SA Water Tank Refurbishment

Introduction

Incon was engaged by the McConnell Dowell Diona Joint Venture to provide structural design and verification services for a critical refurbishment project at the SA Water storage facility in Port Lincoln. The scope focused on the structural adequacy and performance of temporary works associated with installing a road plate system over the existing tank ring beam during construction activities..

Project
description

The project involved a 32ML circular water storage tank with an approximate diameter of 88m, incorporating precast concrete wall panels supported on a reinforced concrete ring beam foundation. As part of refurbishment and access requirements, a temporary road plate system was required to span over the ring beam to facilitate construction loading while maintaining the integrity of the existing structure.

As indicated in the tank plan, the structure consists of:

Circular post-tensioned tank configuration
Precast wall panels with buttress supports
Reinforced ring beam footing system
Integrated access points and operational infrastructure

Challenge

The ring beam, originally designed for hydrostatic and structural loads, required verification for additional temporary construction loads imposed by road plates and equipment.
Designing a system that safely distributes loads without overstressing the existing ring beam or inducing localised failure.
Incomplete geotechnical and as-built information required conservative yet efficient engineering assumptions.
Requirement to maintain uninterrupted site operations while ensuring safe access for heavy vehicles and equipment.

Solution

Incon delivered a targeted and efficient engineering solution focused on design verification and load management:

Assessed plate spanning capacity, load distribution behaviour, and support conditions to ensure compliance under construction loading scenarios.
Verified the existing 600mm x 600mm ring beam system for additional imposed loads, including concentrated and distributed effects.
Developed a methodology to minimise stress concentrations through:

Optimised plate sizing and thickness
Controlled bearing conditions
Load spreading across multiple support points

Adopted robust safety factors and engineering judgement to address uncertainties in existing structure data.

Key Engineering Value Delivered

Enabled safe demolition within confined and high-risk environments
Eliminated need for unsafe internal propping, improving worker safety compliance
Maintained structural stability during staged slab removal
Delivered efficient demolition methodology, reducing time and operational disruption
Integrated design, verification, and construction support into a cohesive solution
Provided cost-effective and buildable engineering outcomes

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