Freyssinet Complete Further Works Under Highways Agency Framework

Freyssinet Limited are continuing to work successfully in collaboration with other specialist contractors under the Highways Agency Area 9 & 10, Construction Management Framework.

The CMF is a collaborative approach to maintaining £75billion worth of assets for HA in these areas over the next 4 years. It consists of a number of different contractors from different specialist areas who work together to deliver network improvement and maintenance schemes on the all purpose trunk road and motorways in Highways Agency Area 9 and 10, which covers much of the West Midlands and North West.

Bromford Viaduct is one of a number of viaducts forming the Midland Link Motorway Viaducts (MLMVs). There are 21km of elevated motorway comprising 1200 no. cross beams and 3600 no. columns, constructed between 1969 and 1972.



During the mid 1980s corrosion started to occur due to de-icing salts leaking through deck expansion joints onto cross beams. Initial preventative measures, such as placing gutters beneath the expansion joints, were implemented during the mid – late 1980s and repair works in 1990. Concrete repair and cathodic protection schemes have been on-going to the present day based on calculated intervention dates for each cross beam. Repair Contract 153 (R153) commenced in January 2011 and comprises of 8 no. cross beams. With Amey acting as Principle Contractor, Freyssinet Limited was appointed as a specialist contractor within the Highways Agency Area 9 &10 CMF.

The scope of works involved removing sections of concrete to be repaired by saw cutting and hydrodemolition, undertaken by Freyssinet’s own in-house hydrodemolition team. Repairs were carried out as necessary to reinforcement steel, and the areas re-instated using flowable concrete, with some beams repaired under a supported condition.



Cathodic protection to 2 no. beams involved the installation of Galvanic (Sacrificial) anodes, whilst the remaining 6 no. beams had an Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP) system installed. The ICCP was designed as a 3 no. zone system; zone 1 to the shear walls being a ribbon mesh primary anode with a spray applied conductive overlay, zone 2 to the beam top and upper section of the beam sides being a ribbon mesh anode with non-conductive repair mortar overlay, and zone 3 to the lower section of beam sides, beam soffit and top of columns being a similar system as zone 2.

Technical issues which prevented supporting steel work being erected to underside of 2 no. cross beams threatened to cause delays to the programmed works, and Freyssinet’s installation of the CP system in particular. Successful cooperation between all parties resolved this situation, and the works were re-sequenced to enable Freyssinet to begin installation works ahead of programme by utilising concrete curing periods where there was no other activity taking place in the work area.

The designers also re-sequenced concrete repair works so that as far as practical, whichever half of each beam needing least repair was concentrated on in initial repair stages and would be complete in advance of the other half of beam, freeing up nearly 50% of CP installation work to be done before completion of concrete repairs. This method was applied to all beams where programmed work extended beyond Christmas 2011.

Utilising Freyssinet’s own in-house hydrodemolition team contributed to the success of the new programme. Where concrete surface hydro-prep was required for overlay material, the team was able to mobilise immediately, taking advantage of short durations of concrete curing time, all the time pulling back the programme.

The cathodic protection on R153 was commissioned with performance verification taking place 45 days after ‘switch-on’ in early December 2011.

Successful cooperation between all parties resulted in the programme being pulled back to mid December 2011, offering the client savings in terms of both time and money.

New Repair & Strengthening Brochure

With their Repairs Division continuing to expand and adapt within the current market Freyssinet Limited have taken the opportunity to update their Repair and Strengthening Brochure and promote the wide range of products and services that they are able to offer to their clients.

To download the new brochure please click below

Forthcoming Exhibitions

Freyssinet Limited invites you to come and discuss their wide range of products and services and ways in which we can support you at every stage of your structural enhancement project.

22-23 February 2012
UK Concrete Show, Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Freyssinet Limited will be exhibiting at Stand M13 of Europe’s best specialist concrete show, which brings the industry together, under one roof, to see and hear about all that’s new in concrete.

Freyssinet offers a full range of concrete repair and maintenance techniques providing clients with a “one stop” contracting service for all their repair requirements. Freyssinet assures clients of impartial advice with regard to repair material selection from the widest range of sources. The types of structure successfully repaired include bridges, buildings, car parks, and industrial structures. Freyssinet is a member of the Concrete Repair Association, Corrosion Prevention Association, Institute of Corrosion and Sprayed Concrete Association.
Freyssinet is recognised by the British Standards Institute to ISO 9001:2008, OHSAS 18001:2007 and ISO 14001:2004. We have a large in-house design department, and directly employ a highly trained, well motivated, experienced, and safety conscious workforce.

