Low-volume wet-process sprayed concrete: pumping and spraying

Abstract

This paper, which reports on part of a three-year research project into wet-process sprayed concrete for repair, examines the influence of rheology on the pumping and spraying of fine concretes. The performance of ten laboratory-designed fine concretes were examined using a rotational viscometer, the slump test, a build test and a vane shear strength test. Visual grading and a sorptivity test were used to quantify the degree of reinforcement encasement which is a crucial factor in long term performance. Taken together, these tests form a rheological audit of each concrete which can help guide the design of sprayable, but also durable concretes. The two-point apparatus was successful for determining the flow resistance and torque viscosity of fine aggregate concretes, including those with air entrainment. The vane shear strength test was successful in providing an instantaneous reading of the shear strength of the concretes and is compared with their slump. The concretes were pumped and sprayed through a piston pump to assess their suitability and to measure their adhesion to a substrate by build thickness. This value is a measure of sprayability and is converted into values of maximum shear and tensile stress which are then compared with the workability parameters in order to determine their inter-relationship. These relationships are also compared with those obtained from a separated study of mortars. On its own, the sorptivity test did not accurately assess the encapsulation of the reinforcement. However, when considered with a visual grading of the cores, a more reliable indication can be obtained of the potential durability of the finished concrete, as well as the degree of encapsulation of the reinforcement. We demonstrate the conflict in selecting mix proportions that satisfy requirements for both installation and product quality.