Development and Application of Dry Process Caisson for Maintenance of Submerged Barber Structure

Together with the trend of enhancement in domestic industrial development and economic progress due to import and export, the demand for construction of the roads, bridges, especially port facilities, and several coastal protection and ocean structures is increasing rapidly. MOMAF of Korean Government is driving construction of 9 new ports and renovation of the existing fishery ports. Among these structures most of bridge base, wharves, dolphins, quays, and jetties are being newly built of steel or concrete pile. As the base, supporting bulkheads, and piles are underwater after construction, it is difficult to figure out the status of structures and not enough to get maintenance and strengthen the structures. Every year, moreover, these works suck the government budget due to higher incomplete maintenance expense for protection from corrosions of structures and increased underwater construction period. for the purpose of cutting down the government budget, it is necessary to extend the life cycle of the existing structures. We developed a new method for maintenance of submerged structures near the waterline by allowing dry work environment with the floating caisson. The method shows easy to move around the working area and handle. It also showed not only a significant reduction of maintenance expenses and time for anti-corrosion work but also better protection. This will be a milestone to reduce the maintenance and construction expenses for the shore and water structures.