Waterproof Internal Lining for Buoyancy Cells to Prevent Water Seepage
Background
Named after the first British built nuclear powered submarine, the £130m Valiant Jetty has been designed to serve the latest Astute Class submarine.
Constructed in dry dock by Amec-Morgan Est JV at Inchgreen, Greenock, the 44,000 tonne jetty was towed by tugs to its final site at the Faslane Naval Dockyard where it is anchored to the sea bed. This massive reinforced concrete structure, which is 200m long, 28m wide and 10m high, gets it buoyancy from 12 airtight and watertight cells. The designers needed a strategy to prevent any water seepage through cracks in the internal faces of these cells at both the flotation stage and beyond.
The Solution
A waterproofing system with crack bridging properties was required, and Flexcrete’s Cemprotec Elastic was specified by the design team. Applied by Concrete Repairs Ltd using airless spray techniques, Cemprotec Elastic is resistant to water at 10 bar pressure (100m head of water) and maintains its crack bridging properties even under immersed conditions. It is CE marked in accordance with BS EN 1504 Part 2 and is capable of bridging cracks up to 2.5mm.
Client
Ministry of Defence / HM Royal Navy and AMEC-Morgan Est JV
Contractor
Concrete Repairs Ltd, Scotland
Project Profile - Valiant Jetty Clyde