Cooling Tower Basin Concrete Relining

The challenge

A cooling tower basin holds the circulating water that feeds the plant's cooling loop, and it sits under constant immersion with treated water chemistry working on the concrete. Over time the basin spalled and cracked, and the embedded rebar became exposed and started to corrode. Once rebar corrodes it expands and breaks away more concrete, so the cracking spread and water began leaking through the basin floor and walls. A leaking basin loses inventory, undermines the slab and foundation it sits on, and eventually cannot hold the water the cooling loop depends on.

Our approach

We break out all the spalled and unsound concrete back to a solid base and clean down the exposed rebar. We treat the steel to repassivate it so it stops driving more damage, then rebuild the lost profile with a cold-applied repair mortar that brings the floor and walls back to shape. With the substrate sound and shaped, we line the basin watertight against immersion, carrying the lining across the rebuilt areas, the cracks, and the sound concrete as one continuous barrier so the water has nowhere to leak through.

1. Assess and mapWe survey the basin to map spalling, cracking, leak paths, and the extent of exposed and corroding rebar before any work starts.
2. Break out unsound concreteWe break out the spalled and delaminated concrete back to a solid substrate and clean the exposed rebar to a sound condition.
3. Repassivate and rebuildWe treat the steel to repassivate it, then rebuild the lost floor and wall profile with a cold-applied repair mortar.
4. Line watertightWe apply a lining over the rebuilt and sound surfaces as one continuous barrier so the basin holds water under immersion.
5. Return to serviceWe confirm the rebuilt and lined surfaces are sound, then hand the basin back ready to refill and return to the cooling loop.