In 2003, the concrete bridge that supports Interstate 45 near Clear Lake, Texas, was rehabilitated with the Denso SeaShield Series 500 System. The project included the complete encapsulation of 36 concrete piles, each 16 inches square by 12 feet high.
The contractor, Orion Marine Construction, utilized 16¾-inch square SeaShield Fiber-Form jackets which yielded a 3/8-inch annular space that was pumped and filled with SeaShield 550 Epoxy Grout. The epoxy grout, due to its outstanding flow characteristics, was able to completely fill in all voids, cracks and minor spalls in the piles.
An inspection in early 2020 revealed that the Series 500 System was performing as designed after 17 years in service. Furthermore, the system was able to provide additional abrasion and impact resistance that protected the piles from major hurricanes Rita in 2007 and Ike in 2008. Although tidal surges from the hurricanes brought in destructive flotsam and debris that impacted many of the piles along the I-45 corridor from Galveston to Houston, this bridge suffered no damage.
Along with the mechanical protection that the system adds, it also provides excellent compressive, flexural and tensile strength, as well as outstanding bond strength to the concrete piles.
Denso North America Inc. is a subsidiary of Winn & Coales International, a leading manufacturer of anti-corrosion coatings that include Protal liquid epoxies, Denso petrolatum tapes, mastics, primers, bitumen tapes, butyl tapes, hot-applied tapes, and a full line of marine pile protection/rehabilitation systems. Winn & Coales was originally established as a business in London, England, in 1883, and the first petrolatum tape manufactured in the UK was Denso tape, manufactured under license by Winn & Coales (Denso) Limited. Denso tape was developed over 80 years ago for the “Long Life Protection” of buried steel pipelines.
Reprinted from Marine Construction Magazine, Issue II, 2024
