Faisaliah Water Storage Reservoirs | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

A record-breaking complex…

The Faisaliah water tanks are located in Saudi Arabia. They are owned by the National Water Company, and are considered to be the biggest water tanks in the world under construction, and were registered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest capacity tanks in the world at the time. The four  water tanks are located in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and their function is to provide potable water to a large proportion of the total population. The tanks have a diameter of 120 meters and a height of 30 meters approximately, for a total capacity of 2.06bm.

The tanks are constructed in pre-stressed concrete and their walls are 90cm thick. The walls are supported by an 80cm thick ring slab foundation.

…requiring Sixense expertise

Following the appearance of disorders at the anchorages during the tensioning of the clamping cables, the National Water Company (through DNGO Contracting) has commissioned Sixense to verify that the design was actually implemented on site during construction. Sixense also carried out a structural diagnosis on one of the strategic water tanks and proposed repair solutions.

The intervention has been composed of three steps:

1. On–site investigations

• Identifying the concrete thickness and steel positions using a georadar
• Mapping the disorders, collecting and identifying cracks
• Measuring cracks depth and aperture by ultrasonic testing
• Extracting concrete cores in various areas..

2. Laboratory tests

• Identifying the cement type, weight, and water/cement ratio
• Confirming whether or not it was done according to required standards

3. Data analysis and reporting

• Radar graphs interpretation
• Determination of causes of disorders
• Recommendation of repair solutions.