Shotcrete

Shotcrete is concrete (or sometimes mortar) conveyed through a hose and pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface. In the dry-mix process, dry materials are conveyed by a "gun" down a hose using compressed air, and water is added at a nozzle at the end of the hose to wet out the material impacting on the receiving surface. Alternatively, in the wet-mix process air is added at an air ring in the nozzle at the end of the hose to propel the material at high velocity onto the receiving surface.





This book uniquely provides a systematic, comprehensive, and up-to-date examination of all aspects of the shotcrete process, suitable for students, practicing engineers, specifying authorities, materials suppliers and contractors. It draws mainly on North American shotcrete practice and experience from the early 1900s to the present and on extensive Canadian university research. It examines the materials used for shotcrete production, provides guidance regarding mixture proportioning, discusses the performance requirements for shotcrete, and examines the test methods used to evaluate both plastic and hardened shotcrete. It presents a review of shotcrete equipment and the shotcrete application process, with a particular emphasis on the required knowledge and skills of the shotcrete nozzleman. Important safety issues relating to the use of the shotcrete process are also covered. Case histories of a wide range of shotcrete projects from the author's project files are presented, including new structural shotcrete applications, infrastructure rehabilitation and seismic retrofit, ground support and underground support in tunnels and mines.