Metrology Needs for Predicting Concrete Pumpability

Myoungsung Choi,H R Trey Hamilton,Didier Lootens,Nicos S Martys,Van K Bui,Chiara F Ferraris

doi:10.1155/2015/456238

Abstract

With the increasing use of pumping to place concrete, the development and refinement of the industry practice to ensure successful concrete pumping are becoming important needs for the concrete construction industry. To date, research on concrete pumping has been largely limited to a few theses and research papers. The major obstacle to conduct research on concrete pumping is that it requires heavy equipment and large amounts of materials. Thus, developing realistic and simple measurement techniques and prediction tools is a financial and logistical challenge that is out of reach for small research labs and many private companies in the concrete construction industry. Moreover, because concrete pumping involves the flow of a complex fluid under pressure in a pipe, predicting its flow necessitates detailed knowledge of the rheological properties of concrete, which requires new measurement science. This paper summarizes the technical challenges associated with concrete pumping and the development in concrete pumping that have been published in the technical literature and identifies future research needed for the industry to develop best practices for ensuring successful concrete pumping in the field.

Highlights

Concrete pumping has become one of the most widely used approaches to place concrete
This paper summarizes the technical challenges associated with concrete pumping and the development in concrete pumping that have been published in the technical literature and identifies future research needed for the industry to develop best practices for ensuring successful concrete pumping in the field
The goal to develop realistic and simple measurement techniques and prediction tools is a challenge of great importance for the concrete industry

Summary

Introduction

Concrete pumping has become one of the most widely used approaches to place concrete. The proper characterization needed to predict flow is not easy to achieve because it involves understanding a variety of factors such as dynamic segregation, the stability of entrained air, the geometry of the pumping circuit, the dynamics of a sliplayer formed between the bulk concrete and the pipe wall, and the relationship between the pressure and the flow rate. This is colloquially referred to as the concrete “pumpability.” Interestingly, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) guide on terminology does not include a definition of pumpability. The resulting gaps are used to Advances in Materials Science and Engineering identify future research needed for the industry to develop best practices for ensuring successful concrete pumping in the field

Background

Analytical Approaches to Pumping

Numerical Simulation Approach to Predict Pumpability

Conclusions and Suggestions