Dorset, UK based Norco Composites have made three 14 m long canopies using Scott Bader’s Crystic resin VE679-03PA and gelcoat GT600. The resin helped create a glass fiber composite laminate with a closed cell structural foam core to provide adequate panel stiffness over the large hollow wing shape.
The project called for Norco to build the canopies to look like polished metal features, while being lightweight and robust enough to withstand the harsh environmental conditions.
A resin infusion process was adopted for the production of the composite panels along with a staged infusion approach for the manufacture of the metal coated areas, in order to avoid ‘print through’ of the composite materials onto the external surface. Scott Bader’s grey Crystic gelcoat GT600 RAL 2043 was then used as a back-up behind the VeroMetal spray on the canopies to help ensure a consistent metal finish.
The canopies will be installed as part of the One Blackfriars development in London, UK, consisting of a 52-storey tower of a maximum height of 170 m and two smaller buildings of six and four storeys respectively. It includes residential flats, a hotel and retail units, along with a public space.
This story is reprinted from material from Scott Bader, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
