CPD Specifier May 2015 issue September 2014 | Page 39

Outdoor Engineering

Maintaining
that holiday
gem

Stanton Bonna’s bespoke pile encasement rings
provide strength and durability to help extend
the life of Palace Pier.
Palace Pier, also known as Brighton Pier, has
benefited from significant investment in the last
10 years - part of which came from a £14 million
lottery fund to develop a sea front complex
adjacent to the pier to help boost the Palace
Pier’s own footfall.
Further investment, into the ageing structure’s
renovation, was commissioned by the current
owners Brighton Marine Palace Pier Company
(owned by the Noble Organisation), to help
ensure its future.
The 100 pier piles, which support the extension
to the pier head and all the attractions on it,
are made from steel and are suffering from
corrosion.
The ICE Marine Board reports that in general
steel piles now experience higher corrosion
rates due to “Accelerated Low Water Corrosion”
(ALWC) and state that “Although unclassified,
varying rates of corrosion by ALWC up to 4mm/
side/year have been recently reported...”
Corrosion rates can be affected by
environmental influences including higher
temperatures, low pH levels, pollution and/or
salt water currents.

underwater grout to form a protective sleeve
and help protect and secure the pile against
continued ALWC as well as wearing caused by
mobile sea bed debris and sediments.
EDS worked with Stanton Bonna to develop the
design, manufacture and supply the precast
concrete encasement rings and fixings.
Stanton Bonna’s technical team provided expert
input to update the design drawings to ensure
the efficiency of the product manufacture and
suitabil