Assessment
Accurate identification of the type, severity and extent of problems affecting a structure are crucial in determining the underlying causes, and in developing effective and economic repair solutions. Freyssinet offers a comprehensive range of testing and reporting to allow clients to identify an appropriate repair strategy.

Concrete Replacement
Where concrete is in poor condition, or strengthening is required, replacement is often the only viable option. Freyssinet offer removal both by conventional breaking and hydrodemolition, with subsequent replacement using high performance repair concretes and mortars.

Concrete Repair
A wide range of techniques are available for repairing spalled, cracked, damaged, and honeycombed concrete including: modified mortars for patch and thin bond repairs; pressure and vacuum injection using epoxy, polyester, and cementitious grouts; and sprayed concrete.

Coatings
Freyssinet offer a full range of coatings.

Complementary services
Freyssinet undertake concrete repair as part of a wider range of complementary services that includes: cathodic protection and chloride removal, strengthening, parapet replacement, deck refurbishment, bearing replacement, jacking and sliding, plate bonding and carbon fibre bonding, retrofit steelwork installation, slab joint replacement, and external post-tensioning.

The UK Concrete Show is aimed at all concrete industry professionals, with over 100 exhibitors and 30 seminars the show is the biggest it’s ever been, totalling 6000m2 of all that’s best in concrete products, tools, systems and technology.
To reserve your place and for further information please click here

27-28 March 2012
Bridges 2012: Home & Away, The Midland Hotel, Manchester
Freyssinet origins are as a specialist in bridge construction and the manufacture of bridge bearings and our knowledge and expertise in this area remain unparalleled. Years of experience in the design, construction, testing and monitoring of structural systems have equipped Freyssinet Limited with exceptional insight and resources in the field of repair and strengthening. Our extensive track record of bridge work illustrates our capabilities to complete projects both large and small, and always to the highest standard. Traditionally our main area of work has been on highway structures, but Freyssinet have also been actively involved in the rail sector both as specialist civil engineers and structural enhancement professionals.

Services available include:
• Complete refurbishment as main contractor
• Bridge Jacking and Bearing Replacement
• Concrete Repair
• Concrete Coatings
• Cathodic Protection
• Strengthening / Retrofitting
• Post tension tendon regrouting
• Cable stay maintenance, replacement or repair
• Expansion Joint Replacement / Repair

Now in its 20th year, “Bridges” remains the leading event for highway authority bridge engineers and their private sector partners, and continues to act as the definitive forum for all issues relating to bridge management and maintenance, policy, strategy and funding.
To reserve your place and for further information please click here

Controlling Seismic Risks: Looking at buildings as an example

Although we cannot change seismic hazard, in other words the magnitude and occurrence of earthquakes, we can however increase a structure’s resistance/resilience and so reduce seismic risk through preventive measures.

How structures respond
Buildings do not all respond to earthquakes in the same way and their structural and architectural design influences how they are affected. The structures act as oscillators which amplify or reduce ground movements to varying degrees.

Structure types
In terms of building structures, two main types emerge: portal frame construction with brick infill, and concrete or brick shell construction. In an earthquake, these two types respond differently: portal frame types are flexible and behave with a flexural tendency, whereas concrete or masonry structures are more subject to shear stress, especially in the case of low buildings.

Fragility – evenness
Good architectural design aims for: non-resonance of the structure with the oscillations of the ground, elimination of torsional phenomena, minimising stress concentrations (uneven loads), continuous mass distribution, bracing elements distributed in a way appropriate to mass distribution, etc.

Seismic repair and reinforcement strategies
There are three main operational methods, once the fragility and evenness factors of the building have been dealt with:
- Increasing ductility (for example, carbon fibre jacketing of columns)
- Increasing strength (for example, use of shotcrete)
- Reducing seismic action (for example, Transpec® damper or use of bearing systems to isolate from the ground)

Freyssinet operates in all the following fields:

Seismic safety: a major concern

Robert G., South-East Regional Director in France* presents seismic safety regulations and related issues.

The context:
In the world each year there are over one hundred and fifty earthquakes with magnitudes of 6 or higher (in other words earthquakes that release enough energy to be potentially destructive).
The area of seismic safety is the subject of numerous regulations and obligations the world over. Every natural disaster brings better knowledge of the energies that can be released and sometimes gives rise to changes in “seismic zones”, as was the case with France and the new “zoning” brought in in 2009.
Freyssinet provides an extensive range of solutions to meet seismic safety requirements for both new builds and repair.

