REINFORCING STEEL

Nunnally Chapter 12-4

 Inside

Outside: going out to

external area such as
balcony area

What is the purpose of the timber line? It’s creating a line of formwork to create a
level difference between the inside and outside of the building. What is the purpose
of creating a level difference? To keep rain water from flowing into the building, by
creating a step.
 Storm water channel
created in concrete
slab to be covered by
grid

On the side of the slab, the reinforcing has been placed with a specific design. This
is to create a “channel” within the slab to allow storm water to flow into and drain out
or away from the balcony area. The screed layer and tiling on top of the concrete
will be done at a slope to allow water to flow off.
Reinforcing steel
Available as
• Standard reinforcing bars
• Spirals – circular column reinforcing
• Welded wire fabric – mesh reinforcing
Reinforcing bars:
Deformed, meaning they are manufactured with ridges
that provide an interlocking bond with the surrounding
concrete
Welded wire fabric (Mesh):
Commonly used for slab reinforcement
– available in smooth wire or deformed =
High tensile and mild steel
Mesh reinforcing – high tensile
Mesh reinforcing – high tensile
Reinforcing: column
base footings
 Reinforcing:
rectangular columns
 Reinforcing:
rectangular columns

Reinforcing starter
bars from element
below such as a
column
Reinforcing: circular
columns –
examples? Piles
Reinforcing: wall footings

Starter bars for wall

 Formwork to create an isolated footing or base for a column. See the
reinforcing for the column cast into the base of the footing thereby creating a
link between the footing and the column
 Typical section through
High the footing and column
tensile
reinforcing
to column

High
tensile
reinforcing
to footing

Formwork
Wheel
spacer
Concrete
cover

Concrete Spacers
cover
Formwork: circular and
rectangular columns
 Reinforcing:
columns/column base

Starter bars to receive

next elements
 Stirrup
“Beuel”

High tensile?
Mild steel?
Mild steel:
Can also be high
tensile, depending
on the engineer’s
design
High
tensile:
 Column:
high tensile
reinforcing
transferring
loads
downwards Beams: high
tensile reinforcing
transferring loads
between columns
Mild steel? High tensile reinforcing in High tensile?
coffer or trough slab
Mild steel? High tensile?
Mild steel? High tensile?
Cage-weld, lattice, reinforcing mat & pre-fix
Placement of reinforcing:
Concrete is weak in resistance to
tensile forces, reinforcing is used
primarily to resist tension and thus
prevent cracking or failure of the
concrete member under tension.
Tension may be induced by
• shrinkage of concrete as it hardens
and
• by temperature changes
• as well as bending and shear forces
To provide protection of reinforcing steel against
corrosion and fire, a minimum cover of concrete
must be furnished. Engineer to specify.
Recommended cover:
1. Slabs/walls not exposed to weather/ground:
20mm
2. Beams/columns not exposed to weather/ground:
40mm – why 40mm?
3. Concrete placed in forms but exposed: 40mm
4. Concrete placed on ground surfaces: 75mm
5. Practice: At least 1 bar diameter of cover to be
used in any case (Example: Y32 = 32mm cover
minimum)
 IMPORTANT: NOT LESS THAN 20mm,
IRRESPECTIVE OF THE DIAMETER
 ELEMENT LOCATION COVER

Slabs/walls not exposed to 20mm

weather/ground

Beams/columns not exposed to 40mm

weather/ground

Concrete placed in but exposed 40mm

forms

Concrete placed exposed to ground 50 - 75mm

surfaces

Practice 1 bar diameter of Y32 = 32mm cover

cover minimum
(Never less than
20mm)
Spacers to ensure concrete
cover
 Reinforcing stools

Spacers between top and bottom steel with spacers underneath the bottom
reinforcing
 Reinforcing stool (in red): reinforcing top and bottom of slab
with green spacers underneath the bottom steel to ensure cover
of the bottom reinforcing of the slab
Wheel spacers for columns and walls – see the section “Formwork” for more
detail
 Mild steel stirrups (All reinforcing can be high tensile)

