Fiberglass Storage Tank Systems

The three techniques used are: hand lay-up, filament winding and chop spraying. Hand lay up and chop spray can each be referred to as Contact Molding, which follows ASTM 4097 standards.

Hand Lay-up involves manufacturing the tank by hand. This is a low to medium volume method for small or extremely large products. The process involves manually placing fiberglass material on a mold and applying resin by brushing, pouring or spraying it on. The use of thermo-setting resin allows for the product to cure at room temperature.

Filament Winding involves wrapping multiple, continuous strands of fiberglass onto a rotating mandrel.

Resin is applied by either spraying or pulling the strands through a resin bath. Specialized machines are capable of laying down strands in a predetermined pattern to increase strength along the stress axis. Tanks are generally wound at a 90° angle to the axis. Filament winding is commonly combined with the chop spray method. This produces a monolithic tank wall with superior strength and liquid retention. This process meets ASTM 3299 Standards.

Spray-up involves a method where continuous strands of fiberglass are fed into a chopper gun which chops the fiberglass into 1" to 2" strands. The strands, along with the selected resin, are sprayed onto the mold. Then a roller is used to force out the ari and help disperse the resin among the glass.

Arrowhead Plastic specializes in meeting these demands by offering our customers numerous types of resins that are designed for different types of applications. Along with the different types of orientations, diameter, finishes and resistance to corrosion, we are able to provide our customers with the proper tank to fit there specifications.

Types of Tanks

• Vertical Flat Bottoms - can be open tops, or can be enclosed with domed, dished or conical tops
  Can also be fitted with an internally sloped bottom.
• Vertical Leg Tanks - manufactured with open top or enclosed with dished, domed or conical top.
  Can also be fitted with domed bottoms with 30" clearance
• Horizontal Tanks - ends are domed or dished to provide better distribution of weight and for added strenth. Can be mounted on carbon steel, concrete or polyurethane foam-filled fiberglass cradles.
• Multi-piece Tanks - can erect fiberglass sectional tanks on location.
  Sizes ranging from 23,000 to 248,000 gallons