Following the inspection and discovery of severe internal
cable corrosion on the main suspension cables of the Forth Road Bridge, C.
Spencer Ltd, in partnership with Bennett Associates won the two year contract to
retrofit a dehumidification system to the bridge. The value of the main contract
is £7.8m.
Bennett Associates are responsible for the following aspects of
the project:
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Design of 28m long high level, travelling,
working platform. |
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Design of dehumidification plant supporting structural
steelwork. |
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Design of pipe and cable support systems. |
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Design of air injection and
exhaust points. |
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Management of the overall design of the dehumidification
system. |
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Complete electrical design for the dehumidification system. |
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Design of SCADA air condition monitoring and control system. |
The aim of the project is to install a system that
will dry out the thousands of steel cables that make up the main cables and keep
them at a humidity level below 40%, which will prevent further corrosion.
The same type of systems are installed on new
bridges in Japan and Sweden as a preventative measure but this is the first time
it has been tried on an existing bridge. A similar project is planned in the
near future for the M48 Severn Bridge and it is expected that others will
follow.
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