Façade Fletcher hotel Amsterdam_

This Fletcher hotel is a real eye-catcher and is centrally located along the A2 and A9 highways, at the entrance of Amsterdam. Solico engineered the futuristic curved shaped façade. Steel brackets have been fixed to the main concrete structure of the building, to which the prefab GRP elements have been installed. The round windows integrated in the GRP elements are engineered in a double curved surface and consist of circular double glass units. 

Façade cinema building, Gouda_

Solico engineered the composite façade for the new cinema of the city of Gouda. At night, the façade is illuminated to emphasize the various windows that symbolize the diaphragm of a cinema camera.The façade is comprised of panels of 3.5m wide and 13.5m high. The panels are 30cm thick and therefore provide good insulation. 

Floating bridge, Geestmerambacht_

Solico realised the complete design of the new composite floating bridge of Geestmerambacht. Composites were chosen to reduce maintenance costs over the life cycle of the bridge.

Design and engineering of composite products is our core business_

The largest independent composite engineering company in the Benelux.

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Why composites?

Fatigue

The fatigue resistance of composites is much better than that of metals. Of course fatigue failure also occurs in GRP and CFRP and has to be analysed in detail.

Integration of functions

By combining functions such as strength and insulation in one product, a composite solution is often more cost effective than the sum of traditional solutions.

Non-magnetic

The non-magnetic properties of glassfiber reinforced composites are a major advantage especially in sonar and radar applications.

Sonar/Radar Transparency

Composites are very well known for their transparency to radar and low damping properties.

Limited thermal expansion

Thermal expansion of composite materials can be tuned. Depending on the fiber used it can vary between 0 and 30 where steel has an alpha of 12.

High strength

In general, fiber reinforced plastics outperform metals (e.g. steel and aluminium) in strength.

Cost effectiveness

Though composite materials themselves are slightly more expensive than metals, combining properties such as insulation and weight savings often results in a cost effective product.

Freedom of geometry

Double curved shapes are easily produced in composite materials at almost no extra cost. For production of limited series the relatively low moulding costs are an additional benefit.

Chemical/corrosion resistance

Composite materials are resistant to a lot of chemical products such as acids, hydroxides, crude oil, etc. Corrosion resistance against salt and seawater is excellent.

Low maintenance

Steel structures typically require periodic maintenance such as conservation and paint systems to prevent corrosion. Composites are not susceptible to corrosion resulting in lower Life-cycle costs.

Aesthetics

Slender constructions and seamless façades are examples of aesthetics driven design. These type of structures are impossible to construct with traditional materials.

Insulation

Typical GRP lambda values are 1, compared to 50 for steel and 237 for aluminium, which results in excellent insulation properties.

Lightweight

The specific weight of composites varies between 1.5 and 2.0 compared to 2.7 to 7.8 for aluminium and steel.

High stiffness to weight ratio

The stiffness to weight ratio of a high modulus carbon fiber construction is typically 5 times higher than steel or aluminium.