Heuvelman Ibis and SealteQ join forces for the concrete renovation of the concrete arch of Nouryon Salt's (formerly Akzo Nobel Salt) external loader under the name HIS.
Concrete renovation exterior shipper Nouryon Salt
HIS V.O.F.
Due to the complexity of the renovation work, Heuvelman Ibis and SealteQ have successfully entered into this collaboration. SealteQ has combined Heuvelman Ibis’s expertise in waterworks, steel structures, and accessibility (crane ship, pontoons, etc.) with its own expertise in steel and concrete renovation and maintenance.
Concrete renovation
The renovation concerns the salt loading facility of Nouryon Salt’s salt factory. The salt loader for (sea) vessels consists of a steel jetty, a loading facility, and a concrete pivot arch that functions as support for the loading facility. As a result of chloride penetration from sea salt and production salt, the concrete arch was severely damaged, and extensive maintenance was necessary. Chloride damage is a specific type of concrete damage that is difficult to repair using traditional methods. Therefore, cathodic protection in combination with shotcrete was chosen for the concrete renovation.
Since the existing pivot arch is constructed from a prefabricated concrete trough structure in which a structural concrete beam is cast, it was decided to largely remove this prefab structure and protect the underlying construction sustainably. For this purpose, the underlying concrete was repaired using shotcrete technology and subsequently provided with Cathodic Protection. The Cathodic Protection consists of titanium strips with impressed current, which are incorporated in a 25 mm thick layer of shotcrete applied afterwards. As a protective final finish, a flexible, hairline crack-bridging sealing mortar was applied.
Methods of Repair
Cathodic Protection is an effective way to stop and prevent reinforcement corrosion. It is also an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional repair methods. There is significantly less construction waste, and the environmental impact is also considerably lower. The Cathodic Protection used during the concrete renovation of the concrete pivot arch is based on impressed current with very durable anode materials where the lifespan is not a limiting factor (75 years or more).
During the first phase of the renovation, a portion of the steel pipe piles on which the concrete pivot arch stands was also repaired. The first 39 pipe piles were blasted to cleanliness grade ISO-Sa2½ to remove corrosion and the current coating. Afterwards, a new coating was applied with a total layer thickness of 750 µm. In addition, Heuvelman Ibis replaced the existing steel railing of the concrete pivot arch with a plastic railing.
All work was carried out from a temporary platform installed by Heuvelman Ibis, ensuring good accessibility to the concrete pivot arch. This allowed both SealteQ and Heuvelman Ibis to carry out their renovation work safely.