Sicomin says that it has supplied materials for The Museum of the Future, a new science museum opening in Dubai, UAE.
The company’s bio-based intumescent gelcoat and fire-retardant laminating resins were used to make 230 double curved panels to help form the interior of the Museum’s entrance lobby.
The company’s bio-based SGi128 intumescent gelcoat and SR1122 fire retardant laminating epoxy have good fire resistant properties and SGi 128 is formulated with over 30% carbon from renewable sources. .
The Museum of the Future features a large percentage of other composite materials in the interior construction, according to Sicomin.
Advanced Fiberglass Industries (AFI), a UAE based supplier of composite components, made the curved interior panels as well as a double-helix DNA structure staircase for the full seven levels of the museum and 228 glass fiber reinforced plastic oval shaped light structures for the museums car parking area.
The interior panels were decorated with a raised calligraphy design featuring quotes from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
In a first of its kind for a large-scale composite project, adaptable mold technology from Danish company Adapa was introduced by Advanced Fiberglass Industries to ensure that the interior panels could be delivered in line with the project schedule, it was reported. This technology made it possible to configure each panel shape more quickly and without the machining of traditional molds and also reduced waste generated in the molding process, Sicomin said.
“Sicomin’s FR epoxy solutions gave us just the right balance of structural performance, processability and fire performance that we needed for the Museum’s interior panels,” said Majid Akram Chaudhry, General Manager, AFI. “We were able to quickly dial in the new techniques required to use the materials on the Adapa molds and the industrial scale up we needed to deliver the project on time was no problem for Sicomin to manage. As a result, we were able to increase the scope significantly and for the staircase and car park light fittings too.”
