Because a single pole or tower failure can be catastrophic, it is essential for electric utilities, wireless telecommunication tower site owners, municipalities, commercial property owners and other individuals responsible for public safety to routinely retain the services of NACE-certified inspectors. Matergenics Services, Inc., provides structural integrity inspection and risk assessment services for aging infrastructure including T&D towers, power poles, cell towers, monopoles and high-mast lighting towers, in addition to a wide range of similarly critical structures.

TOWERS, POLES, LATTICE & ANCHOR ROD INSPECTIONS

·      Transmission Tower x                Inspection	·      Pole/Lattice Tower Inspection
·      Communication Tower               Inspection	·      Galvanized, Cor-Ten and Painted
·      Corrosion Inspection and         Analysis	·      Failure Investigations & FEA
·      Cathodic Protection                    Inspection	·      Anchor Rod Inspection and Failure
·      Non-Destructive                          Inspection	·      Evaluation of Pack Out
·      Paint and Coating                       Inspection	·      Technical Audit of  Pole Plants
·      Remaining Life                              Estimations	·      Pole/Lattice Integrity Assessment
·      Quality Control                              Inspection	·      Computerized On-Site Inspections
·      Crack Growth Monitoring	·      Visual On-Site Inspections
·      Hurricane Damage                      Evaluation	·      On-site and Laboratory Investigation

 

           

 

Matergenics Services has years of experience in all aspects of on-site and laboratory inspection and assessment of utility and traffic poles plus lattices and transmission towers. Our team includes Ph.D.s, registered professional engineers, and certified inspectors from a variety of technical disciplines, including mechanical engineering, paint inspection, chemistry, metallurgy and materials science. We also have a comprehensive array of laboratory and field testing equipment, all calibrated on a routine basis in accordance with both national and international standards. This team is ready to be put to use at a moment’s notice for inspection and investigation of:

            1-Galvanized and Cor-ten Utility Poles and Transmission Lattice Towers

            2-Galvanized and Cor-ten Traffic and High Mast Lighting Poles

            3-Aluminium Traffic and Light Pole

Corrosion on transmission-line towers and poles is directly related to the atmospheric and soil conditions present for the unique location of a given pole structure, as well as to the materials of manufacturing and the quality of these materials.

             1-Internal corrosion due to the presence or entrapment of corrosive water (electrolyte)

             2-External corrosion due to corrosive atmospheric and environmental conditions

             3-Fatigue of Traffic and Light Poles due to wind loading and inadequate design

             4-Manufacturing defects and improper paint coating selection and application

             5-Little or no maintenance in corrosive environment

             6-Accumulation of debris and soil under base plate

We provide the following services:

* GIS Corrosion Mapping and Drone Inspection and Thermographic Imaging for Tower Condition Assessment
* Paint Coating Selection for Above Ground and Underground Applications
* Custom-designed cathodic protection systems with deep well design for tower facilities
* Remaining Life Modeling and Estimation for Underground Assets
* Monopole Fatigue, Fatigue Sensor and Fatigue Mitigation
* Why stray current is an important issue in corrosion and How to detect it?
* Corrosion Engineering Training

Our condition assessment considers:

• Atmospheric Corrosion
• Ground Level
• Shallow Burials
• Deep Burials due to low pH (not considered by many)
• Concrete Degradation
• Coating Degradation
• Stray Current Corrosion
• Copper Grounding

MATERGENICS provides corrosion inspection/monitoring services, and corrosion risk assessment for different types of telecom structures including:

If corrosion is not detected and mitigated at its early stages, shortly it will lead to expensive refurbishment of corroded members, while in a longer time it can affect tower safety and increased risk for injuries, and fatalities. Periodic corrosion inspection and risk assessment is a cost-effective method to bring certainty to core asset safety. Team Matergenics can assist you on these tasks. At your request we can provide a comprehensive.  presentation on our approach and experience in this important field

We can assist you with the following important tasks:

