Sacrificial Anode Installation for Historic Quay

Centenary Quay was constructed in 1962 and was part of Southampton’s historical shipbuilding industry. When, in 2004, Vosper Thornycroft moved its operations away from Woolston the site was chosen for a major commercial and housing redevelopment. A number of years later, as part of the initial enabling works, CRL were awarded the contract to not only repair the quay, but also to install a sacrificial anode system that would significantly expand the life of structure.

With the concrete beams and soffit on the underside cracking and spalling, water leaking through the concrete deck and the steel sheet piled wall starting to corrode, the quay was not in a good condition.

The top deck was sealed by carrying out remedial works to existing joints which involved planning out a 450mm strip and laying a bitumastic compound. The cracks in the top decks were then sealed by injecting an epoxy resin followed by a corrosion inhibitor being applied to the whole deck.

The defective areas of the concrete underside were removed using hydro-demolition and then reinstated with sprayed concrete. Throughout this operation access was achieved using a fixed hanging scaffold above the high tide level.

The sacrificial anode system was then introduced along the length of the quay to protect the existing sheet piles from further corrosion below the mid tide level. This involved welding 280 aluminium alloy anodes weighing approximately 40kg to the sheet piles during low tide when the mud level was exposed. To protect the sheet piling above mid tide level the steel was cleaned by hydro-blasting and a bitumen coating applied.

“With only a short daily working window due to the tidal nature of the work, CRL were able to work systematically and efficiently to safely install the sacrificial anode system within programme constraints.”

Ken Buchanan | Site Manager | BAM Nuttall Ltd

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