How can water resistance be improved in steel fabrication?

2025-03-26 15:47:56

In marine engineering, water conservancy facilities and other harsh environmental applications, the water resistance of Steel Structure processing directly determines the safety and economy of the whole life cycle of the building. Through material modification, process optimization, intelligent inspection and other systematic innovations, modern steel structure processing enterprises are upgrading the waterproof and corrosion-resistant capability of components to a brand new height.

I. Nano-modified surface treatment technology

In the pretreatment stage of steel structure processing, an enterprise introduces plasma nano-coating equipment to form a 20-50nm dense layer of silica on the surface of steel plate, which raises the surface contact angle to more than 150° and realizes superhydrophobic effect. This technology reduces the capillary seepage rate of steel box girders of a cross-sea bridge by 92%, and together with the automated shot blasting and descaling system, it achieves Sa3 level cleanliness, which provides an ideal substrate for subsequent coatings. Compared with the traditional pickling process, this technology reduces wastewater discharge by 80% and improves the treatment efficiency by 3 times.

Second, welding sealing composite process

Welded joints in steel structure processing is the weak link of waterproofing. An offshore platform project adopts laser-MIG composite welding technology, which controls the weld porosity below 0.3% through the 0.1mm precision melt pool monitoring system. The innovative application of microcapsule self-repairing sealant tape automatically releases silane compounds to fill 0.05mm-level microcracks after welding is completed. After 3000 hours of salt spray test, the process makes the node part of the corrosion rate from 0.12mm/year down to 0.03mm/year.

Third, multi-layer gradient protective coating

A deep-water terminal steel pile processing adopts seven-layer protection system: epoxy zinc rich primer (80μm) + glass scale intermediate paint (200μm) + polyurethane top coat (150μm), with ultra-high pressure airless spraying equipment, to achieve the coating porosity<0.5/cm². Intelligent painting workshop makes the interlayer adhesion exceed 15MPa through constant temperature and humidity control, and in the accelerated aging test after steel structure processing, the water resistance of the system reaches C5-M level of ISO 12944 standard, and the protection cycle is extended to 25 years.

IV. Optimized design of structural drainage

BIM technology plays a key role in the deepening design stage of steel structure processing. A stadium roofing system optimizes the rainwater runoff speed to 0.6m/s through hydrodynamic simulation to avoid water retention. The self-developed bionic flow-guiding components are integrated into the steel beam flange through 3D printing technology, which improves the drainage efficiency by 70%. In the processing link, five-axis CNC machine tools accurately mold the 0.5mm level water-guiding groove to ensure that the assembly error is<1mm.

V. Cathodic Protection System Integration

For underwater steel structure processing, a shipyard developed intelligent sacrificial anode module. Through topology optimization algorithm, the distribution density of anode block is reduced by 30% while the protection potential is stabilized at -0.85V to -1.1V (CSE). The reference electrode pre-embedded in the processing stage with wireless monitoring terminal realizes real-time feedback of corrosion rate. The system enables the design life of a submarine pipeline to be extended from 20 years to 40 years, and the maintenance cost is reduced by 60%.

Sixth, intelligent monitoring and repair technology

Steel structure processing enterprises embed IoT sensors directly inside the components. A reservoir gate project implanted a fiber grating sensor network during processing, which can monitor strain changes and water seepage signals at 0.01% level in real time. The supporting drone inspection system is equipped with a multispectral camera to accurately identify coating aging areas. When damage to the protective layer is detected, the wall-crawling robot automatically carries out localized grinding and sprays graphene-modified coatings, increasing the repair efficiency by 5 times compared with manual labor.

Through the synergistic innovation of these six technical systems, modern steel processing is breaking through the limitations of traditional waterproofing technology. The engineering practice of a 100,000-ton LNG storage tank shows that after the comprehensive application of these technologies, the whole-life maintenance cost of the steel structure is reduced by 45%, and the annual corrosion is controlled within 0.015mm in the seawater environment of PH=8.5. This systematic solution not only reshapes the technical standard of steel structure processing, but also provides a reliable guarantee for engineering construction in extreme environments. With the deep integration of intelligent materials, digital twins and other technologies, the water resistance enhancement of steel structure processing is evolving to a new stage of predictive protection and self-healing function.