Spacer xx mm Spacer xx mm

Mild steel stirrups

Cone

Cone
Ferule tube
Wall Wall
form form

Mild steel stirrups

Spacer xx mm Spacer xx mm

Mild steel stirrups (All reinforcing can be high tensile)

 Mild steel stirrups

Spacer xx mm Spacer xx mm

Cone
Cone

Ferule tube
Wall Wall
form form
HIGH TENSILE STEEL

HIGH TENSILE STEEL

Walls, columns, beams & Flat slabs
flat slabs
Bending schedule for reinforcing:
• Issued by the civil engineer and
designed according to his calculations in
terms of tension & compression forces
• Issued to the contractor and/or supplier on
site to “fix” the steel as per bending
schedules: columns, bases, wall panels
etc.
• Engineer to inspect the fixing of the
reinforcing as per bending schedule
and “sign” it off before concrete may
be poured – or issue site instruction to
rectify (whether to add/change etc.)
Shape codes for reinforcing
Difference between “Y” and “R”?

Bending schedule: Retaining wall E1, Block JBE

Bending:
A = 110mm
B = 130mm
C = 1330mm
D = 130mm
Return = 110mm
Bending schedule: Retaining wall E1, Block JBE
Bending schedule and layout for floor slab
Bending schedule and layout for floor slab
Bending schedule and layout for floor slab
Concrete cover as
specified by the
engineer for the
concrete retaining
wall

COVER

Wall back: 30mm

Wall front: 25mm
Base top: 50mm
Base bottom: 50mm
 Reinforcing to concrete strip footing

Foundation beam
Reinforcing to concrete strip footing

Blinding?
Reinforcing to concrete wide strip footing
Column reinforcing
Reinforcing design detail: Footings, columns, beams
Always bend reinforcing COLD
Always bend reinforcing COLD
PRODUCTION OF
AGGREGATE AND
CONCRETE
Nunnally
Chapter 7
 1. PRODUCTION OF AGGREGATE
Production of high-quality concrete/asphalt
requires supply of quality aggregate: gravel,
sand & mineral filler meeting specified gradation
and other requirements, thus by crushing rock or
gravel & blending it with sand & other minerals
required
Production: excavate, load and transport rock or
gravel to processing plant (crushing plant) where
the raw material is washed, crushed, screened,
sorted & blended if necessary and stored or
loaded into loading hauls
Sands are not crushed but washed & de-watered
before use – de-watered?
 1. PRODUCTION OF AGGREGATE

Why are sands washed? To wash out organic

material.
Why organic material? Should organic material
remain in the sand, it will influence the mixtures
of mortar for brickwork and plastering as well as
concrete mixes.

Why are sands de-watered? Sands need to be

dried out from as much moisture/water as
possible as a high moisture content will
influence the cement-water ratio of mixes such
as concrete or mortar.
Rock crushers
Utilize mechanical action to reduce rock or
gravel to a smaller size: Jaw crushers,
Impact crushers, Cone/gyratory crushers
& Roll crushers – See fig. 3
1. Jaw crushers: utilize a fixed plate and a
moving plate to crush stone between the
2 jaws – used as primary crushers
2. Impact crushers: use breakers or
hammers rotating at high speed to
fracture the input stone
3. Cone/gyratory crushers: use an
eccentrically rotating head to crush stone
between the rotating head and the
crusher body
4. Roller crushers: material is passed
between 2 or more closely spaced rollers
producing fractured stone
Jaw crusher

Impact crusher
 Roller crusher

Cone crusher
Crusher receiving material first: called
PRIMARY crusher
Second handling: SECONDARY crusher
Further processing: TERTIARY crusher

Screens: used to sort crusher output and

feed oversize material back for re-
crushing
 Crusher screen acting as a “filter” to ensure certain size aggregates to fall
through if small enough, if too big, it needs to be crushed down to smaller sizes
Jaw crusher, impact crusher & hammer crusher
Feeders: are used to supply gravel or stone to the
crusher
(See figures 4/5) and include apron feeders,
reciprocating plate feeders, vibrating feeders
and belt feeders
Capacity of a feeder is determined by:
1. Screen size and opening size
2. Slope of the screen
3. Position of the deck
4. Amounts of oversize and half-size material
5. Material condition
6. Shape of material
7. Weight factors
The crushing cycle: See figure 7
The output of the primary crusher is
separated by screening and the larger
stone is sent to the roller crusher. The
output is again screened and divided into
the desired size ranges

