STRUCTURAL INVESTIGATION

REPORT AT SHENTON HOUSE

COOLING TOWER STRUCTURE

08-Nov-2017

CKM CONSULTANTS PTE LTD

A Bureau Veritas Group Company

20 Science Park Road

#03-01 Teletech Park
Singapore 117674
 STRUCTURAL INVESTIGATION ON CORROSION OF STEEL
STRUCTURE AT SHENTON HOUSE BUILDING COOLING TOWER
AT 5TH STOREY

1.0 INTRODCUTION

It was reported that there are some corrosion observed on the cooling tower steel structures at
5th storey of Shenton House Building. CKM Consultants Pte Ltd was appointed to inspect and
assess the safety and structural integrity of the steel structure.

The location of the building is shown in Figure 1 below.

Cooling tower

Figure 1. Location Map

2.0 STRUCTURAL INSPECTION

CKM conducted the structural inspection of the cooling tower structure on 23rd and 25th
October 2017. It is a 2-storey steel frame structure with steel chequer plate floor. There are
four columns supporting the frame at level 1 and and split to 7 columns above 2 nd storey. The
roof is partially open at the centre area and covered with steel chequer plate at the rest area.
During the inspection there were corrosions observed on steel structural columns, beams,
cantilever frames and steel mesh floor. Generally, corrosion of the steel members is minor,
mass loss of the section is estimated to be less than 10% of the original steel section. The
structure appears stable and no signs of distress or excessive deformation were observed. The
photos from the inspection are included in Appendix A.

3.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

From the visual inspection on the corrosions that observed on the cooling tower structures
and the information on as-built structural drawings, it may be concluded that the corrosion on
the steel frames are due to exposure to weather as the structure is not concealed from external
environment. Some environmental factors damaged the anti-corrosion coatings and finally
caused structural steel in contact with water to corrode.

Based on this investigation, there is no immediate danger to the structure, no strengthening or

propping to the steel frame is required at the moment. However, the structural repairing
works have to be carried out as soon as possible to prevent the corrosion from deteriorating
further and adversely affect the structural integrity and capacity of the steel structure. The
repair works should follow the recommended method of statements and supervised by a
professional engineer.

The defects of the cooling tower are shown in Appendix B and the location of the defects can
be found in Appendix C.
APPENDIX - A
Photo 1: General view of the Cooling Photo 2: General view of the Cooling
tower tower

Photo 3: General good condition of steel Photo 4: General good condition of steel
column at level 1 column and beam at Level 1

Photo 5: General good condition of steel Photo 6: General good condition of steel
column at Level 1 column at Level 1
Photo 7: General good condition of steel Photo 8: General good condition of steel
column at level 1 column and beam at Level 1

Photo 9: General good condition of steel Photo 10: General good condition of steel
frame beams at level 2 soffits frame beams at Level 2 soffits

Photo 11: General good condition of steel Photo 12: General good condition of steel
beam at Level 2 soffits frame beams at level 2 soffits
Photo 13: General good condition of steel Photo 14: General good condition of steel
column and floor at Level 2 column and floor at Level 2

Photo 15: General good condition of steel Photo 16: General good condition of steel
railing at Level 2 railing at Level 2

Photo 17: General good condition of steel Photo 18: General good condition of steel
railing and floor at level 2 column and beam at level 3 soffits
Photo 19: General good condition of steel Photo 20: General good condition of frame
column and diagonal brazing at level 3 beams and diagonal brazing at Level 3
soffits soffits

Photo 21: General good condition of steel Photo 22: General good condition of steel
frame at Level 3 soffits frame at Level 3 soffits

Photo 23: General good condition of steel Photo 24: General good condition of steel
frame at Level 3 soffits column and diagonal brazing at Level 3
soffits
Photo 25: General good condition of steel Photo 26: General good condition of steel
frame at Level 3 soffits mesh at Level 3 floor

Photo 27: General good condition of steel Photo 28: General good condition of steel
column at Level 3 floor frame supporting the cooling machine at
Level 3

Photo 29: General good condition of steel Photo 30: General good condition of steel
frame supporting the cooling machine at frame brazing at Level 3
level 3
Photo 31: General good condition of steel Photo 32: General good condition of steel
mesh at level 3 column at Level 3

Photo 33: General good condition of steel Photo 34: General good condition of steel
mesh at Level 3 column at Level 3

Photo 35: General good condition of steel Photo 36: General good condition of steel
plate at Level 3 mesh at level 3
Photo 37: General good condition of steel Photo 38: General good condition of steel
mesh at Level 3 column and diagonal brazing at roof soffits

Photo 39: General good condition of steel Photo 40: General good condition of steel
column and diagonal brazing at roof soffits column and diagonal brazing at roof soffits

Photo 41: General good condition of steel Photo 42: General good condition of steel
mesh at Trellis roof mesh at Trellis roof
Photo 43: General good condition of steel Photo 44: General good condition of steel
mesh at Trellis roof frame at Trellis roof
APPENDIX - B
Photo 45: Corrosion of steel structure frames at Level 2 soffits

Photo 46: Corrosion of steel structure frames at Level 2 soffits

Photo 47: Corrosion of steel frames diagonal brazing at Level 2 soffits

Photo 48: Corrosion of steel frame at Level 2 soffits

Photo 49: Corrosion of steel beams at Level 2 soffits

Photo 50: Corrosion of steel plate at level 2 soffits

Photo 51: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2

Photo 52: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2

Photo 53: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2

Photo 54: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2

Photo 55: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2

Photo 56: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2

Photo 57: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2

Photo 58: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2

Photo 59: Corrosion on light weight steel frames at Level 2
Photo 60: Minor corrosion of steel frame at Level 3 soffits

