Reduce risk, avoid programme delays and make decisions based on evidence – not assumptions.
The Structural Challenge
The Robins Wharf salt water jetty is a highly active, commercial unloading facility. Subjected to constant dynamic loads from ships delivering thousands of tons of sand and aggregates, the structure must maintain absolute load-bearing integrity.
However, the jetty is exposed to a severe tidal range, with the tide regularly submerging the primary structural concrete. Over time, as older concrete naturally becomes more porous, aggressive moisture and marine chlorides penetrated the structure. This triggered severe chloride-induced corrosion of the internal steel reinforcement.
As the steel corroded and expanded, it caused extensive concrete delamination and spalling across the primary tidal piles and soffit beams. Left untreated, this cycle of saturation and expansion would inevitably compromise the structural safety of the unloading facility.
Diagnostics and Temporary Works
Standard trade contractors often attempt to patch marine spalling without understanding the structural load paths. As an engineering-led specialist, Structural Repairs operates differently.
Before any physical breakout commenced, we mapped the extent of the invisible reinforcement corrosion. Crucially, because the delamination was affecting load-bearing piles and soffit beams, our teams engineered and installed complex temporary propping. This allowed us to safely unload the deck and transfer the structural weight, ensuring absolute safety before we intervened in the diseased concrete.
The Engineering Solution:
A Durability Intervention
With the structure safely supported, we executed a comprehensive durability intervention designed to halt the degradation and permanently restore the asset’s functionality.
- Surgical Breakout: We systematically broke out the loose and delaminated concrete to fully expose the corroded steel reinforcement.
- Reinforcement Rehabilitation: The exposed steel was rigorously assessed. Where the rebar retained its structural integrity, it was mechanically cleaned and treated with a high-performance rust inhibitor. Where the steel had degraded beyond safe tolerances, the diseased sections were cut out, and new reinforcement bars were drilled and resin-anchored into place.
- Marine-Grade Reinstatement: The prepared areas were reinstated using a highly specialized, BS EN 1504 compliant repair mortar. Because the Robins Wharf jetty experiences twice-daily tides, we specified a rapid-curing, salt-water-resistant structural mortar that could achieve the required compressive strength within narrow tidal windows.
Increasing the Longevity of Marine Assets
By diagnosing the root cause, safely unloading the structure, and utilizing advanced marine-grade materials, Structural Repairs successfully arrested the structural decay at Robins Wharf. This engineering-led intervention prevented the need for a catastrophic and costly rebuild, achieving true asset life-extension for a critical commercial facility.
Secure Your Marine and Coastal Infrastructure
Sea walls, jetties, locks, and riverside structures are in a constant battle against chloride ingress and tidal erosion. Whether your asset requires structural scanning to identify hidden corrosion, or complex physical remediation and brickwork repointing using marine-grade mortars, we provide the complete integrated solution.
