Cooling Tower Basin Concrete Relining

The challenge

A cooling tower basin holds the circulating water that feeds the plant's cooling loop, and it sits under constant immersion with treated water chemistry working on the concrete. Over time the basin spalled and cracked, and the embedded rebar became exposed and started to corrode. Once rebar corrodes it expands and breaks away more concrete, so the cracking spread and water began leaking through the basin floor and walls. A leaking basin loses inventory, undermines the slab and foundation it sits on, and eventually cannot hold the water the cooling loop depends on.

The Belzona approach

All the spalled and unsound concrete is broken out back to a solid base and the exposed rebar is cleaned down. The steel is treated to repassivate it so it stops driving more damage, then a cold-applied repair mortar rebuilds the lost profile and brings the floor and walls back to shape. With the substrate sound and shaped, the basin is lined watertight against immersion, the lining carrying across the rebuilt areas, the cracks, and the sound concrete as one continuous barrier so the water has nowhere to leak through.

1. Assess and mapA survey of the basin maps spalling, cracking, leak paths, and the extent of exposed and corroding rebar before any work starts.
2. Break out unsound concreteThe spalled and delaminated concrete is broken out back to a solid substrate and the exposed rebar is cleaned to a sound condition.
3. Repassivate and rebuildThe steel is treated to repassivate it, then a cold-applied repair mortar rebuilds the lost floor and wall profile.
4. Line watertightA lining goes over the rebuilt and sound surfaces as one continuous barrier so the basin holds water under immersion.
5. Return to serviceThe rebuilt and lined surfaces are confirmed sound, and the basin is ready to refill and return to the cooling loop.