FiberRigg Crane Pads Designed with Superior Crushing Strength
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March 12, 2013—Composite Advantage LLC, Dayton, Ohio, engineers its FiberRigg outrigger crane pads with compression properties that deliver superior crushing strength. CA’s composite materials are reinforced with continuous fiberglass for crushing strength that is higher than conventional pad materials and similar to steel.
“The crushing strength characteristic of a pad actually refers to how the material responds to and resists the pressure placed on it by the weight or load of the outrigger,” says Scott Reeve, president of CA. “We use nearly 74% percent fiberglass reinforcement in our pads to give customers a crushing strength of more than 50,000 psi. Steel typically is rated at 60,000 psi.”
The compressive strength of traditional outrigger pad materials like UHMW PE is 1200 psi. Hardwood is typically rated at 850 to 1000 psi. While these materials are designed to handle the crushing stresses applied by outriggers, CA draws on the strength of structural fiberglass composites it uses in its vehicular bridges and bridge decks to build its FiberRigg outrigger crane pad products.
