

expertise to weld such materials.

Among the pioneers in this field. was Chapman Ind?ustrles Inc.

who lir.ed the first metal highway cargo tank in 1972 ~~ith an FEP

loose liner (see Figure 2) . But after two years, this concept

was abandoned because of excessive iiowntiy,e. They attributed this

premature failure to road abuse from flexing, vibration and

sloshing . Regardless, the demand for f~u~~~p~~~er lined cargo

This content is only available via PDF.
You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.