Photo 61: Minor corrosion of steel frame at Level 3 soffits

Photo 62: Corrosion of steel beam at level 3 soffits

Photo 63: Corrosion of steel beam at level 3 soffits

Photo 64: Corrosion of light weight steel frames at Level 3 soffits

Photo 65: Corrosion of light weight steel frame at Level 3 soffits

Photo 66: Corrosion of steel plate at Level 3

Photo 67: Corrosion of steel plate at Level 3

Photo 68: Corrosion of steel plate at Level 3

Photo 69: Corrosion of steel plate at Level 3

Photo 70: Corrosion of steel plate at Level 3

Photo 71: Corrosion of steel plate at Level 3

Photo 72: Corrosion of steel plate at Level 3

Photo 73: Corrosion of steel plate at Level 3

Photo 74: Corrosion of steel plate at level 3

Photo 75: Corrosion of steel plate at level 3

Photo 76: Corrosion of steel plate at level 3

Photo 77: Corrosion of steel plate below the column at Level 3

Photo 78: Corrosion of steel mesh at Level 3 floor

Photo 79: Corrosion of steel plate and column base at Level 3

Photo 80: Corrosion of steel plate at level 3

Photo 81: Corrosion of light weight steel frames at Level 3

Photo 82: Corrosion of light weight steel frames at Level 3

Photo 83: Corrosion of light weight steel frames at Level 3

Photo 84: Corrosion of light weight steel frames at Level 3

Photo 85: Corrosion of light weight steel frame at Level 3

Photo 86: Minor corrosion of steel frame below roof soffits

Photo 87: Minor corrosion of steel frame below roof soffits

Photo 88: Corrosion of steel plate at roof soffits

Photo 89: Corrosion of steel frame diagonal brazing at level 3 below roof soffits

Photo 90: Corrosion of steel frame at roof soffits

Photo 91: Corrosion of steel frame at roof

Photo 92: Corrosion of steel beam and diagonal frame at roof

Photo 93: Corrosion of steel frames at roof

Photo 94: Corrosion of steel frames at roof

Photo 95: Corrosion of steel frames at roof

Photo 96: Corrosion of steel frames at roof

Photo 97: Corrosion of steel beam at roof

Photo 98: Corrosion of steel column

 APPENDIX - C
(Structural drawings and location of the defects)
 2

PHOTO 48

1 3

PHOTO 49

PHOTO 46

PHOTO 47

PHOTO 50 PHOTO 45

Side 4
Figure 1. Level 2 Framing Plan with defect location
 PHOTO 64

PHOTO 65

PHOTO 62, 63

Figure 2. Level 3 Framing Plan with defect location

 PHOTO 67

PHOTO 66

PHOTO 68
PHOTO 69
PHOTO 70

PHOTO 71

PHOTO 72

PHOTO 73

PHOTO 74
PHOTO 77

PHOTO 78 CHEQ steel

plate need to replace

PHOTO 75

PHOTO 76

Figure 3. Level 3 steel mesh plan with defect location

PHOTO 89
PHOTO 91

PHOTO 95 PHOTO 90

PHOTO 94

PHOTO 92
PHOTO 93

PHOTO 88

PHOTO 86
PHOTO 87

Figure 4. Trellis roof plan

 METHOD 1: MILD STEEL CORROSION REPAIR

Preparation and Application

i) Remove all loose fire proofing protection on the affected area of steel.

ii) Remove scaling rust by sanding or using steel brush until all affected areas are completely clean.

iii) Contractor to assess that loss of section area is less than 10%, to be agreed by the Engineer.

iv) Apply primer with a zinc-rich primer and paint with at least two coats of acrylic (anti-corrosion
paint).

METHOD 2: STEEL MEMBER STRENGTHENING and/or REPLACEMENT

Preparation and Application

i) Remove scaling rust by sanding or using steel brush until all affected areas are completely clean.

ii) Contractor to assess the loss of cross sectional area is less than 15% for UB or RHS sections,

to be confirmed and agreed by the Engineer.

iii) Prepare the new steel plate with same material and appropriate size.

iv) Strengthen the members by welding the new steel plates as per shown in Fig.1

v) Apply primer with a zinc-rich primer and paint with at least two coats of acrylic (anti-corrosion

paint)
vi) IF the loss of cross sectional area is more than 10% for angle section, or 15% for UB or RHS

sections, to be confirmed and agreed by the Engineer.

vii) Remove the loads supported by the affected steel beam, under the supervision of the Engineer.

viii) Prepare the new steel member to match the original material, size, lengths, and finishes

ix) Install the new steel members to original position.

 Corrosion

Fig 1 Strengthening of steel members

 Summary

Level Type of Defects Photo numbers Repair method

2 Corrosion of steel frames 45,46,48,49

Corrosion of enclosure steel 51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59 Refer to Method 1

frames
Corrosion of steel base 16
plates
Corrosion of steel angle 47 Refer to Method 2
3 Corrosion of steel frames 62,63,64,65
Corrosion of enclosure steel 81,82,83,84,85,86 Refer to Method 1
frames
Corrosion of steel base 66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,75,77
plates
Corrosion of steel mesh 78 1 to 1 replacement
Roof Corrosion of steel frames 86,87,88,89,90,91,92, 95,96
Refer to Method 1
Corrosion of steel angle 91
Refer to Method 2

Corrosion of steel beams 93,94

(only 4 members shown on figure 4, the rest can Refer to Method 2
be done by method 1)

Yours faithfully

Zhang Ning
Professional Engineer