Restoration of concrete berth for Lae city port in Papua New Guinea

摘要

The paper discusses some of the techniques that were used to ascertain the cause of damage and deterioration to berth No.4 of the Lae city wharf in Papua New Guinea. The paper also outlines a procedure that was used to repair and rehabilitate it. The berth comprising of a concrete deck, supported on steel tube piles was built in 1970, and by mid 1990's, it began showing signs of extensive visible deterioration with corrosion of steel piles and spalling of concrete. In the investigation, both visual survey and diagnostic testing was carried out to determine the process that was responsible for corrosion. The results indicated that high concentration of chloride ions in concrete was the primary cause of deterioration. Based on the investigation, remedial measures were proposed for the repair of the berth. The repair and restoration of the berth was successfully completed and tests done after the restoration work, estimated the life of the berth to have increased by 15 years.