Project Description:
This 6 story, 36 unit condominium was the first of several oceanfront condominiums on central Florida’s East coast to have Corrpro’s impressed current cathodic protection (CP) system installed for controlling corrosion of the reinforcing steel. CP was installed on all 48 of the concrete balconies, the roof overhang and some supporting columns. New Smyrna Beach is situated at the south end of Volusia County, Florida, between Daytona and the Cape.
Problem:
The structure had reached an age where the reinforcing steel (rebars) in the balconies had deteriorated to the point where major concrete restoration was required, including total replacement of more than one balcony.
The oceanfront exposure for this building allowed airborne chlorides (salt) to enter into the concrete and migrate to the reinforcing steel, resulting in rapid corrosion of the rebars. In order to identify the magnitude of the problem, Corrpro’s engineers performed a variety of tests on the structure including chloride ion content, electrical continuity of rebar and resistivity measurements of concrete patch materials.
Solution:
The test results indicated that the areas in question (approx. 8,000 ft2) were ideal candidates for Corrpro’s impressed current CP system. Following the advice of Corrpro’s corrosion engineers, the Board elected to install ELGARD’s™ titanium anode ribbon mesh system. Since a half deck removal was proposed by the engineer, the ribbon was installed over exposed reinforcing steel bars using plastic rebar clips. After the concrete was poured, a non skid acrylic water resistant finish was applied to the deck surfaces.
Performance:
The entire system is powered and monitored by Corrpro’s rectifier and CORD-COM™ remote monitoring system. The system is operating at optimum voltage and current levels to control further corrosion of the reinforcing steel in the concrete balconies, walkways, roof slabs and entrance canopy. Corrpro will continue to monitor the CP system remotely from its head office in Medina, Ohio.
Value:
The owners can rest assured that they will not have to worry about balcony restoration
for over twenty years, which, without CP, typically requires a seven year repair cycle.
Benefits to the association include major cost savings in future restoration and the elimination of noise, dust and inconvenience associated with cyclical concrete repairs.
Project Data:
Structure: |
Watermark Condominium
401 N. Atlantic Ave,
New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169 |
Owner: |
Watermark Condominium Association, Inc. |
Owner Contact: |
Wallace Guthrie, Jr. |
Building Manager: |
Ms. Joan Warmoth,
Tel: (386) 428-3793 |
Engineer: |
Lou Peros, PE,
Tel: (386) 672 5361 |
Engineer Contact: |
|
Anode Type & Size: |
ELGARD™ 100 Anode Ribbon (6,640SF) & 210 Mesh (1,500SF) |
Contractors: |
Southeast Restoration Group,
Tel: (800) 330 8224 |
Installation Date: |
2000 |
Leading governmental and independent trade organizations have monitored, tested, and reported on corrosion control strategies over the past three decades. These groups include the American Concrete Institute, National Association of Corrosion Engineers, and the Federal Highway Administration. They advocate CP as the only rehabilitation technique that effectively stops corrosion in salt-contaminated structures, regardless of the chloride content in the concrete.
Corrpro Companies, Inc., (AMEX: CO), is the leading provider of corrosion engineering services, materials and systems for the infrastructure, environmental and energy markets throughout the world. For reinforced concrete structures, our involvement has been in many areas including CP system design, installation, testing, coatings evaluation, research and development. Corrpro is the worldwide licensee of the ELGARD™ system for CP of reinforced concrete structures.
ELGARD™ is a trademark of Eltech Systems Corporation.