What does Freyssinet offer in this area?
We operate in two major fields: new builds and repair of existing buildings.
- In the case of new builds, Freyssinet has developed appropriate seismic safety systems and offers a full range of dedicated products.
• Dampers that absorb seismic energy (TRANSPEC® range)
• Connectors that keep a structure firmly fixed to its foundations during an earthquake (TRANSPEC® Connector)
• Bearing systems (elastic, visco-elastic, pendulum, etc.)
• Shock absorbing cross bracing systems created with hydraulic or seismic safety dampers
• Tuned mass dampers
These various devices can be used alone or in combination to achieve the most effective and most appropriate protection for a particular construction project. Seismic protection is based on three fundamental operational modes which are: isolation, connection and dissipation. Every year numerous structures are built throughout the world incorporating these three protective methods.
In addition, Freyssinet is launching its new ISOSLAB® foundation solution used to isolate a series of buildings or a district and minimise seismic acceleration in traditional construction works. ISOSLAB® is certainly the safest slab foundation solution around, useable in all risk areas (buildings, basements, streets, play areas, etc.) and serving to isolate the general public from the effects of earthquakes.

- In the case of existing buildings, Freyssinet operates at all phases of a project, both pre- and post-quake: diagnosis, studies and works.
Freyssinet’s engineering & design and technical teams help clients make an initial diagnosis before deciding on how to strengthen structures and selecting the desired level of protection. The company can also intervene at the execution stage of the works our clients decide on.

In addition to the techniques described above, Freyssinet carries out seismic protection works based on two major intervention methods:
• Strengthening, consisting in making the structure more resistant, or more ductile (examples of works carried out: buildings, bridges, nuclear plants, etc.)
• Isolation, consisting in cutting into the structure at foundation level and then supporting it in order to insert a series of bearings that may or may not be connected to a damper
Foreva® techniques and solutions, for example underpinning, additional prestressing and carbon fibre reinforcement, are frequently used, effective solutions for achieving compliance with seismic safety regulations and are a major competitive advantage in this market.

*The South-East Region is one of the French regions with the highest earthquake risk levels in the country, 4 out of a possible 5, and is very experienced in handling projects in this field.

Foreva® repair solutions: improve, preserve and secure your structures

The ageing of structures generates a growing need for renovation, heightened by the increasing stringency of regulatory requirements. As an extension of its new-build business, over 30 years Freyssinet has developed expertise and know-how in structural repair with its exclusive solutions marketed under the Foreva® label.

Foreva® is a collection of exclusive solutions using products developed in industrial partnerships and implemented by Freyssinet teams. The Foreva® solutions portfolio covers both structural repair technologies (external prestressing, shotcrete, carbon fibre reinforcement, injection, levelling, etc.) and chemical and electrochemical repair techniques (realkalisation, chloride ion extraction, reinforcement protection, waterproof coatings, cathodic protection, etc.).

Foreva® solutions help extend the service life of structures and have numerous areas of application:
• bridges and civil engineering structures
• buildings
• water civil engineering structures
• industrial structures
• old buildings
• tunnels

For a range of materials:
• concrete
• steel
• wood
• masonry


With Foreva®, Freyssinet puts its know-how at your service and supports you at all stages of your projects, from help with initial diagnosis through to choosing the right solution to execute the works.

New Foreva® solutions are always being developed and the range of products and solutions continues to grow.

Click here to veiw the Foreva® brochure.

Freyssinet makes the Shortlist for 2012 Specialists Awards



Freyssinet are pleased to announce that they have been short listed in the ‘Concrete’ category of the 2012 Specialists Awards.

The Awards look to commend the work of specialist contractors in the construction industry, recognising the valuable role that they play in projects large and small.

Freyssinet was asked to reflect on the company’s performance between November 2010 and 2011, providing examples of notable successfully completed contracts, demonstrating client satisfaction, and describing how the company has grown and developed within this time.

Freyssinet was keen to highlight the unrivalled diverse offering and range of technical skills that they provide to their clients, along with their commitment to further developing the company through the acquisition of an in-house hydrodemolition team and the launch of their site-based apprenticeship scheme. In particular Freyssinet have experienced growth within their repair activities, demonstrating innovation and versatility.

Making the shortlist is a huge achievement and Freyssinet look forward to attending the Awards ceremony in London on March 20th 2012.