Testing and Evaluation of SURLYN Foam and SPECTRA Fiber Ropes for Buoy Systems Applications

摘要

Softlite foam offers many advantages as buoyancy material for surface buoys because of the foam's following characteristics: Low weight/volume ratio; Tough material which is resistant to the marine environment; No painting needed since pigment is melted into the plastic during the manufacturing process. The test results indicated that more factors besides density must be taken into consideration when choosing that right foam for a specific application. In the case of a surface buoy, some very important parameters are: Surface area to volume ratio; Number of concentrical layers of foam wound up to form the main body; Outer skin conditions. (kt)