PUR & steel 'sandwich plate' repairs heavy metal structures.

A new method of injecting a polyurethane elastomer between two steel plates is said to reduce the cost and difficulty of repairing and rebuilding ribbed steel-plate structures such as bridge decks, railcars, and ship decks, hulls, and hatch covers. It also greatly reduces labor and construction time while vastly improving the service life of the plating itself. The PUR-core sandwich plates can be installed on top of damaged or worn plates, eliminating the usual cumbersome removal of the original plates and welding of replacement sections. The patented Sandwich Plate System (SPS) was developed by Intelligent Engineering of London, England, and IE Canada Ltd. of Ottawa, Ont. The process is now globally available for licensing from the company in partnership with BASF Corp., whose U.S. headquarters are in Mt. Olive, N.J.

BASF's PUR core material is composed of two liquid components that are injected simultaneously into the space between two steel plates using customized RIM equipment from the RimCell RX Series of Gusmer Corp., Lakewood, N.J. Standard models have throughputs from 50 to 400 lb/min. Injection of the PUR elastomer is said to be simple, quick, and easily incorporated into a continuous production line. The liquid components with catalyst are prewarmed in feeder tanks. The cavities between steel panels are filled in minutes with an injection rate of up to 2.5 liters/sec. The material "set" time can be tailored from 2 to 15 min. IE Canada: [phone], www.ie-sps.com