Mangrove Boardwalk Way

Glass fibre composite or fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials offer high strength, low weight, and long service lives as they are not prone to corrosion, rot or shrinkage as other materials more traditionally used by civil industry. The high salinity of the Mangrove Park regions waters and frequently expected inundation means that traditional framing materials, such as galvanised steel and timber, are not viable options. By using composite materials Crystal Projects can virtually eliminate their ongoing maintenance costs and therefore significantly reduced the whole of life costs for the project.

 

A life cycle cost analysis performed found that the use of fibre composites for boardwalk superstructures can effectively half the 50 year whole of life costs when compared to hardwood timber, and lower costs by almost 50% when compared to steel. The FRP materials used were manufactured using the pultrusion process creating sections that are geometrically similar to rolled-steel rectangular hollow sections (RHS). This process combines a vinyl ester resin with an ECR-type (corrosion resistant) glass, resulting in high-strength structural components that are not prone to rot, corrosion or shrinkage. An additional polyester external veil and 2-pack paint is added to further increase its UV resistance and durability