JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007 - 42

ight from the start, the company aimed to manufacture the best quality and thus deliver a product meeting the highest standards. Epoxy resin proved to be one of the most water-resistant materials with outstanding mechanical features. With its honeycomb core enabling all existing extensions, the plate developed by GranitHarz offers an outstanding solution for the production of pontoons and boat hulls. Floating Aqua House concept. R Honeycomb sandwich plates for floating homes MR DIETMAR BIESSLER, SALES DIRECTOR & PARTNER, GRANITHARZ DEUTSCHLAND GMBH Some have no choice but to live on water, while others chose to do so. In any case, living on water may as well be pleasant and comfortable. The solution below offers a number of advantages in comparison with standard constructions in terms of both comfort levels and the manufacturing method. Optimum seaworthiness Non-flammable walls inner cavities at the adhesive junctions are filled with thick resin, which results in a massive, shock-proof and unbreakable compound. Another advantage of this double-walled building method is that the rooms inside the pontoon are spared from condensation water. Hence, the complete pontoon may be used to stow things away. In direct comparison with steel pontoons which rust and produce condensation water, the honeycomb sandwich plate cannot sink thanks to its millions of unconnected cavities. This is clearly a benefit. Its pressure resistance and tensile load are both higher than those of steel plates. Because of the low weight, such pontoons can be ballasted at the lowest points in order to keep the centre of gravity down and to achieve optimum seaworthiness. Unlike concrete pontoons, which are extremely heavy and therefore sink in deeply and often show a limited free board, epoxy resin pontoons are light and usable in situations where other systems are unsuitable because of their slight draught. Furthermore, concrete pontoons almost never offer storage room and concrete tends to absorb water because of its porous surface which freezes in winter and causes the concrete to crack. FEATURE “Construction” A specific gluing method is used for the construction of pontoons. Instead of working with resin and a glass fibre binder both inside and outside, GranitHarz glues the plates together at precise spots from the inside. This results in smooth outer surfaces that require no additional grinding or levelling. The JEC Composites Magazine / No33 June 2007 The walls of a house have to meet completely different demands, which is why the company developed revolutionary granite resin plates for the Aqua House floating home concept. This new material is made of a foam core with a double-sided jute coating impregnated with GranitHarz® granite resin. The resulting plate is light, strong and self-supporting. It exhibits outstanding heat-insulation levels that go beyond the German low-energy standard. The most important advantage of the granite resin plates is their non-flammability. The walls and the roof are glued together, resulting in a closed homogeneous “hull” that will not separate or lose its water-tightness even after decades of constant movement. Quality control starts with the choice of suppliers. For all the components and materials needed for the system, the company

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007

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