CTC Engineering b.v. based in Almelo, in the Netherlands is more usually associated with the use of composite materials for the production of wind turbine blades. However, engineers from the company have been helping with a special project for the de Windbuuln Carnival, held every year in the nearby city of Hengelo. Volunteers from CTC have helped to build the carnival float featuring the key civic symbols of the City Hall tower and the Catholic Church tower, by using their expertise in composite materials and the Araldite® LY 5052 / Aradur® 5052 laminating system. "Every year during the City carnival, a parade is held,¨ explained Robin Geersen, Operational Manager at CTC. "Some of our staff have helped the Carnival Society in Hengelo build the float featuring an artist's impression of the two towers. They assisted with the laminating process, where we used Huntsman¡¦s Araldite® LY 5052 / Aradur® 5052 laminating system.¨
The towers were built using a steel frame, which had to be able to support the weight of the people riding on the float. Over this frame, the towers were modelled by hand, out of polystyrene foam. These polystyrene models were then coated in the epoxy glass laminate.
"We are familiar with the durability and toughness of Huntsman's composite laminating systems through using them in our wind blade production processes¨ said Robin Geersen. "As this carnival float needs to last for several years and withstand outside weather conditions, we decided to use Huntsman materials for this too." "Also because of the large size of the polystyrene models (7.2m), they had to cure at room temperature, so we had to choose a cold cure epoxy resin system. The models also had to have a good, smooth surface finish and be paintable. Overall, Araldite® LY 5052 / Aradur® 5052 met all these requirements. "These carnival float models are usually made from papier mâché but this is very brittle, and not very weather tolerant so does not last very long.¨ The project took five months to complete from artist's drawings to the finished carnival float, with the laminating process taking just four days. The Hengelo Carnival is held in February each year.