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Repair of a water park structure, Algarve

The “Aqualand Big One” amusement park, built in 1986 in Alcantarilha, Algarve, comprises a set of reinforced concrete, steel, and fibreglass-reinforced plastic structures.

An inspection was carried out by Oz - Diagnóstico, Levantamento e Controlo de Qualidade em Estruturas e Fundações, Ld.ª, revealing the following anomalies:

In the reinforced concrete elements, the main anomaly found was strengthening element corrosion, caused by a thin coating, carbonation, and concrete contamination by chlorides;
Delamination of parts of the concrete covering, strengthening exposure with significant cross-section reduction;
Corrosion of the supporting steel structures of the FRP slides with significant cross-section reduction of the affected metal parts;
Corrosion of a number of screws and joint plates on the slides' gutters.

The rehabilitation work, also undertaken by Oz, had two phases:

reinforced concrete structural repair;
Repair or replacement of all metal parts with signs of corrosion, and replacement of the metal guard railings on the Kamikaze structure.

The work included treating the reinforced concrete by removing deteriorated or delaminated concrete, supplementing the strengthenings where there was significant corrosion, and cleaning the surfaces with damp sand and water jets.

The cross-section was rebuilt using dry concrete sprayed by a dual chamber machine. The replacement material was sprayed by properly qualified, specialised technicians.

Finally, the concrete received a protective coating with two coats of Tecnoriv AC100 acrylic paint.

Considering the type of structure involved, with some slender parts, such as beams and pillars, the repair of both reinforced concrete and metal parts required special attention with scaffancienting, shoring, and work platforms.

The repair involved a total of approximately 620 m2of concrete.

The rehabilitation work enabled the structures to meet the safety requirements for the project.

Strengthening in the expansion joint area.
Strengthening in the expansion joint area.
Strengthening in the expansion joint area.
Strengthenings after scouring.
View of the applied shotcrete.
Appearance of the shotcrete.
Appearance of the shotcrete.
Final appearance after the repairs.
Final appearance of the work done.
Final appearance.

Repair of a water park structure, Algarve

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