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By Charles S. Hanskat concrete supplier or maybe mixed on site and fed
f you are an architect or engineer (A/E) who directly to the shotcrete pump. The concrete is
routinely uses shotcrete in your projects, you then pumped to the nozzle at the end of the
likely already know why, when, and how to delivery hose where air pressure “shoots” the
specify shotcrete. Sorry, this article probably material out of the hose and onto the structure.
won’t be giving you much new information; but With wet-mix shotcrete, testing of the fresh
it should be a great refresher. concrete material after batching would certainly
There are many examples of construction team follow the same testing requirements as cast-in-
professionals, however, who may not be as place concrete. This would include items such as
knowledgeable in specifying testing of shotcrete slump, air content, unit weight, and temperature.
and should find this article of distinct interest. Further, it may be advisable to take several test
Are you one of these? cylinders of the batched concrete to have a
• The specifying A/E involved in a new project representative sample of the concrete as delivered.
where the owner has suggested shotcrete or Dry-mix shotcrete is an entirely different
industry standard designs include something process where air pressure is used throughout the
called “shotcrete”; or length of the delivery hose to convey a dry mixture
• An A/E responsible for the field admini of cementitious material and aggregate to the
stration of an existing project and the contractor nozzle. Water isn’t added to the dry mixture until
have suggested the value engineering use of it enters the nozzle at the end of the shotcrete
shotcrete instead of cast concrete for some of delivery hose. Immediately after passing by the
the structural components of the job; or water jets in the nozzle, the dry-mix shotcrete is
• You are a design-build contractor and one of shot onto the structure surface. Thus, there is no
your subcontractors is using shotcrete in his batch of fresh, wet concrete material to test for
portion of the project; or the routine concrete tests.
• An owner who is concerned about the quality
and durability of your project; or When and How Do We Test?
• A shotcrete contractor and neither the owner There are three distinct times that shotcrete
nor the specifier has included testing in testing is needed:
the project. • Preconstruction;
Thus, the short answer to the question “Who • During construction at the time of
needs it?” is everyone involved in designing, placement; and
producing, placing, and evaluating shotcrete in a • After hardening and appropriately cured
concrete structure. and aged.