Washing & other equipment:

Aggregates often require washing to remove
silt, clay & organic material prior to
processing and sorting
 2. PRODUCTION OF CONCRETE
• Concrete produced by: mixture of Portland cement,
aggregates and water
• 4th additive may be added – improve workability/other
properties of the concrete mix
• Construction operations involved in the production of
concrete, in order, include:

* batching – proportioning of quantities

* mixing – of elements by hand, mixer etc.
* transporting – by truck, wheelbarrow, crane etc.
* placing – by hand, truck chute, pump etc.
* consolidating – vibrating to expel air
* finishing – floating with tools example power float
* curing – to reach strengthening point (Mpa)
Ready mix plant & mobile batching plants
• Concrete must meet design requirements
(prescribed strength) – Hardened concrete must
meet design strength and must be:
– uniform - ?
– watertight
– durable
– wear-resistant (water resistant?)
• All of these properties are influenced by
– concrete components
– mix design used
– by the construction techniques
employed - ?
Concrete must meet design requirements (prescribed strength) – Hardened
concrete must meet design strength and must be:
1. Uniform
The mixture needs to be “uniform” meaning that all the ingredients need to
be mixed through uniformly i.e. cement paste needs to cover all aggregate
and all ingredients need to be distributed evenly throughout the mix.
2. Watertight
This does not necessarily mean “waterproof” as water and moisture will
penetrate unprotected concrete somehow over time where concrete is
exposed to water and moisture over a long period of time. Watertight means
water need to run off from a concrete surface and not be absorbed.
3. Durable
The durability refers to the final concrete element created to be durable for a
long period of time. Think of a building created through a concrete frames
consisting out of concrete columns and slabs, the concrete needs to “last
long” and be durable as structures can not be replaced after only a couple of
years.
4. Wear-resistant (Refers to being durable)
Wear-resistant refers to the concrete being resistant to wear for example
wearing out from tyres of vehicles travelling on a concrete highway. Other
forces that may have an effect on concrete include rain and wind. The
concrete therefore needs to be wear-resistant against these.
• All of these properties are influenced by

1. Concrete components:
The higher the quality of the components, the less the influence on the
properties of the final product. This includes aggregates that are properly
washed and dried and being the correct size. Aggregate being too small
or too large will definitely influence the properties of the concrete product.
2. Mix design used:
The mix design used and employed will influence the final product. Mixing
concrete by hand compared to ready-mix will be different. The mix design
for site mixing will not be as accurate as the ready-mix design which is
done under better controlled conditions.
3. By the construction techniques employed:
Allowing concrete to free fall more than 1,5m will lead to segregation
within the mix, placing and spreading concrete by using incorrect
methods will also influence the final product. The “techniques” thus refer
to how the concrete is mixed and placed which will influence the
properties of the concrete.
Would a contractor attempt to mix and place 100m³ concrete
for the 3rd floor’s slab doing it all by hand, shovels,
wheelbarrows etc…? NO, there are better techniques
 TYPES OF CONCRETE
• Classified into categories according to its application &
density
• Normal-weight concrete: weighs 2243 - 2563kg/m³
• Structural lightweight concrete – weighs 1922kg/m³.
Its lightweight is obtained by using lightweight
aggregates such as clay, slate, slag etc.
• Lightweight insulating concrete – used for its thermal
insulating properties. Aggregates used – perlite and
vermiculite
• Mass concrete – used in a structure such as a dam in
which the weight of the concrete provides most of the
strength of the structure. Thus little or no reinforcing
steel is used. Its unit weight is usually the same as that
of regular concrete
• Heavyweight concrete – made with heavy aggregates
such as magnetite and steel punchings – used
primarily for nuclear radiation shielding
Mass concrete
 TYPES OF CONCRETE continue

