Glass Fused To Steel Bolted Storage Tanks  – Never Need Painting

Glass-fused-to-steel (porcelain enamel) is a single source strong, integrated porcelain enamel and steel material fused together at over ° F, creating a hard inert, inorganic coating that NEVER needs painting.  CST’s glass-fused-to-steel is the premium technology in the tank market.  The interior of all glass-fused-to-steel tanks feature VITRIUM™ coating technology enhanced with titanium dioxide (Ti02) for the toughest glass available. 

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CST’s VITRIUM coating is the world’s leading glass-fused-to-steel process for bolted storage tanks and has been field proven for more than 69 years.  Along with VITRIUM coating, CST now offers EDGECOAT® II, the continuous innovative EDGECOAT technology and the ONLY process in the world that provides optimum glass encapsulation on all (4) sides of the sheet edges.  VITRIUM coating features and benefits include:

• Tough Ti02 glass formulations provides longer life
• White interior is easier to inspect than darker coatings
• Factory certified holiday-free sheets
• Designed for use in both cold and hot climates
• Designed, fabricated, shipped and supported within the USA

EDGECOAT II is a result of CST’s commitment to an ongoing product development and improvement program.  This continuous innovative EDGECOAT technology is the ONLY process in the world that provides optimum glass encapsulation on all (4) four sides of the sheet edges.  CST took the best EDGECOAT technology in the world and made it better with EDGECOAT II.

Following Porcelain Enameling Institute guidelines (PEI-101), EDGECOAT II sheets are mechanically rounded to specific radii that provides maximum glass adhesion to steel.  The combination delivers the maximum corrosion resistance of VITRIUM glass coating with the greatest protection on every sheet.

• Highest quality finish
• Glass is applied on all (4) sides of the sheet offering the greatest protection
• No sharp edges on tank sheets, eliminating safety hazards
• Edges are engineered to ensure optimum radii for each individual gauge of steel providing the maximum and consistent glass edge
• 5 mils of glass encapsulation on every sheet edge

Download Edgecoat II Technical Data Sheet

VITRIUM is our proprietary titanium Dioxide (TiO2) glassing process applied in a 3-coat, 1-fire (3c1f) process procedure. VITRIUM coating is also produced in a 3-coat, 2-fire (3c2f) process primarily when special colors are requested or thicker layers of glass are required.

The CST proprietary VITRIUM glass-fused-to-steel process provides:

• Longer tank life
• Base coat of glass frit containing nickel oxide ensures consistent quality
• Maximum coating effectiveness without requiring excess coating thickness in order to provide the needed durability at competitive pricing
• Unique process technologies and voltage testing on all interior side wall sheets provide a factory certified 100% holiday free surface.

The combination of glass quality and glass thickness provide the assurance that over 69 years of experience and over 100,000 structures successfully installed around the world will continue with each and every new structure installed.

Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)

In CST, formerly Engineered Storage Products, launched an R&D project to develop a process for the direct application of our proprietary Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Glass.  The result is a totally new, patented “3-coat, 1-fire” (3c1f) process for applying TiO2 Glass.

TiO2 is a very common ingredient used by many coating manufacturers for various reasons:

• • It is considered inert and at high level in porcelain enamel, gives unique properties.
  • In the case of the interior VITRIUM coating, with its higher percentage of TiO2 in the final white layer, allows CST to provide an exceptional enamel surface.
  • During firing, the white layer’s higher viscosity has the effect of controlling bubble structure in addition to making the top TiO2 rich layer harder, more chemical resistant and the bubble structure finer.  This high TiO2 content is unique to AQUASTORE® and provides exceptional properties to fit colder conditions common to the North American market.

As a result of using higher amounts of TiO2 in the final white layer, a unique visual marker on the glass known as “VITRIUM threading” becomes apparent.  This is caused by thicker areas of the top white layer interspersed with thinner areas allowing the underlying bluecoat to show through opaquely.  This immediately identifies the coating as VITRIUM.

Manufacturing Excellence

CST’s DeKalb facility is ISO : quality system certified.  Engineers design tanks for a wide range of standards including AWWA D103 Standard for Bolted Steel Water Storage Tanks, AISC, FM codes and NFPA Standard 22.  Additionally, glass coatings meet ANSI/NSF Standard 61 requirements for indirect additives, making AQUASTORE®, HARVESTORE® and SLURRYSTORE® tanks ideal for liquid, feed, manure storage and digesters processes.  Most importantly, extreme pride is taken in craftsmanship for a tank that endures the test of time.

