To help preserve one of France's protected historic landmarks, Omniflex was selected by civil engineering company Freyssinet to deliver its PowerView 18-zone impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system for the Perret Tower in Grenoble. Opened in 1925, the observation tower in the Paul Mistral public park was the first reinforced concrete tower built in Europe and was designated a French national heritage site in 1998. The project demonstrates how modern corrosion-protection technology can be applied sensitively to reinforced concrete heritage structures.
As a historic reinforced concrete structure, the tower required a corrosion protection solution capable of preserving the site while respecting its heritage significance. The tower's height and exposed location also increase the risk of lightning strikes, creating additional challenges for monitoring and control equipment. Access to heritage structures is often restricted and physical intervention must be minimised, therefore any corrosion protection system needed to deliver long-term reliability with as little on-site disruption as possible. To address these requirements, Omniflex delivered a remotely monitored solution incorporating integrated surge protection and real-time system oversight.
“The PowerView system was designed to provide operators with continuous visibility of corrosion protection performance while reducing the need for costly and laborious site visits,” said Stuart McIntosh, Business Manager at Omniflex. “For the Perret Tower project, it was important to combine long-term corrosion protection with robust remote monitoring and surge protection capabilities to help preserve the historic landmark’s structure for future generations.”
The system was supplied in four IP66 GRP enclosures and incorporates Omniflex's PowerView remote monitoring technology, enabling engineers to securely access system data and control functionality remotely, from anywhere with an internet connection, 24/7. This approach helps reduce disruption to the site and ensures issues can be identified and addressed quickly. Integrated surge protection devices also help safeguard sensitive electrical and electronic equipment against lightning-related damage.
Designed to monitor 18 protection zones and 152 inputs, the PowerView system provides operators with secure access to real-time performance data and remote control capabilities via a web-based interface. By combining continuous corrosion protection with 24/7 monitoring, the solution helps safeguard one of Grenoble’s most significant historic landmarks.
To learn more about the project, download the full Perret Tower case study on the Omniflex website.
