Committees

Ports and Harbors Committee Develops Timber Structures Protection Manual

By Alex Matlin, P.E., and Andrew Cairns, P.E.

Due to implementation of strict environmental regulations, US coastal waters that were polluted for many years have become clean, resulting in the return of marine borers, which attack timber structures and are threatening the integrity of existing timber piers and docks. As a result, protection and repair of timber structures have become a big and still growing business in US ports and harbors.

In response to industry demands, COPRI's Ports and Harbors Committee has established a Timber Protection Technical Committee. The goals of this Committee are to summarize existing practices, to develop guidelines for protection of marine timber structures against marine borers, and to publish them in the form of a Manual of practice.

In the first section, "Inspection of Marine Timber Structures," the Manual will provide guidelines on planning and execution of inspections of marine structures, with an emphasis on the underwater inspection of submerged timber elements such as piles, braces, and pile caps.

The Manual's second section, "Analysis of Inspection Data," will suggest an approach to statistical analysis, including guidelines on determining the appropriate sample size for structural inspections. It will also discuss structural evaluation of the inspected facilities, addressing the residual capacity of the deteriorated timber elements.

The third section, "Protection of Timber Elements," will include guidelines on protecting various structural components such as piles, beams, pile caps, bracing and other elements, in order to stop their deterioration and prevent future marine borer attacks. This will include such methodologies as barrier wrapping, encapsulation, coatings, and preservative treatments.

For elements that have lost structural capacity, the Manual will include a fourth section titled, "Repair of Timber Elements." Typical repair techniques that will be described include pile posting, encasement or encapsulation, as well as replacement or reinforcement of beams, piles caps, bracing, and deck elements.

The Timber Protection Manual is expected to be a valuable source of information for facility owners, design engineers, and marine contractors. It will provide practical recommendations for the inspection and maintenance of marine timber structures, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of inspections and rehabilitation design. The manual will also provide state-of-the-art techniques for the structural evaluation of structural load capacity of the marine timber structures. Look for this publication at Ports 2007, March 25-28, San Diego, California.