• No-slump concrete – slump of 2,5cm or less. Slump is

a measure of concrete consistency obtained by placing
concrete into a test cone following a standard test
procedure and measuring the decrease in height (slump)
of the sample when the cone is removed: “Slump-test”
Used for bedding of pipelines etc.
• Refractory concrete – suitable for high-temperature
applications such as boilers and furnaces
• Pre-cast concrete – has been cast into desired shape
prior to placement into the structure: pipes, edging etc.
• Architectural concrete – concrete that will be exposed
to view example curtain walls and screens. White or
coloured cement may be used in these applications
Architectural concrete
using fibre reinforced
cement
Architectural concrete
1. Portland cement
Concrete
2. Aggregate: stone/sand
components
3. Water
• Another component – admixture/additive is
often added to impart certain desirable
properties to the concrete mix
• Aggregates is used to reduce the cost of the
mix and to reduce shrinkage – shrinkage,
leading to cracking
• Aggregates make up 60 – 80% of concrete
volume, their properties strongly influence the
properties of the finished concrete
• To produce quality concrete, each aggregate
particle must be completely coated with
cement paste and paste must fill all void
spaces between aggregate particles, i.e.
aggregate consolidation (how achieved?)
The quantity of cement paste required is reduced
if the aggregate particle sizes are well
distributed and the aggregate particles are
rounded or cubical. Aggregates must be

• Strong
• Resistant to freezing/thawing (melting)
• Chemically stable
• Free of fine material that would affect
the bonding of the cement paste to the
aggregate - organic material?
Water is required for several purposes: (11)
1. To provide moisture required for hydration of
the cement to take place – hydration is the
chemical reaction between cement and water
which produces hardened cement
2. If aggregates are not in a saturated surface-
dry condition they may add or subtract water
from the mix
3. The amount of water in a mix affects the
plasticity or workability of plastic concrete
Water is required for several purposes –
continues:
4. Strength, water tightness, durability and
wear resistance of concrete is related to the
water/cement ratio
5. The lower the water/cement ratio, the higher
concrete strength and durability achieved
6. In terms of water quality – any water
suitable for human consumption, will do
7. Where water quality is in doubt – make trial
mixes
Foundation beams/column bases
Concrete blinding?
8. Organic material in mix water tends to prevent
the cement paste from bonding properly to
aggregate surfaces (clay content)
9. Alkalies or acids in mix water may react with
cement and interfere with hydration
10. Seawater may be used – will result in concrete
strengths 10 – 20% weaker than normal. The
use of a lower water/cement ratio can
compensate for this (avoid use of sea water
unless approved by engineer)
11. Seawater should not be used for pre-
stressed concrete where steel will come into
contact with the concrete (due to the salt
content = ?)
Additives to concrete:
Principal types:
• Air-entraining agents – increase resistance to
freezing
• Water-reducing agents – increase the
slump/workability of plastic concrete
• Retarders – slow the rate of hardening of concrete
– use in high temp and when pumping over long
distances
• Accelerators – they decrease setting time and
increase early strength (act in opposite manner as
retarders)
• Pozzolans – finely divided material – used to
replace some of the cement in concrete mix.
Reduce segregation.
• Workability agents – increase workability
 MIX DESIGN
• Selecting most economical concrete mix that
meet the requirements of hardened concrete
while providing acceptable workability
• Most economical mix – highest ratio of
aggregate to cement while providing acceptable
workability at the required water/cement ratio
 Mix design procedure:
– First select a water/cement ratio that satisfies
the requirements for concrete strength,
durability and watertightness
– Select workability/slump
– Mix a trial batch
 BATCHING AND MIXING

Batching: the process of proportioning

cement,
water,
aggregates and
additives prior to mixing
Concrete specifications commonly require a
batching accuracy of 1 – 3%
Depending on the mix component, materials
should be proportioned by weight
• Central batching plants that consist of
separate aggregate and cement batching
units are often used for servicing truck
mixers and for feeding central mixing
plants where cement is handled in bulk
• Addition of water is controlled by the
batching plant or mixer operator
• Batching of small mixers is accomplished
by loading the required quantity of cement
& aggregate directly into the skip or
hopper of the mixer. Water is added by the
mixer operator
 Cement silo
Aggregate storage/
Mixer
handling using a
drag line

