Skip links

Archive

Pumping concrete

Concrete may be moved from the point of discharge, generaly a ready-mixed concrete truck, to the place at which it is required by pumping. Concrete pumps apply pressure to a column of fresh concrete in a pipe, forcing the concrete through a lubricated pipe-line. Concrete pumps are often used to reach places that are difficult or impossible to reach by other placement methods. For example, pumping is often used on high-rise projects or deep basements. Pumping is also used when the space available for construction equipment is limited.

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

Jump form construction

Jump forms are one method for the construction of the cores (that house the lifts, staircases etc.) for high-rise buildings and similar structures. The structure is cast in a series of vertical sections called lifts. After the concrete has gained sufficient strength the formwork is moved back and then ‘jumped’ to the next level above.

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

Hybrid construction

Hybrid construction is generally taken to be the combination of in situ concrete with precast concrete units, such as in situ columns with precast floor slabs and vice versa. The selection of the appropriate construct method will depend on many factors, such as the required surface finish, speed of construction, access etc.

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

Flying forms

Flying forms (or table forms) consist of a pair of steel or aluminium trusses topped with closely spaced joists that support a plywood deck. In this way panels of formwork up to 100 sq m can be decked out to form an entire bay of a suspended floor slab. After striking, the forms are moved out from under the newly formed slab on a set of rollers placed under the trusses. They are then lifted by crane to the next location.

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

tunnel form construction

Tunnel-form construction

Tunnel form systems are used for the construction of units for hotels, flats, houses and similar structures.

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

Placing concrete

Before placing concrete, the formwork and reinforcement should be checked to make sure that they are clean and free of any detritis, such as ends of tying wire. The fresh concrete should be deposited as close as possible to its final position. Care should be taken when discharging concrete from skips to avoid dislodging the reinforcement or over filling the formwork. When filling columns and walls, care should be taken that the concrete does not strike the face of the formwork, which might affect the surface finish of the hardened concrete. For deep sections the concrete should be placed in uniform layers, typically not more than about 500 mm thick, each layer being fully compacted.

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

Horizontal slipforming

Horizontal slip-forming is a method of constructing continuous concrete elements, such as kerbs, drainage channels and safety barriers. It involves the extrusion of the concrete in situ rather than casting it in short lengths. (The principles are the same as for vertical slip-forming, a technique for the rapid construction of tall concrete structures).

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

Post-tensioned concrete.

Post-tensioning is the process by which tendons (either steel strands or high tensile steel rods) are placed through preformed holes on the concrete and tensioned, once the concrete has gained sufficient strength. Construction requires the installation of some form void former, at the required location, rigidly fixed so that it does not move during the concreting process. Generally this is a permanent liner to the void (either steel or polyethylene) though various forms of removable void former are available.

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

Curing concrete

Curing is the process of preventing the loss of moisture from the young concrete whilst maintaining a satisfactory temperature regime. The purpose of minimising moisture loss is to achieving a high level of hydration of the cement in the surface layer of the concrete and thus improving durability. As soon as possible, the top surface of the freshly-cast concrete should be covered, for example with a layer of polythene, to prevent drying out. An alternative approach is to cover the surface with wet hessian, but steps must be taken to ensure that this in turn, does not dry out and tend to remove moisture from the concrete. What ever form of protection is used, care must be taken to make sure that the surface of the concrete is not marked

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

Cold weather concreting

Special care must be taken when concrete is cast in winter. If the water in the young concrete is allowed to freeze, the concrete will be damaged to such an extent that it is unfit for use. Even if the temperature does not drop below zero, the concrete will not gain strength as quickly as it would during the warmer months.

jonnyhough

jonnyhough

This website uses cookies to improve your web experience.