10-Year Project Fully Upgrades Pedestals

A chlor-alkali chemical plant had concrete pedestals throughout its chlorine cell area that were showing signs of deterioration. Stray electrical current from the cells were accelerating embedded metal corrosion of the concrete steel reinforcement.

The client partnered with STRUCTURAL to design a repair that would break the repair-fail-repair again cycle. It was not uncommon for the client to perform repairs to the same foundations every five years. There was exposed rebar and concrete spalling, especially in areas that had only been partially repaired in the past by other contractors.

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Typical deterioration of concrete pedestals

Pedestal repairs utilized innovative solutions, including engineered shoring towers, fiberglass reinforcement, and corrosion resistant stainless-steel equipment baseplates.

Fiberglass reinforcement placed prior to total pedestal replacement – specialized reinforcement eliminated embedded metal corrosion in the pedestal, as well as broke the path of electrical current and corrosion of the area paving steel reinforcement

Project Overview

Organized and executed a 10-year project plan
Scope included repairs to 70+ deteriorated pedestals
Equipment remained in-place during construction

A chlor-alkali chemical plant had concrete pedestals throughout its chlorine cell area that were showing signs of deterioration. Stray electrical current from the cells were accelerating embedded metal corrosion of the concrete steel reinforcement. The client partnered with STRUCTURAL to design a repair that would break the repair-fail-repair again cycle. It was not uncommon for the client to perform repairs to the same foundations every five years. There was exposed rebar and concrete spalling, especially in areas that had only been partially repaired in the past by other contractors.

Initially, STRUCTURAL performed an investigation of the area to confirm the locations with damaged and delaminated concrete. Along with the owner’s input, the team developed a design change and repair sequence that was implemented over a ten-year period. Over that period, STRUCTURAL repaired and replaced over 70 pedestals- a project that required over 25,000 man-hours. Each pedestal’s repair was uniquely designed, and some of the solutions included fiberglass rebar to break the path of stray electrical current, engineered shoring towers to support the equipment during construction, stainless steel bolts, and high-density concrete mixes to protect the pedestals from future deterioration.