CASE STUDY
Denso Protects Underground Meters and Valves at Denver Airport
Exposed Surface Coatings
Project Data
| Location | Denver, CO |
| Completion | 1998 |
| Project Type | Meter and Valve Corrosion Protection |
| Products Used | Denso Paste / Denso Profiling Mastic / Densyl Tape |
| Contractor or Applied By | N/A |
Project Details
Business at Denver International Airport, Colorado recently got off the ground after several years of construction. Construction was no mean feat. The total area of the airport is 53 square miles, twice the size of Manhattan Island, New York. Over 2.5 million cubic yards of concrete were used to construct five runways, taxiways and aprons. It is the most technologically advanced airport in North America today.
Soon after opening, Denver Water became aware of a potential problem with over 200 of their meter and control stations located throughout the airport area. Most of these stations are located below ground in concrete vaults close to the runways, taxiways and aprons. The watertight seals on the vault lids failed after the first year of installation. De-icing procedures allowed salt, water and a small percentage of glycol to drain into the these vaults which accelerated the corrosion process on the meters and valves.
A team of Denver Water corrosion engineers and technicians faced several problems when they tackled the corrosion problem at the airport. They needed a coating that would be surface tolerant, easy to apply, safe to use in confined spaces and quick curing. Any paint system with solvents was out of the question. Even paint systems that relied on moisture curing presented problems with equipment and cure time. The Denso Tape System that was demonstrated solved their problems.
The system comprising Denso Paste, Denso Profiling Mastic and Densyl Tape was evaluated over a one-year period and then was specified to coat 204 vaults at the airport. Bids for the project were under budget across the board. The awarded contractor used almost 200 cases of Densyl Tape in various sizes and almost 1000 cases of Denso Profiling Mastic.
After finishing three weeks ahead of schedule and below budget, the contractor credited the Denso Profiling Mastic for the fast pace of production. “The more profiling mastic we used, the faster we were able to wrap and complete the vaults”, he said.
One of the 204 vaults in close proximity to the airport runway.
Densyl Tape is applied over the smooth contours of the Denso Profiling Mastic.
Completed application of one many valves and meters with Denso Petrolatum Tape System.
One of the 204 vaults in close proximity to the airport runway.
Densyl Tape is applied over the smooth contours of the Denso Profiling Mastic.
