VALE Ore Terminal Pier 2
The Tubarão Complex, owned by VALE, the world’s largest producer of iron ore pellets, is home to the largest railway yard in Latin America and eight plants producing more than 20 million metric tons of pellets per year.
The Problem
The industrial shipping pier in southeastern Brazil is exposed to the aggressive Atlantic Ocean environment. At times, the high tide is only 1 meter from the bottom of the pier leading to exceptional chloride contamination and excessive corrosion of the reinforcing steel in the two curved beams.
Our Solution
For many years, Vector’s local agent IEC has been assisting VALE in protecting and extending the life of corroding plant infrastructure by implementing high-quality cathodic protection solutions. Pier 2 is 64,87 meters long with variable width and height and consists of two curved beams. To address the active corrosion problem, IEC developed concrete repair and galvanic anode installation procedures utilizing Galvashield DAS anodes installed on the lower surfaces of the slabs of the Circular Beams West and East of Pier 2.
To prepare for receipt of the anodes, damaged concrete is removed, and the original reinforcing steel is cleaned, giving special attention to anode-to-steel connection points to assure electrical continuity. In areas of severe corrosion, supplemental reinforcing is being used to address any loss of structural capacity. After the concrete and steel are prepared, the anodes are connected directly to the original reinforcement and repair mortar is used to reinstate the concrete and provide a minimum cover of 4 centimeters over the anode. The project required the installation of a total of 3,780 one-meter long Galvashield DAS F180 anodes.
The Result
Despite the challenging project conditions due to the overhead repair work being executed in various climatic conditions such as rain, wind and rough sea, the project has succeeded due to cooperation between the owner, contractor and technical supervision and quality control provided by the owner, contractor and contractor and technical supervision and quality control provided IEC.
Technology Used
These innovative products and technologies were used on this project.