Considering our legacy as a leader in silo repair and maintenance, we were appointed by a mining client to repair a total of 26 silos at its operation. Since 2014, we have already successfully repaired 23 of these structures.
Once the scaffolding has been erected and we are able to access the working area, our team washes the structures from top to bottom and then identifies and marks all of the cracks.
The cracks are then opened, and Sikadur-52 ZA injected inside with a pump. As an approved applicator of Sika, we selected this crack-injection system for this specific application because it forms an effective barrier against water infiltration and corrosion-promoting media. The system also structurally bonds the concrete sections together. This aspect of the repair process is an extensive undertaking considering that each silo has between 350m and 700m of cracks that require attention.
We then undertake major repairs to the shell of the silos after conducting rebound hammer tests on the concrete. A Sika concrete repair mortar is used to repair the spalling and damaged concrete, with the shells of each silo requiring no less than 80m of repairs.
The structures are then strengthened with Sika CarboDur S. Designed to strengthen concrete, these pultruded carbon-fibre polymer laminates are bonded onto the structure using a Sikadur epoxy resin-based adhesive. About 320m of carbon laminates are applied to each structure.
To complete the repair procedure, we wash the silos again and then apply a SikaTop Seal-107 ZA cementitious waterproofing slurry.
Learn more about Hindle Mason Projects and our cutting-edge concrete repair and corrosion/erosion protection solutions that set the benchmark in the industry. www.hindlemason.co.za
