Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Sometimes a top coating or lamination is applied over the principal coating for self
cleaning or to protect the main coating from ultra violet radiation and possible
degradation.
After the coating process, completed fabric rolls can range from 30 or more meters
long and anywhere from 1.4 meters to 4 meters wide.
3.2 Fibers
Tensile structures today use primarily five kinds of fibers: polyester, polyolefins,
fiberglass, expanded PTFE (Teflon), and aramids. Of these polyester and fiberglass
are the most prevalent kinds of materials in use in the tensile structure industry. One
stadium in Montreal used the aramid fibers for the main fabric and several military
projects use them for their low elongation properties. The expanded PTFE fibers are
generally used for fabrics in convertible, seasonal or moveable roof applications.
Polyester
Polyester has been in use since the early 1960s and is the most used structural tensile
fabric available (shown in Figure 3-3). It is considered very cost effective and its
lifespan ranges normally around fifteen years (some PVC/polyester structures have
been up for 23 years in a high solar environment). The polyester ultimately degrades
under exposure to ultraviolet radiation but it has very good trapezoidal tear properties
and can also be used effectively for up and down or seasonal structures. The coated
polyester fabrics generally meet fire resistive tests as defined by codes and can now
be recycled through the Texyloop system by Ferrari in Europe.
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