Rampart Hydro Services

Maryland State Highway Administration Testimonial

JamesP — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:33:17 +0000

Rampart has a hydrodemolition system that is ideal with the changing environmental requirements. They are proof that when environmental agencies require 100% containment during the hydrodemolition operation, it can be achieved. We never shut down because they could not contain the waste water.

Rampart used a process called ‘Dry-Hydro’, this process collects the hydrodemolition waste water at the cutting head.

Capabilities of the Hydrodemolition hand lance/hand wand.

JamesP — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:04:31 +0000

Yes, it is true that there are hand lances or hand wands in the Hydrodemolition industry that operate at the same ultra-high pressure as the standard cutting tractor/robot (35k psi). These hand lances are not necessarily designed for bulk concrete removal as in the case of the standard cutting robot that is commonly seen on various Hydrodemolition projects. The biggest difference is not the operating pressure, but the actual flow or volume of water that can pumped through the hand held wand. The hand lance operating at 35k psi, can only safely handle approximately 5-6 gpm, opposed to the 32 gpm which all of our standard robots are designed for. This lack of volume of water makes any removal beyond approximately ½”, extremely slow and labor intensive. The most ideal applications are for membrane, coating and paint removal, along with light concrete surface preparation/scarification (approx. 1/8” – 1/4”).

How much material will come out?

JamesP — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:01:47 +0000

This very commonly asked question is very difficult to answer accurately. Many contractors, whom are not very experienced with the Hydrodemoliton process, tend to routinely ask this very question. Since the technology is designed to remove delaminating and or deteriorating material within the concrete structure, this is never exactly known until the removal process begins. There is no magic equation that can be used to begin calculations pertaining to “weak” concrete beyond the originally calibrated removal depth. Since it is rare to have any complete or accurate concrete analysis information during the bid process, visual inspections from top and underside of the bridge deck are usually all that can be performed. The total amount of reinforcing corrosion is the determining factor. The more sound the concrete is, the more uniform the removal will be. Simply put, the higher levels of deterioration, the higher volume of material will be removed incidentally with the Hydrodemolition process.

Can Rampart Perform Hydro on This Wall?

JamesP — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 20:58:42 +0000

Yes we can!

Stay tuned.

Images of the work in progress coming soon.

Project Completed in Pocatello, ID

JamesP — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:57:26 +0000

Rampart just wrapped up it’s part in a bridge deck resurfacing project for the Idaho DOT in Pocatello, ID. The project was originally scheduled to be 1.25″ of concrete removal but we were asked to increase the depth to 2.5″ and portions were increased to 4″ of concrete removal. While our schedule is tight Rampart has the equipment capacity and dedicated employees to accommodate such last minute requests for additional production in most cases.

While we are a Pennsylvania based company we do quite a bit of work out West… Read the rest

Watertown, NY RT 3 Over Black River: Phase 1 Complete

JamesP — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:59:48 +0000

Rampart recently completed Phase 1 of a project in Watertown, NY. The project involved removing 2″ of concrete from the deck of the Rte. 3 Bridge over the Black River. The project also included Vacuum cleanup using the TracVac. This was the Westbound lanes. Phase2 will be the other side.

Rear view of Hydro Trailer and Vac side by side.

As you can see we were a little short on space on this project. You could not even walk between the Vac Truck and the Hydro-demolition trailer.

A front view of the Hydro-Demolition robot with Roberto operating.

Here is the Hydro-Demolition Robot hard at work. This is a front view. With 3 X-Pumps churning out 48 GPM @ 36000 psi there is nothing to see but steam from the rear view.

Roberto doing some X-Pump maintenance.

Here Roberto is doing some maintenance on the High Pressure End of an X-Pump. As you can tell it was really bright on this Friday afternoon after raining all week long.

Justin stays hydrated as he operates the TracVac.

Here Justin has just returned to the operator position of the TracVac and ,after a quick drink for hydration, is ready to resume. Notice the netting that has been installed in the background. This helps prevent debris from reaching the live traffic on the other side.

The finish line.

This is not actually the end of the project but the Hydro-Demolition Robot has gone as far forward as it can. Time to move everything forward and start the next section.

Vac Truck discharge hose.

In addition to the Vacuum the TracVac is also provided with high pressure water to help with the cleaning operation via the Vac Truck’s on board 10k pump. Nearly 100% of the cleaning water is picked up by the powerful vacuum. When the debris body of the Vac Truck fills with water it needs to be discharged so that the cleaning operation can continue. In this case it is discharged out to the uncut portion of the bridge where it flows downhill to a drain that has been plumbed over to a series of settling tanks.

