Nov 24 2008
Beldam Burgmann, the UK's leading packing and static seals specialist, has completed work on an innovative contract on the Forth Bridge, developing a bespoke sealing which will help protect the bridge's cable for many years to come.
Forth Bridge
The instantly recognisable structure; the largest suspension bridge in Europe when it was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964, had been suffering from corrosion to its high tensile steel cables due to the saline water that flows through the Forth Estuary. The individual wires are currently snapping and if no action was taken, the roadway would literally, in time, collapse into the Firth of Forth. Bridge Engineers approached Fife based Regal Rubber who in turn, contacted Beldam Burgmann to develop a solution.
Beldam Burgmann and Regal Rubber used laminated 26mm thick Neoprene 60 Shore, supplied in strips. The strips were clamped over the two-foot diameter cables and tightened until they were airtight. Next, a powerful vacuum was used to suck out any remaining oxygen while a resin was pumped in to act as a corrosion inhibitor. Once the resin had set, the rubber sheets were removed leaving a perfect, anti-corrosion coating around the cable.
Commenting on the project, Steve Leopold, sales and marketing director for Beldam Burgmann, said: “While it’s always pleasing to be involved in a prestigious project on a popular landmark, we believe that the work on the Forth Bridge stands out.
“Regal Rubber Co. Ltd have manufacture a variety of rubber based solutions to the Forth Bridge project and this demonstrates our ability to work in partnership with organisations, such as Regal Rubber, to develop innovative, bespoke solutions that address a particular need, in this case, designing a solution to prevent the corrosion of vital, high tensile steel cables.
“Through a combination of experience, quality products and the ability to work as team with Regal Rubber, we made the project a tremendous success. Indeed, the feedback from the bridge’s structural engineers has been fantastic, so much so that both ourselves and Regal Rubber have been invited to tender for similar high profile projects in the near future.”