Last Updated on August 17, 2023 by
With the consistently increasing population of the world, the number of vehicles on the road is also increasing. With the increasing number of vehicles, the ratio of accidents and vehicle collision is also increasing. Therefore, the need for bollards in public areas is also becoming inevitable. Bollards are a very effective solution for avoiding accidental hazards and collisions.
Table of Contents
What is a Bollard?
A bollard is a short vertical post that is placed mostly in public areas for different purposes. Mostly bollards serve the purpose of guiding or restricting the traffic to or from some specific areas. Bollards are also used for decorative purposes in parks and recreational areas.
Bollards come in many different shapes, sizes, materials and styles. They are made to serve different purposes. That is why they are built with different materials to accumulate different consumer’s needs and requirements. In this article, we will learn in detail about the types of materials used for making bollards and places where they can be installed or mounted.
Type of Materials for Building Bollards
There are very different types of materials used for making bollards. A list of different materials is given below.
1. Cast Iron Bollards
The most widely used material for making bollards is cast iron. Bollards made with cast iron are durable and strong. They can be made in any shape and style easily. That is why cast-iron bollards are mostly used in places where you want to enhance the architectural appearance of the place or building, for example a museum or historical building etc. cast iron bollards are also used to make the top cover of concrete or steel bollards to make them a better visual appeal.
2. Steel Bollards
Steel is a light weight but strong material as compared to cat iron or ductile iron. Bollards that are filled with concrete are covered with an outer structure made of steel. The steel used for making the outer is called structured grade steel. Steel bollards are often made to serve decorative purposes. They are installed at places that need more visual appeal as compared to colliding impact reduction. They are also used as a cover for security bollards.
3. Stainless Steel Bollards
Stainless bollards appear as a thin but modern appearance. They are mostly used at places where weather conditions are extreme. They stainless steel material is weather resistant. The stainless-steel material is silver grey in color. Therefore, no coloring is required. However, a powder coating can be done in order to change the color to match the surroundings.
4. Concrete Bollards
Concrete bollards are used separately where the look of the bollard needs to be traditional or to match with the rest of the building’s architecture. Concrete bollards are also made in combination with steel pipes. This helps to increase the strength of a concrete bollard. When concrete bollards combine with steel pipes, they become stronger and give a high resistance against the impact of collision. It is not necessary that concrete bollards are always put for resisting collision. They are simply put to guide the traffic as well. They are heavy in weight;therefore, they can be understood by people as a heavy bollard and they are heavy enough to guide and restrict the traffic.
5. Aluminum Bollards
Aluminum material is mostly used to make decorative bollards. It is a light weight material. It is not built to resist impact of collision; rather it has many other purposes. Retractable bollards are also made of aluminum because aluminum is a flexible material. It is easily made into different styles and designs. Aluminum does not develop rust like steel or metal. Therefore, it is more long lasting as compared to those materials. Aluminum bollards give you a flexible, durable and longer lasting option for a bollard.
6. Polyurethane Bollards
Polyurethane is made of composite polymer material. It is a very flexible and durable material. It is also UV resistant. Polyurethane can also work in variable weather conditions. The most common application of a polyurethane bollard is in parking lots because they are shock resistant. They are also covered with reflective tape in order to provide highest visibility. They also come in varying colors to increase the level of visibility and appearance.
7. Plastic Bollards
Plastic bollards are not much flexible and they are more prone to breakage. However, they are Uv resistant just like polyurethane bollards. Plastic bollards are often mounted in places where the basic purpose is just to guide the people. It is not at all used for places where there is heavy traffic flow.
8. Wooden Bollards
Wooden bollards have a very aesthetic and enhanced visual appeal. They are mostly used for decorative purpose only. They are not impact resistant. They are also more prone to damage by varying weather conditions. They are mostly mounted in parks or areas where wooden theme is the main focus. They are used for guiding purpose in a public place as well where there are only pedestrians and no vehicular traffic.
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Final Thoughts
Security bollards types, materials and applications have been discussed in detail in this article. We hope that it will help you to understand that which type of bollard material will be implemented in your setting to provide you maximum benefit.