From the automated manufacturing processes through the stage-by-stage inspection and even down to careful inspection of the glass. Our glass-fused-to-steel quality is the best in the industry.  The best proof of the precision of CST’s manufacturing procedures can be seen in the thousands of tank installations around the world.

Glass-Fused-To-Steel Process

Glass-fused-to-steel is the premium technology in the tank market.  The factory-applied silica glass coating on AQUASTORE, HARVESTORE, SLURRYSTORE and NUTRISTORE tanks forms a hard, inert barrier for both the interior and exterior tank surfaces to guard against weather and corrosion.  Glass-fused-to-steel is impermeable to liquids and vapors, controls undercutting caused by corrosion and offers excellent impact and abrasion resistance.  The color won’t fade or chalk and most graffiti can easily be removed.  It NEVER needs painting!

• • Fabricated sheets are grit blasted to a uniform, near-white surface
  • Proprietary formulations of borosilicate, minerals, water and clays are blended into a sprayable slurry called “slip”
  • After inspection, the slurry is fused to the steel sheets at temperatures above 1,500° F to produce the distinctive glossy Aquastore finish
  • The molten glass reacts with the profiled steel surface to form an inert, inorganic chemical and mechanical bond

VITRIUM Coating Glass Finish

New process technology has resulted in the development of CST’s newest glass innovation – VITRIUM coating.  This coating combines the outstanding chemical and physical resistant properties of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) saturated glass with a highly engineered ultra-fine glass structure surface to create a high-performance glass-fused-to-steel technology.  VITRIUM coating features and benefits include:

• Tough TiO2 glass formulations provide longer life
• Electrostatic base coat application ensures consistent quality
• Maximum coating effectiveness without requiring increased coating thickness
• Unique process technologies provide factory certified “holiday free” sheets
• Process efficiencies lead to competitive pricing
• Ideal for both cold and hot climates

Color Options

AQUASTORE glass coatings are available in standard cobalt blue or four other premium exterior colors.  Forest green, sky blue, desert tan or white premium colors are available at an additional cost. Inquire for custom colors.

History of Glass-Fused-To-Steel

CST (formerly A.O. Smith) first discovered the methodology of controlling corrosion by fusing glass to steel in the s.  The technology was initially used in the brewing and hot water heater industries.  While other uses for glass-fused-to-steel were explored, the first glass-fused-to-steel tank went into service in as a HARVESTORE silo.  This agricultural use to store feed while retaining quality has been widely used for almost 69 years.

In the s, our Municipal and Industrial Division was formed and we subsequently launched AQUASTORE tanks for water, wastewater and other industrial liquid uses.  Since , more than 100,000 AQUASTORE, HARVESTORE, SLURRYSTORE and NUSTRISTORE glass-fused-to-steel tanks have been installed in over 70 countries around the world.

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When buying a water storage tank, the configuration and selection process often is something that needs to be done in the early stages of project design. To apply for and secure funding that may be available, timing of construction and overall project costs will play a factor in the determination. Because many municipalities have a single source of water storage, the tank design plays a crucial role in meeting the current and future needs of a community.

Some of the key details essential to the ultimate selection of the tank configuration process are an assessment of community demands for current and anticipated water supply, site conditions, pressure requirements, long-term maintenance, ease of access and overall costs.

There are three types of liquid storage tanks available that are considered for municipal water storage applications: glass-coated bolted steel, welded painted steel and concrete.

1. Design & Configurations
Standpipes, reservoirs and composite elevated tank (CET) designs are the different types of configurations used when selecting glass-coated bolted steel tanks. Standpipes are tanks where the water is elevated in a tall column to achieve gravity-fed pressure, which is required to properly feed the system. The tank height is greater than the tank diameter. The elevation of the water is accomplished by storing the required “water on top of water.” Standpipe height usually does not exceed 140 ft.

The most common configuration used for water storage is the reservoir. Reservoirs have a greater diameter than height and can be used with a pumping system or can be gravity fed. The width of these tanks can reach 250 ft with capacities up to 6 million gal. Similar to standpipes, the CET design is used in applications where height is used to achieve the head pressure needed to properly operate the system. The CET column is constructed in a hollow concrete pedestal on which the tank is then built. Structural rebar and steel embedded in the concrete reinforced walls that can exceed 10 in. thick and a top cap of concrete 4 ft thick.

There is plenty of space offered in the interior of the concrete pedestal for municipal maintenance equipment, pump stations, office space and other uses. The CET design does not have height restrictions and capacity can be as great as 1.5 million gal.

