Disaster Prevention

a.b.e. Construction Chemicals recently prevented the economically-important operations of Portnet’s Richard Bay Coal Terminal from being severely disrupted when a key tippler collapsed. This was thanks to the supply of their special fluid micro concrete repair product, durarep FMC.
According to Jasper Allardice, KZN Regional Manager, a harbour tippler (heavy equipment used for offloading coal onto conveyor belts running into coal-carrying ships) had collapsed, due to the failure of its supporting concrete columns and base.
“This was a potentially disastrous setback for the coal terminal, which immediately lost 50% of its loading capacity. If the tippler could not be operational within a couple of days, trains and ships would be backed-up resulting in substantial knock-on costs as well as a logistics nightmare for Portnet,” Jasper explains.
FMC (fluid micro concrete) allows for faster repairs, while still delivering the required tensile strength of 30 MPa in three days. Epidermix 344 wet-to-dry epoxy was used as a bonding agent and their Chryso Cure WB (wax-based) curing compound was applied to speed up the curing process.
It was recommended that the other tippler, with concrete supports still intact, also be reinforced with similar repair treatment, to ensure no further mishaps.
a.b.e.’s durarep FMC is a cement-based, non-shrink concrete reinstatement grout, which is applied by pouring or pumping. The product is supplied in ready-to-use form requiring only the addition of small amounts of water for easy mixing and fluid consistency.
It can also be used for the repair of potable water retaining structures such as dams, water cooling towers and silos as well as concrete structures in general.

a.b.e. Construction Chemicals
Tel: (011) 306 -9000
www.abe.co.za