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Hurricane-Durable Composite NEWS Docks
design used pultruded components, which
typically only have strength in the axial
direction,” he notes. “We had to overcome
this weakness through design.” Register
has begun working on the next generation
of composite dock systems with president
Jeff Gray and project manager Dana
Greenwood at Vectorworks Marine (Titusville,
FL, US).
“By replacing off-the-shelf pultrusions
with our own manufactured components,
the C-channels and frames can be fabricated
to have strength in all of the directions
necessary for each design, tailored
for the required performance and durability
while minimizing weight.” Register
explains that with pultrusions, “you
simply replace wood, concrete or steel,”
but this new development team wants to
engineer the composites to take advantage
of the benefits they offer, including the
ability to use fire-retardant resins, electrical
current insulation and 100% bonded
construction, using structural adhesive to
eliminate fasteners.
According to Register, stainless steel
fasteners comprise 10% of his company’s
current dock construction costs. “The
development of an adhesively bonded
construction without fasteners will not
only reduce cost but also bring all components
to the same material and service
life,” he says. “The life of the composite
parts is much longer than that of the stainless
steel hardware in the marine environment.”
He notes this bonded construction
also will enable innovative design
and assembly ideas that will minimize the
number of structural components and
many of the awkward installation details
currently required to complete a project.
The result will remain a very robust marine
structure, but one with a more elegant
design and more efficient construction
process. “All of our projects are ‘designbuild’
in order to ensure performance,”
says Register, “but now they will be
‘design-build and manufacture.’”
Register also is seeking
an additional advantage by
designing prescribed energy
absorption capacity into dock
structures, which is expected
to improve the durability and
service lives of the docks and
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CW senior editor Ginger Gardiner has an
engineering/materials background and
more than 20 years experience in the
composites industry.
ginger@compositesworld.com
the marine vessels that use them “We have already demonstrated that we can compete
with concrete,” says Register. “Now we are taking this technology to the next level.”
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