The tanks used for settling of the solids and PH control.

Here are the tanks used to allow the solids to settle out of the Hydro-Demolition water. Once the solids have been removed the water is treated with C02 to adjust the PH level before it is safely discharged to the ground.

The pit where the Vac Truck has dumped it's debris.

Here we see the rear of the Vac Truck still in it’s fully raised dumping position. The solids are typically emptied once or twice per shift. Even after pumping out as much water as possible before dumping a small amount remains trapped in the debris body. For this reason the pit is lined with a filter fabric to capture the solids from the water. At the end of the project the debris will be scooped out of the pit and hauled away for disposal in a designated area.

A closeup of the finished product.

Here is a closeup look at the finished product. The bridge deck has been cut, and all debris removed. The end result is a clean surface with rebar exposed but undamaged. Ready for the new surface to be poured.

Dam visible from the bridge.

Finally, here is the dam on the Black River that is visible from the bridge.

Winning Entries From Rampart’s 2011 Employee Photo Contest

JamesP — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:33:18 +0000

Winning Entries From Rampart’s 2011 Employee Photo Contest

Best Technical Photo

Taken By: Bob Shearer Location: Montreal Canada Job Type: Bridge Deck Scarification

Best Safety Photo

Taken By: Bob Shearer Location: Dennison, TX Job Type: Pipeline Cleaning

Editors Choice

Taken By: Matt Capezzuto Location: Hackberry, LA Job Type: LNG Storage Facility

Peoples Choice 1st Place

Taken By: Brad Foltin Location: Chicago, IL Job Type: Parking Garage

Peoples Choice 2nd Place

Taken By: Justin Elm Location: Raleigh, NC Job Type: Bridge Deck

Peoples Choice 3rd Place

Taken By: Sean Genzler Location: Baltimore, MD Job Type: Ventilation Shaft for Tunnel

Rampart Completes One of the Largest Hydrodemolition Projects to Date

JamesP — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:03:10 +0000

Rampart Completes One of the Largest Hydrodemolition Projects to Date

Rampart Hydro Services of Pittsburgh, PA has recently completed one of largest continuous concrete hydro – demolition projects ever performed in the world on a large Parking Garage Rehabilitation. The hydrodemolition was performed as part of the preparation of the floor surface for Concrete Repair.

This project included the removal of 600,000 square feet of concrete from the upper level of the East Monroe Parking Garage in Chicago, IL. The depth of removal for this project was 4.5 inches. The rough dimensions of the garage floor were 1,000 feet by 600 feet. The hydrodemolition operation was completed in just over 130 working days, running on a six day per week schedule.

With over 1,000 columns located throughout the garage, Rampart’s Technicians were able to cut to within one inch of the vertical surface of each column, eliminating excessive labor for chipping around the columns. With the largest fleet of Ultra High Pressure Pumps in the world, Rampart dedicated twelve pumps for this project. Even with the enormous demand for production on this project; Rampart was able to meet the needs of all of our customers across the United States and Canada, throughout the duration of this project.

The services provided during the project included:

Hydrodemolition
Cleanup of debris generated by the hydrodemolition
Wastewater Treatment of the water generated by the hydrodemolition and cleanup efforts

The Hydrodemolition portion of the massive project was completed four months in advance. This was accomplished largely due to the excellent communication between Rampart Hydro Services and the General Contractor. With Rampart’s experienced Technicians and superior Ultra High Pressure Water Blasters, no project is too large or too small. Rampart would like to thank our customers for providing us with this great opportunity and allowing us to continue to help repair America’s Infrastructure.

Below are some images from the project:

Before

During

After

Mole Update: 1 Year Later

JamesP — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:07:19 +0000

One year ago we featured “Meet The Mole: Rampart’s Latest Custom Built Machine” on our news feed. A year later and the The Mole, in fact three of them have been happily removing deteriorated concrete underneath the roadways in the Fort McHenry Tunnels in Baltimore, MD. The machines, which were built to be disassembled to fit down into the work area through a 36” inch manhole and then reassembled; have to date removed 19,331 cubic feet of concrete from patches for repair work in the tunnel’s ventilation shafts.

Getting the Mole ready for action.

The Mole in action.

“O Canada!”

JamesP — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:26:31 +0000

Last season the first phase of a bridge scarification project was performed for the Ministry of Transportation in Montreal, Canada. The project had its own set of unique phasing details which added an increased level of difficulty, but was still a success. Rampart is dedicated to continuously striving to expand into new territories that may offer newer and bigger opportunities.

Neil W.

(Estimator)