AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Industrial Category

PORT OF CANAVERAL NORTH CARGO PIERS CONCRETE REPAIR AND
CATHODIC PROTECTION

Cape Canaveral, Florida

Submitted by Vector Corrosion Technologies

The North Cargo Piers at the Port of Canaveral consist of four wharves that handle bulk cargo such as cement, slag, salt, automobiles, and lumber. After years of exposure to the corrosive saltwater environment a major rehabilitation was planned to extend the service life of the busy piers. The scope of work included concrete repair and galvanic protection for the piles, pile caps, and the precast deck units with an estimated design service life of 20 years.

The pile protection consisted of galvanic pile jackets to protect 668 piles. The galvanic jackets consisted of zinc mesh anodes, 48 lb (22 kg) bulk zinc anodes, and a 1/8 in. (0.3 cm) thick stay in place fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) form. The length of the pile jacket repairs ranged from 6 to 30 ft (1.8 to 9.1 m).

The bottom sections of the cast-in-place pile caps were also showing signs of distress. A protection system was devised whereby the bottom 8 in. (20 cm) of the pile caps were removed, and activated distributed galvanic anode strips were placed in two continuous rows on each side of the pile caps. Approximately 6000 lineal ft (1830 m) of pile caps were protected.

The prestressed concrete deck units were protected using activated arc sprayed zinc, applied to the deck soffit. Approximately 57,500 ft² (5340 m²) of prestressed concrete deck units were protected. Humectant activator solution was applied to the surface of the zinc to achieve a higher level of current output and protection.

Owner
Canaveral Port Authority
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Project Engineer/
Designer
CH2M Hill
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Repair Contractor
Vortex Marine Construction
Oakland, California

Material Supplier
Vector Corrosion Technologies
Wesley Chapel, Florida