Depending on the diameter, snow loads and other factors, the roof of glass-bolted tanks can vary. They can be a free-span aluminum geodesic dome, consisting of panels mounted on a rigid structural frame, or the same glass-fused-to-steel material.

The tank floors usually are constructed with reinforced concrete or they can be glass-coated panels depending on site and design conditions.

2. Manufacturing Process
The technology and manufacturing process of this equipment sets these tanks apart from painted steel or concrete structures. When using the factory manufacturing process, the uncontrolled variables are eliminated, unlike field manufactured products such as painted steel or concrete tanks. Worker experience and extreme climatic environmental conditions that are proven to have a significant effect on in-field manufactured products have minimal effect on the glassing process. In addition, the tanks can be erected year-round as the manufacturing is completed in the factory and only the assembly of the components is required in the field.

3. Coating
All storage tanks have a coating. The coatings available today consist of either paint, concrete or glass. The impermeability and features of glass offer advantages.

The glass coating process begins with a glass frit that is mixed with other minerals and water to create a liquid slurry. This glass slurry is then robotically sprayed at precise amounts and thicknesses onto previously cut and rolled, punched, grit-blasted and cleaned steel sheet panels. Companies like CST run panels through a furnace at ° F. This heat melts the silica glass slip into the surface of the grit- blasted steel. This completes the mechanical bond, as well as the chemical bond between the steel and the silica glass.

Different coatings that are available for other tanks rely on a mechanical bond of the coating to the underlying material. The chemical bond strength is many times the holding strength of the conventional mechanical bond and prevents any undercutting of the coating, which can allow spreading of corrosion on the primary steel material. This benefit can best be explained by imagining a scratch on an automobile. Because that coating only has a mechanical bond, if the steel is exposed, corrosion will occur. Left untreated this corrosion will expand and creep beneath the surrounding painted surface and compromise the remaining coating.

This often is witnessed with raised bubbles, spreading rust and weakened substrate. The chemical bond of the glass-fused-to-steel coating prevents this spreading of corrosion in the event the coating were compromised.

With the goal of making the storage tanks as maintenance free as possible, companies like CST manufacture rounded sheet edges to exact radii to ensure adherence of the glass for complete encapsulation on all four sides of the sheet.

4. Tank Construction
A jacking system is used when erecting a glass-coated bolted steel storage tank. Once the starter sheet (bottom ring) is either embedded into the concrete foundation or constructed utilizing a glass-fused-to-steel floor design, the top ring of the tank is constructed on the jacks. The roof of the tank then is erected and the ring and roof are jacked up. Each additional ring is then assembled below the top ring by bolting the sheets together and applying a urethane sealant between the seams.

Tanks are assembled from the top down allowing for a safer and faster construction environment. The erection process normally is completed within a week or two, which saves costs to the owner if prevailing wages for onsite labor are being used. Additionally, the manufacturer requires that all building crews be factory-trained and certified in the erection process, ensuring quality control in the field.

5. Maintenance/Life Time Value
Glass-coated bolted steel tanks have a long lifetime. Glass coating never needs painting because it is permanent. Glass-coated tanks often are placed in areas, where long-term pleasing visual appearance is sought. The budgeted dollars that may be used to repaint a painted tank or repair aged concrete can be saved and funneled to other projects in a municipality.

6. Flexibility
The bolted design and erection of this product yields flexibility. Because manufacturing is completed in a factory, large staging areas needed when a product is manufactured onsite are eliminated. The construction of the tank typically can be completed with a cleared area of roughly 6 to 10 ft around the tank diameter. This small footprint can save thousands of dollars on the overall project beyond the price of the tank itself. The panels themselves can be hand-carried and easily assembled without cranes or special equipment, allowing this tank to be installed in many locations that would be impossible for other tank types.

7. Expandability
The glass-coated bolted tank design allows the tanks to be vertically expanded. If a community or industry experiences growth and additional capacity is necessary, the tanks’ jacking process allows the end-user to gain capacity quickly and cost-effectively. The factory-trained professional building crew unbolts the bottom ring from the original starter sheet, jacks the tank up and adds the number of rings necessary to achieve the new capacity. When these tanks are expanded, there is no difference in appearance between the original panels and the new panels.

Conclusion
Initial construction costs, anticipated life and long-term maintenance costs are significant factors relative to the various tank designs and materials available today. The long-term maintenance costs and life cycle during a tank evaluation all must be considered when selecting the appropriate product for a specific project.

Because project financing can vary depending on several factors, a complete analysis of initial costs and, lower maintenance should help a community decide which type of product is best suited for its needs.