Cementitious Coating Enables Design Life to be Achieved
Cement-based technology has been used to provide anti-corrosion protection to steel at a new materials handling facility under construction at Lynemouth Power Station in Northumberland.
Cemprotec E942, a high performance, anti-corrosion cementitious coating, has been specified by Sir Robert McAlpine to protect new steel piling totalling 1,500m2 to ensure that the 20 year design life of the steelwork is achieved. E942 is manufactured by Flexcrete Technologies Limited, part of the AkzoNobel group of companies. Cementitious technology was chosen for this project due to the ability of Cemprotec E942 to provide enhanced chemical and abrasion resistance whilst ensuring rapid completion of the coatings work due to limited preparation requirements of the steelwork.
Originally constructed in 1972 to generate electricity from coal, Lynemouth Power Station is currently under conversion to a biomass-fuelled power plant. The Power Station is being converted from coal burn generation to biomass in order to supply the National Grid with up to 390 megawatts of low carbon electricity, supplying enough power for almost half a million residential homes. The biomass conversion will save 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide in comparison to coal.
Sir Robert McAlpine is constructing the materials handling facility at the power plant and an anti-corrosion coating was needed for protection of the sheet piling in the new rail offload areas. CSC Services UK Ltd, a specialist repair and coatings contractor to the power and water industries, was appointed to carry out the application work. The interlocks between the sheet piles and any voids were first filled with Cemprotec Clutch Filler, a uniquely formulated cementitious material for sealing the surface gaps between piles prior to the application of a Flexcrete cementitious anti-corrosion coating.
Innovative Anti-Corrosion Protection
A 1mm stripe coat of Cemprotec E942 was then applied over welds, flanges, cut edges, plates and all fixings including nuts and bolt heads. Cemprotec E942 is a waterborne, epoxy and cementitious modified polymer coating which provides innovative stand-alone, anti-corrosion protection. It can be applied to damp substrates and achieves bond when just surface rusting has been removed. By comparison, alternative products require removal of all surface contaminants and corrosion by-products back to bright metal.
With a water-based composition, Cemprotec E942 releases no strong odour or hazardous solvents during application and is non-toxic, so can be applied in enclosed locations. Cemprotec Edge Scrim was embedded on all welds and cut edges before a 1mm coat was Cemprotec E942 was spray applied to the complete surface area of the sheet piles. Just 30-60 minutes later a second 1mm coat was applied to provide excellent anti-corrosion protection. Cemprotec E942 is CE-marked in compliance with the demands of BS EN 1504.
Cemprotec E942 has an outstanding track record of use on structures worldwide. It is typically used on sheet pile protection and ferrous metals in highly challenging environments. It is also ideally suited for use in the dirty water industry for the waterproofing and protection of aeration tanks, primary settlement tanks, spillways, support chambers, weirs and several other applications. Due to its inherent chemical resistance, it is ideal for use on bund linings, and for providing protection against aggressive ground conditions.