Site batching
plant
 Dragline

Stone aggregate Sand

Water weigh batcher & Pan-mixer
 BATCHING AND MIXING - Continue

Truck mixers or transit mixers are truck-mounted

concrete mixers capable of mixing & transporting
concrete
The product they deliver is called ready-mixed
concrete - See figure 8
Procedure:
• Truck mixer is charged with aggregate,
additives & cement at a central batching plant –
proportioning of quantities? Strength required?
• Water is added when ready to start mixing
Truck mixers
Batcher-mixer: 2013 Concrete Expo, Sandton Convention Centre
Concrete components are loaded into the “bucket” at the back and dropped into
the drum. Water is added and everything is mixed together through the rotating
drum. The vehicle drives to the drop-off point and discharges the mix straight
from the drum. Obviously the mixes are small and limited to 3m³.
TRANSPORTING & HANDLING CONCRETE: NB!

Different types of handling equipment:

Truck-mixers, dump trucks, conveyors, pumps and
cranes with concrete buckets (Banana-buckets)
When transporting/handling concrete:
• Care must be taken to avoid segregation when
handling plastic concrete - What is segregation?
• The height of any free fall pour, should be
limited to 1.5m unless downpipes or ladders
are used
• Temperature, road condition, truck body type
and mix design are the major factors that
influence the safe hauling distance
CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION
Nunnally 12-1, 12-2 & 12-4
 1. Construction applications of concrete
Range of use:
• foundations for small/tall structures,
• structural beams,
• columns,
• bases,
• wall panels,
• bulk/mass concrete dams,
• slabs,
• roofs etc.
Because of concrete’s weak strength in tension,
virtually all concrete used for structural elements
contain reinforcing material embedded to
increase tensile strength – Reinforced concrete
 Figure 1 indicates the cost element of
concrete & reinforcing for a reinforced
concrete building:

Reinforcing = 12% & Concrete = 24%

(excl. labour)
with Formwork accounting for 60% of
the cost of concrete construction

Objective of professional team (CM & QS):

minimize cost of construction but still meet
required standards of safety and quality
Cast-in-place (in-situ) concrete:
* plastic concrete placed into forms and allowed
to harden (in the FINAL position)
* forms removed after concrete has developed
the required strength to support its own
weight and that of the structure
Walls & wall footings:
* placing of plastic concrete into wall forms such
as foundation walls, retaining walls, tank
walls, special purpose elements
* high-rise structures with a column and beam
framework with curtain wall panels in
between members to form the ext. walls –
columns circular/rectangular (See figure 2)
• Floors and roofs: classified as either
one-way or two-way slabs
• One-way: principally supported in 1
direction and beams, girders and slabs
may be cast at one time i.e.
monolithically – See figure 4a
• Two-way: principal type being the waffle
slab – See figure 5
• Flat slabs: supported directly by columns
without the use of beams – See figures 6a
&b
ONE-way slab
Figure 5

TWO-way slab
Slab type?
Slab type? Section detail?
 Slab type?
Section detail?
Flat slab
1. Construction applications of concrete -
Continue

• Pre-cast concrete:
* concrete that has been cast into the desired
shapes prior to placement in a structure’s
FINAL position
* done in a central plant where industrial
production techniques may be used under
controlled environment/procedures
* obtaining better surface quality & quality
control than in-situ concrete
Remember: Casting a concrete member on site and then
placing it in the final position, is still a pre-cast concrete
element. As long as it is not cast in-situ or the final
position, it is considered to be a pre-cast element.
2 Scenario’s: Pre-cast vs. cast-in-situ of a concrete beam (lintel) to be
placed across an opening in a brick wall

Concrete beam to be placed over opening

1. Pre-cast: either the lintel is cast off site at a plant and

transported to site and placed in the final position OR cast into
formwork on site, allowed to dry and set, removed from the
formwork and then placed in the final position.

