s i n c e1 9 1 0I nnovat i on & Consi st encyNo. 28.10 October 2010 Infrastructure ProjectSika at WorkLNG Regasification andStorage Terminal ProjectManzanillo, MxicoProject DescriptionEnergyproductionisnationalizedinMexicoundertheFederal Electricity Commission (CFE), which is also responsible for strategic energy production planning based on demand, growth rates and new technologies, in order to ensure the electricity demands for the future. The construction of a liquefied natural gas regasification and storage terminal in Manzanillo harbour, on the Pacific coast of Mexico is now underway; this project is intended to provide electricity for the Western Region of the country, taking advantage of the existing infrastructure, including a power station, substations and the harbour facilities. The project required the construction of a new sea terminal for receiv-ing the liquefied natural gas from ships, plus facilities for its regasifica-tion, storage and distribution. The terminal will have a capacity of 500 million cubic feet per day and the total investment being made is 850 Million US Dollars.Construction is being managed by Samsung Engineering and started in July 2008, with commercial start-up scheduled for mid-2011.Project RequirementsThe concrete for the project has special demands because the weather conditionsinManzanillocityincludemaximumtemperaturesabove 30 C for 90% of the year, together with very high relative humidity. Additionally the available concrete aggregates (coarse and fine) are mostly from local river sources with medium-to-low quality standards.The concrete mix design specified for the high performance and du-rability required, included a maximum water cement ratio of w/c-ratio 0.40, a minimum cement content of 400 kg/m3; plus the mass concrete pours had to be placed all year round.A stable mix and slump life were therefore major demands, particularly with the Granulated Slag Cement, 30 N, Sulphate Resistant, Low Alkali content (CPEG 30 RS BRA) that had to be used because of the type of environment and durability issues. This type of cement is traditionally demanding, because of potentially variable and delayed setting times, short slump life, a tendency to entrain air, plus very slow compressive strength development.Asthehighestvolumeofthisconcreteisforstructurestoprocess, storeanddistributenaturalgas,veryhighperformanceandquality control standards were necessary, with the following special durability testing also required:n Concrete samples were submitted to freeze - thaw cycling and then the compressive strength and dynamic elastic modulus was mea-sured.n Concrete samples were frozen to cryogenic temperatures of below minus 150 C, thawed and then the compressive strength and dy-namic elastic modulus were measured again.LNG Regasification and Storage Terminal Projectby Oscar Baccaro; Concrete Regional Manager Latinamerica and Miguel Taboada; Product Engineer Business Unit Concrete, Sika Mexicana, SA de CVSika SolutionsA TailorMadesolutionwasclearlynecessaryandtrialsconfirmed SikaPlast-220, a new combination of Sika ViscoCrete, aultra-superplasticisingpolycarboxylate(PCE)technology,blended withtraditionalplasticiser,wasabletomeetallofthedemands. Sikament-180wasaddedtopreciselycontroltheslumplife when the summer weather conditions were particularly extreme and difficult.Sikaperformedthespecialadditionaltestsontheselectedmixin our Stateofthe ArtCentralLaboratoriesatZurich,inSwitzerland, completingtheminjust45daystoconfirmthattheresultsmetor exceeded all of the project specifications.Withthissolution,theconcreteproducerswereabletomaintain the w/c ratio of 0.40, with excellent cement dispersion, mix stability andaccurateslumplife.FinallySikaPlastbasedontheSika ViscoCrete technology fullfil all project requirements excellent.Sika Productsn Sikament-180 LA n SikaPlast-220 used in combination to meet the special demand of the concrete.Sika Services AGCorporate Business Unit ConcreteTffenwies 16CH-8048 ZrichSwitzerlandPhone +41 58 436 40 40 Fax +41 58 436 41 50www.sika.comOur most current General Sales Conditions shall apply. Please consult the Product Data Sheet prior to any use and processing. Sika Services AG / BU Concrete / SAW / Infratsructure Projects / CMS /gho / 10.2010ParticipantsSika Client: Holcim Apasco MexicoOwner:Federal Electricity Comission (CFE)Main Contractor:Samsung EngineeringInvestor:Samsung-Mitsui-Korea Gas (KMS)