Project review
Deepwater installs Raparound anodes, VSEs and RetroBuoys for a Canadian wharf in semi-arctic conditions

Overview

In 2006, Deepwater Corrosion Services performed a cathodic protection retrofit for the Duncan Wharf, an aluminum loading berth in Port Alfred, Quebec, Canada. Assets to be protected included:

• H-pile pier (in semi-arctic conditions)
• 1 Sheet pile bulkhead section

The retrofit cathodic protection (CP) system consisted of:

• 40 x Raparound pile anodes (rated 50 Amperes each)
• 8 x RetroBuoys (ICCP buoys rated 200 Amperes each)
• 2 x VSE anodes (Self-burying ICCP anode rated 50 Amperes each)

Installation

The existing cathodic-protection system on this jetty structure was an impressed-current system constantly under repair. The maintenance costs were consistently exceeding $250,000 per year. Understandably, the operator wanted to reduce costs by retrofitting the structure with a more reliable system. Ice and high flow/tide conditions as well as brackish water made most designs inadequate. The system design included power supplies for all ICCP anodes and a monitoring system (DR-2 CD reference electrodes and monitoring panels) to verify the system's performance.

The cathodic-protection design uses the RetroBuoy systems to provide the bulk of the required current from a remote location (many meters away from the dock). The Raparound anodes protect the piles that are partially shielded from the throw of the buoys, and the VSE anodes protect the remaining section of the bulkhead.

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