Products for Bridge Structures
QED have a range of products for eliminating and addressing the problems of corrosion in bridge structures. Steel corrosion affects all types of bridge structure, suspension bridges suffer from corrosion to the supporting cables and the concrete structure for the bridge supports and anchor system and cantilever bridges suffer from corrosion of the reinforcement within the concrete.
Corrosion of steel reinforcements within Concrete
We can supply our anti-corrosion product in a form suitable for insertion into the concrete structure of the bridge (VPI580, 600 & 610). This is done by drilling holes in the structure close to the steel reinforcement / prestressed wires that have been identified as suffering corrosion. Our product is inserted or pumped into the holes, and the hole is sealed. Once the product is installed, our combination of corrosion inhibitors begin working almost immediately, migrating through the concrete structure and coating internal steel preventing further corrosion.
VPI580B - Corrosion of steel box section in bridges
In order to protect steel bridge structures from corrosion, our VPI580B can be placed in the box section of bridges sections to be protected. This will provide excellent protection to the interior steel sections, which can corrode heavily. It is important that the box section to be protected is sealed to ensure the protective vapour does not escape to atmosphere, which will lessen the length of time the box section is protected for.
Corrosion of cables in suspension bridges
QED have been developing new products to treat the urgent problem of corroding structural cables within suspension bridges. Using our patented and proven corrosion inhibitors we have two solutions, the first involves an impregnated wrap that creates a microclimate around the cables halting corrosion for a long period of time.
Where access is difficult, QED have been developing a forced volume VPI system that works to maintain a specific density of anti-corrosion vapour within the airspace surrounding the supporting cables. This is a very cost effective method of treating a very complex repair problem that exists in every suspension bridge across the world. QED believes this system can eliminate any further corrosion once installed for an indefinite period. The benefit of the forced volume VPI is that moisture does not have to be eliminated in the cables for the product to work, please take a look at the nail sample showing how steel corrodes with and without our VPI protection.
www.qedchemicals.co.uk/proof.aspx We are currently running further trials and will publish the information on our website.