Winch Tower Constructed Entirely From FRP Pultrusions
ArchitEX™ box sections and beams were used to overcome considerable corrosion issues posed by the environment and ensured that stringent weight restrictions were not exceeded. As the site was located on the remote and cyclone prone west coast of Australia, there were stringent structural requirements to meet too.
To complete the ardous task, our client’s engineering team worked in close conjunction with our FRP design and development personnel throughout the whole project to design a lightweight, corrosion resistant and cyclone rated structure that was capable of supporting a heavy duty winch with a S.W.L. of 5 tonnes. The resulting strucutre was joined together using 316 grade stainless steel bracketry while the rest of the components were made from fibreglass.
A bridge section was developed to span the 7 metres between a bank of earth and the tower to allow access to site workers. GratEX®, in conjunction with RailEX®, Treadwell’s FRP hand railing system, was specified to assure all personnel accessing the tower would enjoy safe and secure footing.
The structure was fully trial assembled and then partly dismantled and packed into modules to be delivered on time in full.