GREEK LEADER PETROLEUM COMPANY CHOOSES CONCRETE CANVAS
The works were carried out by Perendes Technologies - Anelixis Constructions for Elin Oil Hellenic Petroleum Company SA, with consultation services provided by PowerServe Ltd Greece.
In July 2017, Concrete Canvas® GCCM* (CC) was used for bund lining at a petroleum tank farm in Athens, Greece. The existing bunds of the petroleum tank farm were subject to weathering and erosion affecting the ground’s integrity and failure of stability. The client required a long-term, durable and cost-effective solution to combat the issue.
In addition, Athens is subject to extremely hot weather in summer months, with temperatures often hitting highs of 48 degrees, which was putting the heavily vegetated bunds in danger of causing fires. As a result, a weed suppression solution was also required to prevent fires on the site, which could be incredibly dangerous on a site containing highly flammable fuel.
The chosen solution also had to be easily installed without interfering with the existing complex pipe infrastructure, while providing stability to infrastructure site-wide. Traditional concrete combined with Shotcrete was considered; however, there was a risk of rebound from shotcrete affecting the infrastructure and site environment, whereas CC would be totally safe and would provide a clean install. There were also site access issues, and traditional concrete methods would have required the use of heavy plant on site, which would not have been possible. As a result, CC was specified.
In preparation for the installation, all vegetation, rocks and debris were removed, and the ground re-levelled. Bulk rolls of CC5TM were then delivered to site, mounted onto a spreader beam and lifted using a crane to the crest of the bund slope. The CC was then unrolled, guided by two of the installation team, down the length of the slope, and two others continued to unroll the CC along the tank floor with the same continuous layer.