2. Cast-in-situ: formwork is built up over the opening and to the

sides, reinforcing placed and concrete cast. After the concrete has
set, the formwork is removed and the beam left in its final place
(in-situ).
• Pre-stressed concrete:
* concrete to which an initial compression load
has been applied
* with concrete being strong in compression but
weak in tension, pre-stressing serves to
increase the load that a beam or other
flexural member can carry before allowable
tensile stresses are reached
* permits a smaller, lighter member to be used
in supporting a given load
* pre-stressing also reduces the amount of
deflection in a beam
* as the member is under compression,
cracking will remain closed up and not be
apparent
Two methods of producing pre-stress in concrete:
1. Pre-tensioning:
* Places the pre-stressing material under
tension in the concrete form before it is
cast/poured
* After the concrete has hardened, the
external tensioning devices are removed
* Bonding between the concrete and the pre-
stressing steel holds the pre-stressing in
place and places the concrete under
pressure - See figure 10
 Principles of pre-stressing of concrete

When a rubber band is stretched out, tension is retained in the rubber for as long as it
is stretched. This tension or pulling force makes the rubber band want to “return” to
its original shape due to the tension created in the opposite direction. When the
tension is released, the band will automatically return to its original shape. If these
tension forces can be kept in place, the band will be “stronger” when compared to the
band that is not under tension. This is due to the opposing forces wanting to return it
to the original shape and size.
 Principles of pre-stressing of concrete

When the rubber band is replaced with steel reinforcing, the reinforcing is placed
under tension. Exactly the same wants to happen where the reinforcing wants to
“return” to its original shape and size once the tension is released.
When pre-stressing concrete, the forces tensioning the reinforcing are locked into
position keeping the tension in place. Because
Summary: the opposing forces are acting in the
1.opposite direction,
Reinforcing tryinginside
is placed to return
the to the original
formwork state,
of the beam these forces
to be are acting onto
pre-stressed
2.theThe
concrete member
reinforcing making
is put underittension
stronger.
by stretching out the reinforcing before the
concrete is placed
3. The tension force is held in place until the concrete is set and strong enough to retain
its own shape
4. Once the concrete is set, the tension force is released and the opposing forces
attempt to take the reinforcing back to its original shape and size but the set concrete
is preventing this from happening
5. These opposing forces increases the strength within the member and decreases
deflection

Beam or lintel
Beam or lintel
Pre-tensioned concrete elements

Lintols / Structural beams

Pre-tensioned beams
Pre-tensioned beams
2. Post-tensioning: NB! NB! NB! NB! NB!
* Places the pre-stressing steel under tension
after the concrete member has been erected
(poured)
* The pre-stressing is then tensioned by jacks
placed at each end of the member
* After the pre-stressing load has been applied,
the pre-stressing steel is anchored to the
concrete member by a mechanical device at
each end or by filling the pre-stressing tubes
with a cementing agent
* After the steel has been anchored, jacks are
removed and the pre-stressing steel is cut off
flush at the ends of the member
 Principles of post-tensioning of concrete

1. Tensioning cables are placed inside the formwork of the beam or slab to be post
tensioned.
2. The concrete is poured and left to set.
3. Once the concrete is set, the tension force is applied to tensioning cables within the
slab’s concrete.
4. Once the required tension on the cables has been reached, the cables are anchored
or locked into position retaining the tension force within the cables.
5. The opposing tension forces attempt to take the cables to its original size and shape
but the set concrete keeps the forces in place.

Tensioning cable
With pre-tensioning, the rubber band is placed under tension before the concrete is
poured and then released after the concrete has set, here the rubber band would be
placed under tension once the concrete has been poured and set. The opposing
forces within the members are kept inside the rubber band.
Blue cables below New Engineering
Building - UP
White cables below
White cables below
Noticeable savings?
White cables below
Noticeable savings?
Post tensioned coffer slab – Menlyn Maine
Post tensioned coffer slab – Menlyn Maine
Post tensioned cables placed to create circular wall

Blue lines = cables

Post tensioned cables placed to create circular wall

Blue lines = cables

Post tensioned cables placed between columns creating “beams” within the
slab
• Architectural concrete:
* Provides appearance affects
* Includes exposed aggregate surfaces
* Special surface design by using form
liners
* Mechanically produced surfaces

2. Concrete construction practices

Concrete construction involves batching,
mixing, transporting, placing,
consolidation, finishing and curing
Transporting & handling:
wheelbarrows, concrete conveyors,
chutes, truck mixers, cranes with buckets,
pumps etc. – See figure 15

