ABSTRACT
Ocean structures are assigned with special operations that encompass all tasks associated with coastal protection, docking a vessel in a dry dock, berthing of vessels of commercial and naval defense systems, housing marine police stations for coast guard, drilling, exploration, production platforms, and so on. Safe upkeep of these structures ensures the stability of the structure throughout their service life. Four activities that are vital to maintain ocean structures are (1) condition assessment, (2) maintenance, (3) control inspection, and (4) safe operations. Preventive maintenance of such structures is vital as they are of strategic importance. Repair and rehabilitation of ocean structures requires specialized equipment, construction chemicals, state-of-the-art electronic systems to map the existing underwater conditions, and electronic surveillance including hydrographic survey equipment, side scan, sonar imaging, underwater videography or photography, and marine borer assessment. The repair and rehabilitation of ocean structures is therefore a multidisciplinary task, which needs to be carried out with a lot of research ideologies and construction expertise. Data on structural life assessment and failure analyses of ocean structures highlighting the special issues on research interest and construction expertise are discussed in this chapter. Detailed methodologies of structural assessment and repair including the selection of a variety of chemical admixtures used and the construction techniques adopted for the repair are also discussed.
