Is FRP Cost Effective Compared to Steel?

Fiberglass grating and FRP were introduced to industry in the 1930s. Since then, FRP has become a reliable staple in structural design, especially in harsh environments. Workplaces in industrial sectors such as marine and offshore oil drilling enjoy greater safety and a higher return on investment.

Fiberglass is superior to traditional materials in many ways when it comes to industrial and structural design materials. Material selection always plays a critical role when planning and executing construction projects. For example, the selection of materials for stairs and decks used in a water park must take into account the wet environment. Conversely, the same structure used in an oil refinery will have to take into account corrosion and heat. The environmental conditions that the structure must withstand are a key determinant of which material to use.

FRP Fence

FRP vs. Steel

Strength

It may come as a shock to some, but compared to steel, FRP has equal or better strength. Many people hear the word "plastic" and don't understand that it is as strong or better than steel. However, because of the greater flexibility of fiberglass grating - it has higher impact resistance than steel. Steel, because it is so hard, does not flex, so it will dent from significant impact.

Safety

Workplace accidents happen in all companies, regardless of size or environment - it's bound to happen. However, industrial environments are, by far, the type of workplace with the highest risk of accidents. Factories, chemical plants, oil rigs and other such environments pose risks not found in many office environments.

With FRP, you don't have to worry about structural integrity, durability, shock hazard or corrosion. If assembled properly, it just won't happen. In stark contrast to steel, FRP is non-conductive, does not disintegrate due to corrosion, and actually enhances safety.

FRP/GRP Pipes

Durability

Corrosion is also an area where the cost of FRP makes sense, as it is the biggest advantage over steel. Steel corrodes easily, even in the absence of water. Steel can be corroded by airborne particles such as salt or acid. This means very limited service life in highly corrosive environments such as oil refineries. Fiberglass grating does not corrode at all and therefore has a longer service life than steel. In fact, it can handle direct exposure to acids, brines, oils, blood and many other common corrosives.

Cost

In harsh environments, even steel has a short life span. However, despite the high cost of FRP, it can last up to 20 years in the same environment.

Steel is very heavy and requires many special machines to move and assemble the steel structure. In addition, many job sites must be reinforced with concrete foundations to support that weight. FRP is lightweight, requires only basic tooling to assemble, and can be assembled on site at no additional cost. In addition, shipping your FRP product is much cheaper than steel because it weighs a fraction of what steel does.

Our company WEITONG brought in the advanced technology and equipments from Vetroresina Corporation(Italy) successfully.It has become a professional enterprise which is manufacturing FRP vessels and pipes.We have been certified by ISO9001,ISO14001,ISO45001 of FRP industryFRP is a versatile, low-cost, low-maintenance and resilient material that outperforms wood, steel or aluminum in all categories. Please contact us to get our product list and get the quote.