JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #109 - November/December 2016 - 54

SOLUTIONS fire rescue

The fire ladder adopts composites
The first composite fire ladder is worthy of attention. By opting for this type
of material right from the design process, the Échelles Riffaud company has
accomplished a technological leap, producing a ladder that is 150 kg lighter
with 1.5 metres more reach.

ou must innovate to
stand out from the
competition. Échelles
Riffaud, a Gimaex Group
company, did just that by
choosing a structure made
of composite materials to
increase the reach of its fire
ladders. By replacing steel
with carbon fibre for the
main ladder section (there
are 4 to 5 sections), the
French company was able
to extend the ladder by 1.5
metres, while reducing the

weight by 150 kg. The company and the head of its design office, Frédéric Lelièvre,
made the strategic decision
to shift to composites, even
though their expertise is in
the design and fabrication
of metal structures. For the
project's technical support,
they relied on external expertise.
Cetim, the technical centre
for the mechanical industry,
was well positioned in the
tender process, as its experts
had the necessary skills to
design the 9.1-metre-long
part, in particular in terms
of design and simulation of

composite structures. Cetim
also has the necessary test facilities for characterization,
instrumentation and non-destructive testing (NDT) of
these materials.

A real partnership
Échelles Riffaud commissioned Cetim to design a
part 9.1 metres long. With
Échelles Riffaud's requirements in mind, in particular
the adaptation of the main
ladder section to the existing
material, the technical centre's experts chose the appropriate composite materials,
designed the structure, and
used simulation to validate

the choices. Two years after
the project was launched,
Cetim instrumented a prototype to verify that the material deformations were consistent with the simulation,
and used NDT methods to
identify any failures.
Following some adjustments, the ladder is now
ready and being put on the
market. The project was successfully concluded in such
a short time thanks to close
collaboration and the presence of experts who were
highly focused on the stated requirements. Echelles
Riffaud was also able to learn
more about designing and
assembling composite materials. The ladder is truly the
fruit of the partnership.
More information:
www.cetim.fr

Focus

Carbon fibre for
the main section
allows to extend
the ladder by 1.5
metres and
reducing the
weight by 150 kg

jec composites magazine / No109 November-December 2016

The Gimaex Group specializes in
the production of vehicles used in
activities like firefighting, first aid,
operating at heights, and environmental protection. It is the leading
French supplier of such vehicles, and
Europe's third-largest one. Échelles
Riffaud is the Gimaex Group division
that specializes in the design and
fabrication of fire ladders.
Workforce: some 450+ employees.

http://www.cetim.fr

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #109 - November/December 2016