Port of Rotterdam Quay Wall Inspection

Yearly Inspections, condition assessments, Service-Life Evaluations, as well as Maintenance and repair strategies of Port of Rotterdam’s quay walls

SIMCO has been conducting condition assessments and service-life evaluations of Port of Rotterdam’s quay walls since 2010.

The objective of the investigations is to identify the cause(s) of concrete deterioration (if any) in the identified quay walls. To achieve this objective, a field investigation and a laboratory investigation are systematically performed followed by a service-life prediction analysis using the KMS software’s functionalities. The KMS software is an asset management system that was designed to provide an innovative and cost-effective solution for the management of Port of Rotterdam’s marine infrastructure.

A visual inspection of the quay walls is performed to observe the condition of the elements and identify core-sampling locations. The cores extracted are used for standard ASTM tests in addition to specialized laboratory tests in order to evaluate the remaining service life of the marine structures.

SIMCO’s scope of work also consists in performing calculations in the KMS software for all different structural configurations (deck, cope wall or caisson) of the quay walls, in order to predict the level of degradation that would be reached in various exposure conditions (immersed, tidal, splash or airborne zones), at the end of the contract year.

The results of the KMS calculations are identified according to a colored “flagging” mechanism (green, yellow, or red) to determine the priorities for repair (short, mid or long term) and are identified for each of the considered degradation mechanisms (chloride-induced corrosion, carbonation and chemical degradation).

Following comprehensive analyses performed, SIMCO can identify degradation mechanisms affecting the quay walls. With these results, SIMCO can also provide the most cost-effective repair strategies to ensure the serviceability and the good condition of the quay walls until the end of their contract year.