The Qatalum Project is one of the largest aluminium plants ever built. It is located in Umm Said is on the southern coast of Qatar in the Persian Gulf.  The project is a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Hydro. Power comes from the enormous gas reserves in Qatar.

Concrete is exposed to an aggressive marine environment as well as high sulfate soils. The ambient temperature can reach up to 50⁰ C or 120⁰ F in Summer.  In addition to the extreme exposure conditions, there were other challenges to achieving high quality for the Project. Approximately 400, 000 m³ needed to be produced over the short contract period suppled from 7 premix companies to numerous contractors. There was significant variability in cementitious materials and other raw materials. There were also demanding concrete applications such as slip-forming concrete silos for coke and alumina.

The photo shows the self-compacting concrete repairs to foundations for the power plant foundations.

Dr James Aldred and Dr Mohamad Nagi lead the Independent Verification and Testing team which provided concrete advice and support on concrete technology and material testing. James and Mohamad were working with GHD Global Pty Ltd at the time.

Figure 1: Qatalum SCC repair