Placing and consolidating:

Placing: Movement of plastic concrete into
its final position whether into forms or
other
NB: Before placing of concrete onto or into
any final position of formwork:
1. Ensure underlying surface & interior of all
forms is clean;
2. Formwork interior surfaces must be
coated with form oil “shutter-oil”
(release agent) to allow removal of the
form from the hardened concrete without
damaging the surface. Rust on
reinforcing?
Rust?
Concrete pump mounted on truck body
Concrete
pump and
chute
Placing of concrete by pump chute & bucket
 Concrete filling
column by using
pump with chute
assembly
Static concrete
pump on GF,
feeding to
elevated slab
Concrete placing through pump with hose
 Concrete buckets lifted by the use of cranes

Banana bucket
Concrete buckets being filled directly from truck, bucket raised with
tower crane, moved to position
Concrete buckets lifted by the use of cranes
 World record: Largest
continuous concrete pour
• 7 January 2019
• Polaravam Dam Project, India
• 32,315.5m³ continuous pour
• Placing – Continue
Pneumatically placed by spraying onto the
surface called “Shotcrete”
Other pneumatically applied concrete: gunned or
gunite

Consolidating: process of removing air voids in

concrete as it is placed using concrete vibrators,
hand rodding or spading

 Vibrators should never be used to move

concrete horizontally  leads to segregation
of the mixture = FAIL 
What will happen if concrete is not
properly consolidated in pile?
 Concrete = EPIC FAIL 
segregated in piles
 Concrete = EPIC FAIL 
segregated in piles
Pneumatically placed by spraying onto the surface called “Shotcrete”, gunned
or “gunite”
Concrete consolidation by vibrating
poker

Drive unit

Poker
Finishing & curing:
Finishing being the process of bringing the
surface of concrete to its final position &
imparting the desired surface texture
Operations include:
• Screeding – striking off the concrete in order to
bring the concrete surface to the required grade
• Floating – smoothes and compacts the surface
while embedding aggregate particles
• Troweling – follows floating when a smooth
dense surface is desired – See figure 16
• Brooming – drawing a stiff broom across the
surface creating a skid-resistant surface
Concrete finishing by power float or
power trowel
Power floater
Power floater or
power trowel
blades
FAIL!
 The concrete floor is cast. Once the
concrete has set and hardened, the
machine with the cutting blades (above)
removes a few millimetres from the surface
of the slab exposing the aggregate, cutting
through it to the same level. Once the
cutting is done, the dust is removed and the
surface is sealed and polished as per the
picture to the left.
Concrete finish: Off-shutter. What is meant by off-shutter concrete?
• Finishing & curing - Continue
The completion of cement hydration requires
that adequate moisture and favorable
temperatures be maintained after concrete is
placed. The process of providing the
required water and maintaining a favorable
temperature for a period of time after placing
concrete, is referred to as curing

Methods include:
1. Covering the surface with wet straw/burlap
2. Ponding water on the surface
3. Covering with plastic sheeting or paper
4. Applying curing compounds – sprayed on
immediately after concrete has been
finished
Curing by wrapping columns in plastic
Curing by wrapping columns in plastic
 Curing
by ponding

?
2. Concrete construction practices - Continue

Vacuum de-watering: placing a mat with a

porous lower surface on top of the
concrete and then applying a vacuum to
the mat. Vacuum within the mat causes
excess water from the concrete to flow into
the mat and then to the source
Hot and Cold weather concreting (NB!):