1. Construct soil corrosivity maps for  sites for system-wide corrosion risk assessment and maintenance
2. Prioritize towers for corrosion risk assessment based on corrosion map, age, design/material, tower criticality, consequence of failure (high consequence areas- HCA)
3. Evaluate existing aging assets (based on prioritization order) and assess corrosion damage in high elevations, low elevations, ground level, and underground and for guy wires through visual examination, drone inspection and NDT techniques
4. Perform indirect assessment of towers, and galvanize anchors
5. Perform condition assessment of concrete foundations by inspection and petrographic analysis
6. Perform direct assessment (excavation/climbing and focus measurements)
7. Measure grounding resistance and document grounding components
8. Evaluate tower coating systems and select coating for various environments
9. Perform failure analysis root cause determination for accidents and incidents
10. Determine acceptable or unacceptable risks and provide engineering solutions for risk mitigation
11. Engineering solution for material selection, coating, cathodic protection, structural repairs
12. Sensor development and corrosion activity monitoring
13. Post assessment and development of tailored inspection program for long-term cost-effective corrosion mitigation and maintenance

Why Matergenics

Team Matergenics is able to provide many unique services to assess the corrosion risk and to determine the remaining life of towers and anchors. We are also able to provide best-in-class CP design for helical anchors and special situations where installation of galvanic anodes is not feasible. What distinguishes us from our competition are the following:

• We are trained, academic-disciplined corrosion engineers and we have four top level certifications from NACE; our competition does not have high-level corrosion certifications
• We have successfully completed thousands of corrosion assessments projects for telecom structures to predict and quantify the corrosion rate and determine their remaining in-service life
• We have developed patent pending GIS soil corrosivity mapping for corrosion risk assessment as a system-wide maintenance tool
• We can provide computer-aided anode bed designs for optimum cathodic protection at tower foundations―we are NACE-Certified Cathodic Protection Specialists (CP4)
• Every year we perform thousands of inspections on transmission lines and communication tower foundations buried in corrosive soils, identifying deep burial corrosion where competition is unable―thickness measurements at shallow burial is not necessarily representative of the integrity of the structure
• We have a modern materials and soil testing laboratory and can perform failure analysis root cause investigation for different modes of failures at tower component
• We have published many technical papers that have been reviewed and cited by experts in corrosion field (most recently regarding galvanized anchors, which is attached for your review)
• We have repeat clients and can provide references form SBA Communications, Crown Castle, Southern California Edison, Consumer Energy, Valmont Industries, to name a few
• Our corrosion risk assessment includes grounding evaluation, concrete inspection, and petrographic analysis
• We understand budget limitations and can provide options to fit your budget if you wish

Items 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are unique to team Matergenics and we do not know of any other firm performing these tasks. Please see the onsite photos attached to this document for examples of our work.

INSPECTION STAGES

MATERGENICS’ corrosion inspection for telecom structure, involves three different stages:

Desk Study

Prior to site visits and field measurements, based on the project requirements, a desk study must performed to complete the following tasks:

Field Survey

Our NACE certified inspectors collect the key corrosion indicator data at tower base and anchor footings, and perform site-specific tests to characterize the service environment, including:

Laboratory Investigations

Collected samples during site visits must be examined in a controlled environment to identify:

Documentation & Reporting

All inspection findings and recommendations are included in a comprehensive report, that includes:

Request a Quote Now

 

We design and Install Cathodic Protection Systems for Tel-communication Towers Based on Corrosion Engineering Principles and By NACE Certified Technical Personnel.

We understand budget limitations and can provide options to fit your budget if you wish.

Coating Selection for Atmospheric, Ground Level  and Underground Zones

Another effective way to protect structures against corrosion attack is to use a coating film to shield it from the environment. However, not all coatings are created equally. Matergenics has several coating experts that are equipped to test and analyze coating quality based on common coating failure modes.

 

Proper coating system and Adequate surface preparation per SSPC and NACE standards are extremely important for atmospheric high elevation zones of the telecom tower. To improve the protection level at foundations of telecommunication structures, Matergenics recommends partial coating application along with CP system installation. This results in improved protection at both deep and shallow burials, also extends the lifespan of anodes. Answers to the following questions are keys for a successful coating application:

• Coating material – was the coating material suitable for the service environment and the substrate?
• Surface preparation – was the surface properly prepared to allow for coating adhesion?
• Application – was the coating applied using proper technique at the correct thickness?
• Formulation – were the drying and curing specifications followed?
• Mechanical damage – is the coating susceptible to damage backfilling
• Cathodic protection shielding – is the coating compatible with cathodic protection?

