Safety Inspection & Diagnostic Testing on External Surface of 30m Reinforced Concrete Water Tower
Introduction
Vertigo Specialist High Access Services (Vertigo) were engaged by Yarra Valley Water and GHD to carry out a safety inspection and diagnostic testing to the exterior concrete surface of a 30-meter high heritage listed water tower at Surrey Hills in Melbourne. The tower, constructed in the 1920’s, is a reinforced concrete structure the upper portion of which is a tank used to store potable water.
Utilising Industrial Rope Access methods, the safety inspection and diagnostic testing were performed on the external surface of the tank in May 2002. This project draws on Vertigo’s expertise to provide investigation consultancy on reinforced concrete structures, particularly where access is an issue.
Scope of Work
A preliminary safety inspection was conducted on all the exterior surfaces, and any dangerously loose material encountered was removed as a safety measure.
Subsequently diagnostic testing of the in situ concrete was performed at normally inaccessible locations on the tower exterior from rope access. The types of in situ materials testing carried out include:
- concrete cover to embedded reinforcement
- carbonation depth
- Half cell potential survey
- Concrete resistivity values
- Concrete sample retrieval at incremental depths to be used for chloride content analysis.
Outcome
Vertigo successfully completed the safety inspection and diagnostic testing and the site data passed on to the client.