The Selection Process for Corrosion Mitigation in two Natural Draft Hyperbolic Concrete Sea Water Cooling Towers

A decision to install impressed current cathodic protection on a 450ft high cooling tower with a surface area of 385,000sqft was proven to be the right corrosion mitigation choice when all other electrochemical methods and repair techniques were assessed.
The selection process for the Impressed Current Cathodic Protection included a series of testing and evaluation methods that are used to determine the most affective approach.  Due to the ever increasing test methods and long term repair solutions being offered by the market, owners are often in a difficult position to receive best advice and make the appropriate long term repair decision for their structures.
Decisions are typically influenced by market trends and costs, by personnel who have the objective to sell their products to the owners.  In the majority of cases the sales companies do not offer the full range of products or have the technical ability to be advising clients on their structure.
When clients engage the involvement of independently qualified engineers, they can receive the right solution for their structure.  This is typically due to the engineer’s ability to evaluate the condition, provide the right solution and whole of life cycle probabilities for the structure.  This includes the analysis of all available products on the market.
For this particular project, the involvement of the independent engineer was critical, as a selective approach based on condition was followed allowing the client to receive the correct solution for his corrosion problem. 
In many instances, impressed current cathodic protection may be the right methodology though not all clients have the budgets to carry out the works.  A corrosion condition analysis can allow the client to determine the corrective action and time frame within which to carry out this action.