The rate of hardening of concrete is greatly

accelerated when concrete temp. is
appreciably higher than the optimum
temp. of 10 - 15.5°C
32°C is considered a reasonable upper
limit for concreting operations
 South Africa?
 How can we ever do work in places such as
Upington in the Northern Cape during December
where temperatures rise to above 40ºC?
Hot weather concreting – Continue
• Setting time of concrete placed, is
reduced
• Higher temperatures also reduce the
amount of slump for a given mix
• Adding water to increase the slump =
adding cement to the mix to correct the
water/cement ratio
• High temp. accompanied by wind/low
humidity = increase the shrinkage of
concrete leading to cracking
Hot weather concreting – Continue
Reduce the effects by:
1. Lower the temp. of the plastic concrete by
cooling the mixing water and/or aggregates
before mixing
2. Use low-heat cement or add retarder
3. Air-entraining agents, water-reducing agents or
work-ability agents may be added to increase
workability without changing the water/cement
ratio
4. Discharge ready-mix concrete within 1 hour or
less
4. Use shades/covers in controlling temp.
5. Start with moist curing immediately after finishing
continue for at least 24 hours
Cold weather concreting (NB!):
Problems are essentially opposite to that of hot
weather concreting
1. Concrete should not be placed on a frozen
surface
2. Must not be allowed to freeze within 24 hours after
placing = permanent damage + loss of strength
3. Forms & reinforcing should be free from frost, ice,
snow & be kept at a temp. above freezing
4. Do not concrete in temp. of 5°C, minimum 10°C
for 3 days after placing
5. Water used may be heated to heat aggregate only
prior to mixing with cement – no hot water to
cement!
6. Use un-vented heaters inside an enclosure during
the 1st 36 hours after placing – important to let the
concrete cool down gradually to prevent cracking
Honeycombing refers to the voids in concrete caused
by the mortar not filling the spaces between the
coarse aggregate particles. It usually becomes
apparent when the formwork is stripped, revealing
a rough and “stony” concrete surface with air
voids between the coarse aggregate. Sometimes,
however, a surface skin of mortar masks the
extent of the defect and may the honeycombing
extend to some depth into the member.
Honeycombing is always an aesthetic problem, and
depending on the depth and extent, may reduce both
the durability performance and the structural strength
of the member
It usually becomes
apparent when the
formwork is stripped,
revealing a rough
and “stony” concrete
surface with air voids
between the coarse
aggregate.

Honeycombing is always an aesthetic

problem, and depending on the depth and
extent, may reduce both the durability
performance and the structural strength of
the member. Result? Depending on the
engineer’s findings, he/she might order the
demolition of the member. Who bears the
cost of re-doing the work?
 Cold joint

How does this differ from the Automatic Self Climbing system formwork? Here,
concrete pours were allowed to be done one on top of the other leading to the
creation of the cold joint
Concrete cast on day 4

Concrete cast on day 1

NEW CONCRETE TECHONOLOGY
Normal-weight of concrete: 2243 - 2563kg/m³?
 NEW CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY
• Agilia®: the self-placing, self-leveling
concrete by Lafarge
• Launched on the French market in 2000, Agilia® is a self-placing,
self-leveling concrete. Highly fluid, this concrete spreads effortlessly.
It can be poured quickly and provides a perfect, highly esthetic
finish.Agilia® considerably improves conditions on building sites:
• thanks to its fluidity, it eliminates the tedious chore of vibration. This
improves on-site conditions for workers,
• it reduces worksite noise, a source of irritation both for workers and
for nearby residents.
• Today, Lafarge is the only global producer able to manufacture self-
placing concrete in all locations with guaranteed, consistent
quality.Agilia® is a range of concrete products suitable for all uses:
Agilia® Force, Agilia® Formes, Agilia® Horizontal, Agilia® Vertical,
etc.
 NEW CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

Self-leveling concrete
• A variant of self-placing concretes, self-
leveling concretes have a specially
formulated and graded composition to
ensure a fluid spread. They form
smooth-surfaced slabs with no need for
vibration or float finishing (used to make a
surface flat).
 NEW CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

Self Compacting Concrete (SCC):

In South Africa, self compacting concrete (SCC) is mainly utilised for

specialised applications where the use of ordinary concrete is very difficult and
often not possible.
The development of SCC in South Africa is still in its infancy and its current use
is thus limited.
Presently there are two general mix design philosophies in South Africa.
One comprising high cementitious contents with no viscosity modifiers and the
other where the cementitious material content is reduced and a viscosity
modifier is included.
Research done using both approaches has generally yielded equally good
results.
The first project on which SCC was used in South Africa was the Nelson
Mandela Bridge, constructed in 2002. The placement method used entailed
pumping from the bottom up (another first in South Africa) and the height to
which the concrete was pumped was also exceptional.