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Martin Herr |
The Palm Island in Dubai was the start of several touristic projects in Dubai to build up alternative branches for the time-off of the oil production. The artificial island, with main and ring islands, was in need of according infrastructure. AGRU products were used to protect concrete pillars for bridges against saltwater and to seal the main supply tunnel and under crossing. Due to the present requirements on reliability and durability, focus was on the selection of products concerning reliability and product quality.
The Palm Island in Dubai
Already during the design stage of this project, AGRU was involved in the technical planning together with distribution partner to realize the high set specification requirements. The AGRU HDPE Sure-Grip concrete liner protecting pillars for bridges against corrosion by saltwater as well as AGRU HDPE geomembranes for a waterproof maintenance tunnel and bridge undercrossing were chosen for the Palm City due to their high quality and durability of AGRU products. Bridge foundations are built with Sure-Grip lining to shield the concrete and reinforcement against saltwater and corrosion. For the Palm Island in Dubai, AGRU delivered 110,000 m² AGRU HDPE Lining Systems, 10,000 m² of HDPE Sure-Grip Concrete Protective Lines and 10,000 metres of water stop profiles.
Concrete Protective Liners Protect Bridge Pillars Against Saltwater
The Sure-Grip concrete liner with patented anchor stud design is effectively installed worldwide for more than 20 years fulfilling the highest requirements on concrete protection and is available in worldwide unique seamless width of 5m since 2006. Concrete protective liners are used wherever a concrete building faces tougher requirements. Effective protection for concrete is ensured by the combination of the benefits of special thermoplastic liners (flexible, ductile, no corrosion) with those of concrete (high strength, high stiffness). The concrete is effectively protected thus, prolonging the building’s service life. Concrete protective liners are thus usable in numerous concrete building applications. Absolute mechanical anchoring and bridging of cracks in concrete, as well as excellent shear and impact strength and the durability of the liners for concrete protection are just a few of the many benefits.
The Plastics Experts from AGRU Offer Everything from a Single Source
For the main connection tunnel from the main island to the ring island, a tunnel construction was built for which the sea was “separated” at a width of 300m with 30m high sheet pile walls and the construction site was dewatered using high-capacity pumps. The tunnel was executed as a cut and cover construction with 1.5mm thick waterproof concrete construction with inside and outside water stops and a prophylactic injection system. The external water stops for the construction joints and expansion joints have been supplied by AGRU to seal the cast-compartments for each concrete section and to allow expansion and contraction of the concrete tunnel construction.
Connection to the Mainland
Liners made of HDPE are characterised by great resilience and toughness. The main applications are in mining, landfills, water reservoirs, wastewater reservoirs and secondary containment. AGRU liners are also used in exposed places, such as water reservoirs for snowing systems. The specific sealing requirements in terms of best-in-class flexibility with optimum strength and elongation behaviour accompanied by excellent chemical resistance are state-of-the-art at AGRU. Additionally, a long service life is a fundamental requirement for liners being able to do their job
in the long term. These excellent properties have helped HDPE liners by AGRU to establish themselves in a variety of applications for many years.
The Tunnel Walls were Sealed with AGRU HDPE Lining Systems
Furthermore, the water stops were used to thermally connect the AGRU HDPE liner 2.0mm, which is the primary sealing of the complete construction to protect against saltwater-infiltration according to an especially developed installation system. After the completion, the 4-lane maintenance-tunnel to the ring island is about 25m under the water level.