COOLING TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE

FRP Fan Stack Material

July 2013

STD-124 (13)
This document was developed using the consensus procedure outlined in the CTI Operating Procedure 304
and has been approved for publication by the CTI Board of Directors

FOREWORD
This Cooling Technology Institute (CTI) publication is published as an aid to cooling tower purchasers and designers.
It may be used by anyone desiring to do so, and efforts have been made by CTI to assure the accuracy and reliability
of the data contained herein. However, CTI makes NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE
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responsible for INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL losses or damage of any kind resulting from
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or for the infringement of any patent resulting from the use of this publication.
All CTI codes and standards are copyrighted with all rights reserved to CTI. The reproduction of any part of this or
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others, in addition to being unethical, undermines this system and constitutes a further financial drain on CTI. When
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Nothing contained herein is to be construed as granting any right for the manufacture, sale or use in connection with
any method, apparatus, or product covered by letters patent, nor as insuring anyone against liability for infringement
of letters patent.
This document summarizes the best current state of knowledge regarding the specific subject. It represents a
consensus of those individual members who have reviewed this document, its scope and provisions and is intended
to aid all users or potential users of evaporative vapor condensers.

Approved by the CTI Executive Board.

This document has been revised and approved

as part of CTIs Five Year Review Cycle. This
document is again subject to review in 2018.

Approved by the
CTI Executive Board

Copyright 2013
by Cooling Technology Institute
Printed in U.S.A.

STD-124 (13)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0

Scope ................................................................................................................................................... 1

2.0

Applicable Documents ........................................................................................................................ 1

3.0

Materials .............................................................................................................................................. 1

4.0

Workmanship ...................................................................................................................................... 1

5.0

Physical Requirements ....................................................................................................................... 1

6.0

Tolerances............................................................................................................................................ 2

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FRP Fanstack Material

3.5 Viewports shall be constructed of clear shatter proof
materials. Size and location and number of the viewports
should be a contractual condition and agreed on by the
supplier and owner/operator.

1.0 Scope
1.1 This specification covers the material of construction,
workmanship, physical properties and methods of testing
fiberglass reinforced plastic panels used in the
construction of cooling tower fan stacks.
1.2 Laboratory flammability tests (E84/UL 723) applicable to
this standard should be used to measure and describe the
properties of materials, products or assemblies in response
to heat and flame under controlled laboratory conditions
and should not be used to describe or appraise the fire risk
of materials, products or assemblies under actual fire
conditions.

4.0 Workmanship
4.1 The panels will conform to the specific dimensions of the
profile being produced and shall be fully cured. Panels
shall not contain major visual cracks, pinholes, foreign
inclusions, or surface wrinkles that would impair the
proper resting of the panels, alter the specific dimensions
of the panels or otherwise affect their serviceability.
5.0 Physical Requirements
5.1 Size of individual panels shall be such that when the stack
assembly is complete it shall provide a closed sealed
round vessel that at the throat will allow free and
unobstructed passage of the fan blade.
5.2 Stack shape may be Venturi style or straight sided. Pitch
angle on Venturi shall not vary more than 1 degree from
the design profile when measured on the inside of the
assembled stack.
5.3 Color of the panels shall be agreed upon with the
purchaser and be uniform across the surface of the panel.
Minor differences in color intensity due to disbursement
of glass fibers shall not be cause for rejection.
5.4 Flame Spread Classification of the stacks shall be
determined in accordance with ASTM E84 (UL 723).
The numerical flame spread rating is used by building
code officials to assess the fire hazard of an installation.
The International Building Code uses the following
classification:
Flame Spread Rating
Building Code Category
0 thru 25
A
26 thru 75
B
76 thru 200
C
Note: Flame spread ratings are not an indication of how a
material will perform in an actual fire situation. They may be
used as elements of a fire risk assessment which takes into
account all of the factors that are pertinent to the assessment of
the fire hazard of a particular end use. Notwithstanding a
flame spread classification of A, B, or C, FRP resins are
considered combustible and as such, all fire relative to FRP
stacks regardless of their rating will continue to burn when
continuously fed by an outside flame source.

2.0 Applicable Documents

2.1 ASTM D-790 Test Method for Flexural Properties of
Reinforced Plastics.
2.2 ASTM D-638 Test Method for Tensile Properties of
Plastics.
2.3 ASTM E-84 Test Method for Surface Burning
Characteristics of Building Materials.
3.0 Materials
3.1 The resins used in the panels shall be of a thermosetting
styrenated and/or acrylated light-stabilized resin
composed of polymeric esters in which the recurring ester
groups are an integral part of the main polymer chain, or
vinyl ester. The resin shall be reinforced with glass
fibers. Glass fiber reinforcement shall be A,C,E, or Stype and may be either chopped mat, continuous strand
mat, woven roving stitched roving or any combination
thereof. Glass veils, polyester veils or any combination
thereof may be used.
3.2 The resins may contain additives for various purposes
such as additives to provide low smoke density, or high
flame retardancy, catalyst residues, stabilizers, pigments,
dyes, fillers, UV inhibitors and reinforcing fiber or
filament. Gel coat coatings shall have minimum thickness
of 12 mils (0.30 mm) dry film thickness.
3.3 All hardware used in connecting stack panels to either
other stack panels, access hatches, guards or structure
shall be stainless steel, 300 series minimum or selected for
the conditions of operation.
3.4 Filler materials may be used by the stack manufacturer in
shaping the profiles. In selecting the material used for the
filler, care must be taken to use materials that will not be
detrimental to the overall performance of the stack.
Products that absorb excess moisture and swell should be
avoided.

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5.5 Mechanical Properties

Mechanical
Minimum
ASTM
Property
Value (SI)
Test
Flexural Strength
15000 psi
D 790
(110 N/mm^2)
Flexural Modulus
7.0 x 10^5 psi
D 790
(5860 N/mm^2)
Tensile Strength
9,000 psi
D 638
(62 N/mm^2)
Note: The above values reflect manufacturer minimums.
Assembled stack performance should not be based solely on
the mechanical properties of the individual panels since
performance is based on many issues including fit up and
supporting structure.

the height of adjacent panels will not differ by more than

(13mm) and the length of the panels shall be such, that
when assembled, joints are tight to minimize air
infiltration.
6.2 Radius The radius of independent panels shall be such
that when the stack is fully assembled, fan tip clearances
shall be a minimum of or as specified by the fan
manufacturer to allow for minor movement of the stack
from lateral loading or mechanical vibration. The
maximum fan tip clearance shall be in accordance with
the fan manufacturers instructions, or as agreed to by the
owner operator.
6.3 Misalignment at the joint between adjacent stack panels
shall not be cause for the fan tip clearances to fall outside
the tolerances as specified in section 6.2.
6.4 Circumferential level and radial flatness across the foot of
the stack shall be taken into account during fabrication.

6.0 Tolerances
6.1 Length and Height- Panel dimensions shall be such that

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COOLING TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE

P.O. Box 73383 Houston, Texas 77273 281.583. 4087 FAX 281.537.1721
Printed in U.S.A.

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