The Marley Cooling Tower Company

Scott E Mayes

Larry F Burdick

Harry J Bendick

William F Immell

An elongated, flexible protective urethane member is bonded and firmly affixed to the leading edge of a glass fiber reinforced polyester skin fan blade for large diameter industrial water cooling tower fans. The polyester blade without such protective member would be subject to leading edge abrasion and deterioration during use. The flexible protective member is applied to the blade prior to curing of the chemically thickened polyester skin. Firm bonding and adherence of the protective member to the leading edge of the blade skin is obtained by curing of the skin with the protective member in place over the leading edge of the blade. Mechanical connection of the urethane member to the polyeste blade body is accomplished by provision of a series of holes along opposed longitudinal margins of the member which allow fluid polyester resin to flow into such openings during cure of the blade body resin layers, and by application of a glass fiber reinforced synthetic resin hold-down strip over opposed longitudinally extending edges of the hold-down strips and adjacent areas of the blade skin. Thus, upon completion of the cure cyle, the polyester resin within the openings cross-links with the underlying resin material and the overlying hold-down strips to more securely lock the member to the blade body.

Industrial cooling tower fan blade having abrasion resistant leading edge

A molded, composite, airfoil-defining, synthetic resin blade for large diameter cooling tower fans is disclosed wherein a moderately dense synthetic resin foam core is first formed that is generally of the same size and shape as the final desired blade. A shank embedded in the foam core extends outwardly from the end of the blade that is adapted to be fastened to the fan hub. A skin of fiberglass reinforced synthetic resin material is placed over the foam core with the thickness of the skin being greatest at the hub end of the blade and especially around the shank. The foam core with the skin thereon is molded into the final desired configuration thereof under pressure and temperature conditions such that the core is compressed and the thickness reduced to an extent correlated with the thickness of the synthetic resin skin on opposite faces thereof. Compression of the core enhances conversion of the fiberglass reinforced synthetic resin layers into a laminar monolithic skin by virtue of curing of the synthetic resin skin between the compressed core and the mold. The core is provided with stepped areas on opposite sides of the core which increase in height in a direction away from the shank. A sufficient number of pre-prepared, flexible sheets of fiberglass reinforced resin material are placed over the stepped areas to substantially fill the space between the mold and said stepped areas of the core during curing of the resin.

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Lenexa, KS, United States of America

Scott E Mayes