Plastic keeps ships and bridges in shape

Ships at sea are exposed to extreme conditions, and material damaged by corrosion or stress can harm man and the environment. In order to reduce these risks, BASF’s subsidiary Elastogran has developed the Sandwich Plate System^TM (SPS) together with the British company Intelligent Engineering. Here, conventional steel structures are replaced by a composite steel-polyurethane-steel system

SPS dampens vibrations and results in lighter, stronger structures. It also prolongs the life of the ship’s segments and significantly reduces repair times. Since 2001, SPS has been used to repair the decks and holds of more than 20 ships with an area totaling 25,000 square meters (30,000 square yards). In addition,many new ship segments have been built using SPS. The system also offers an intelligent solution for land-based applications. For example, 2003 saw the inauguration of the first SPS road bridge in Quebec, Canada. Thanks to the composite material it is 40 percent lighter than a conventional construction. In the future, we plan to expand on new building activities like these.