ASTM, SSPC, and NACE test procedures are followed to assure that the selected coating will survive and protect the structure as intended. These tests include:

• Accelerated paint exposure
• Salt spray
• UV light exposure
• Tensile and flexural tests
• Cross section microscopy

Considering our expertise, Matergenics is the only company that can select coatings that work with cathodic protection systems to guarantee maximum protection to extend the life of any structure.

CORROSION MITIGATION

Dealing with the effects of corrosion is an ongoing struggle for most industries. Because it affects the performance and lifespan of your assets, incorporating a scientifically proven corrosion mitigation program is one of the most important decisions a company can make.MATERGENICS offers a wide array of services in this area designed to mitigate the risk of corrosion and extend the service life of aging assets including poles, towers, anchor rods, tanks, pipelines, and other equipment located in corrosive conditions. These services include cathodic protection to effectively protect underground or submerged metallic structures and materials engineering to improve performance, durability, and cost-effectiveness of both processes and products. Additionally, we offer services designed to produce meaningful data to help in making informed and efficient pre-planning management and purchase decisions. We also offer repair services for damaged coatings, above and below grade and design for structural repair.

Matergenics – Cathodic Protection Brochure – 1

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Recent articles in Materials Performance, the official trade publication of NACE International, were co-authored by Dr. Zee (M. Zamanzadeh, PhD, NACE and ASM Fellow), Director of Matergenics Services’ Corrosion and Materials Engineering, and Lana Gilpin-Jackson, Specialist Engineer in Lines Strategy and Standards for BC Hydro. Packed with useful information, the article educates and informs the reader on many important factors related to the life of galvanized steel structures and corrosion risk assessment. The content of the two-part article is pertinent to anyone responsible for electric reliability and grid asset management at electric utilities.

• Part 1 – Corrosion Risk Assessment of Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Structures
• Part 2 – Corrosion Risk Assessment of Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Structures

Further corrosion inspection information is available. Download free Matergenics white papers to learn more about these relevant topics:

• Laboratory and Field Corrosion Investigation of Galvanized Utility Poles
• Electrochemical Testing on Above and Below Grade Structures

Additional technical papers and resources are available in the Library

The corrosion inspection experts at Matergenics Services provide customers across North America with a thorough, Knowledge-Based Inspection (KBI).

Matergenic’s proven KBI methodology provides an accurate assessment of the current-state condition of aging infrastructure and detects hidden corrosion on the embedded and internal portions of assets such as utility poles, transmission towers, lattice towers, monopoles, light poles and anchor rods without the need for extensive and costly excavation.

THE MATERGENICS DIFFERENCE

Many inspection companies rely on a unreliable “look, dig, see” approach using a hand shovel to determine the likelihood of corrosion on embedded assets. Unfortunately, this approach does not take into consideration internal corrosion or the deeply embedded areas that cannot be visually observed.

Matergenics’s structural inspection process includes time-proven methods from the pipeline industry which include measuring electrochemical potential values and soil resistivity to predict corrosion profiles at lower depths. Our corrosion evaluation staff skillfully identifies structures at risk of corrosion, estimates corrosion rates, makes corrosion life-expectancy determinations and establishes an accurate baseline that can be referenced when future inspections are conducted.

The Matergenics corrosion risk assessment team includes PhDs, registered professional engineers and NACE-certified inspectors from a variety of technical disciplines including mechanical engineering, paint inspection, chemistry, metallurgy and materials science. We also have a comprehensive array of laboratory and field testing equipment, all calibrated on a routine basis in accordance with both national and international standards.

Matergenics customers benefit by receiving the latest skill-sets and technologies in on-site inspection, non-destructive testing (NDT), non-destructive examination (NDE), laboratory testing and engineering analysis which helps them identify potential problems and reduce the likelihood of catastrophic failures.

WE VALUE OUR CLIENTS

We are here to help. We respond to all customers promptly by sending a technical proposal to address testing, investigation and the proposal costs. Please call Dr. Zee at 412-952-9441  or Matergenics at 412-788-1263 and let us know how we can assist you. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Contact Dr. Zee at 412-952-9441 or the corrosion inspection experts at Matergenics at info@matergenics.