BUILDING WORLD CLASS CIVIL CAPABILITIES | 27th February 2018 | Issue - 10

Compaction of Concrete Methods of Concrete Compaction Results of Improper Vibrations of Concrete

Compaction is the process which expels entrapped Concrete consolidation can be carried out either by hand or machines. There There are various problems and defects that could arise
air from freshly placed concrete and packs the are many factors that should be considered to choose compaction methods when concrete is not vibrated adequately
aggregate particles together to increase the such as reinforcement quantities and spacing, concrete paste consistency and ➢ Honeycomb & Sand streaks
density & strength of concrete. formwork complexity. ➢ Cold joints & Excessive amount of entrapped air
Compaction of concrete is one of the important site voids that most of the times called bug holes.
Stock or Drop
operations that together enables fresh concrete to Table ➢ Subsidence cracking & placement lines
reach its potential design strength, density and lower Hand
the permeability. Compaction External
Centrifugation Vibration
Purpose of Concrete Compaction Concrete
Compaction significantly increases the ultimate Compaction Mechanical Vibration method of Internal
strength of concrete and enhances the bond with Methods Compaction compaction Vibration
reinforcement. It also increases the abrasion
resistance and general durability of the concrete,
Hand Compaction Method Honeycomb in Concrete due to poor Compaction or
decreases the permeability and helps minimize its
Hand compaction may be done by rodding, tamping or hammering. Tamping Vibration
shrinkage and creep characteristics.
is usually adopted for compacting concrete for slabs or other such surfaces.
Proper compaction also ensures that the
Rodding is done for thin vertical members. Hammering is done for massive
reinforcement, tendons, inserts and fixings are
plain concrete works and for compacting dry concrete, the surface is beaten
surrounded by dense concrete, the formwork is filled –
with heavy flat bottom rammers till a thin film of mortar starts appearing on the
i.e., there are no pockets of honey-combed material –
surface.
and that the required surface finish is obtained on
vertical surfaces. Mechanical Compaction Method
The mechanical consolidation method is capable and suitable for concrete Cold Joints due to poor Compaction of Concrete
Concrete shall be compacted during placing so that: mixtures with great amount of coarse aggregate content and low water to
➢ A monolithic mass is created between the cement ratio in heavily reinforced structural elements. They are given below Dos & Don’ts of Vibrators –
ends of the member, planned joints or both
Don’ts
➢ The formwork is filled to the intended level 1. Shock or Drop Table 2. Centrifugation Moving concrete by vibrator, will lead to
➢ The entrapped air is expelled Used to consolidate extremely stiff Employed for compacting moderate ➢ Segregation of concrete
➢ All reinforcement, tendons, ducts, anchorages low slump concrete in making precast to high slump mixtures in ➢ Large heaps or sloping layers
and embedment are surrounded units. constructing poles, pipes. ➢ Layer thickness too high
➢ The specified finish to the formed surfaces of
➢ Vibration of reinforcement; bonding between
the member is provided 3. Vibration Method of Compaction reinforcement and concrete becomes weak and
➢ The required properties of the concrete can Most extensively used technique for compacting concrete. possible movement of the steel from its intended
be achieved
position

Vibration Method of Concrete Compaction

a) Internal Vibrators b) External Vibrators

Internal vibrators which are sometimes called spude or poker vibrators There are two major types of external vibrators which are
are usually applied to compact concrete in beams, walls, columns, and Surface vibrator, and Form vibrator.
slabs. The Surface vibrator is widely suitable for compacting concrete surfaces such as Get a chance to be featured
Generally, vibrator head diameter used in concrete compaction is floors and slabs. It adequately consolidates slabs up to 20 cm thickness; internal in the next Civil COE
between 20-80mm and the shape of the head is cylindrical. As the head vibration is required for higher slab thickness. Newsletter and win a
diameter of vibrators in concrete increased the effective action area rises The form vibrator is attached to the exterior face of mold or forms properly otherwise surprise gift by answering
for instance radius action of vibrators with 4 cm head diameter is 15 cm energy will be lost because of improper attachments. Moreover, form vibrator is the the following question:
while 45 cm is the radius action of vibrators with 8 cm head diameter. proper choice for compacting concrete in thin and heavily congested forms,
Moreover, it is considerably significant to utilize internal vibrators consolidating stiff mixtures, and supplementing external vibrators. Q. What is the principle
correctly to achieve the best concrete compaction. Additionally, form vibrators can be advantageous for constructing pipes and other
Regarding using vibrators for compacting slabs, the vibrator must be types of precast concrete, Girder, heavy reinforced structure. However, it is not behind Prestressing of
kept submerged in concrete and this can be done by using it vertically or recommended to employ form vibration at the top of vertical forms such as columns concrete?
at specific angle in addition to use 1.5 times the radius action as the because it could cause gaps between concrete and the molds because of in and out
distance to guarantee overlap previously adjacent vibrated layer. Not movements, so internal vibration is better to use in this case. Form vibrators should be Note: Please send answers & your
only should the vibrator be held steady but also kept in specific station spaced properly to make uniform distribution of intensity above the form. valuable suggestions to
for 10-20 seconds to obtain desirable consolidation. [email protected].
In situations where vibrating concrete internally is not possible, external
vibrator/ Self Compaction Concrete are used. Hint: Refer the previous Civil COE
Newsletters

Civil SBU is excluded from

participating in the Quiz

Mr. P.G. Shankar – T&D,

Internal Vibrators for Concrete Compaction Form Vibrator and Surface Vibrator Jaglur.
Mr. Shaikh S. Gajan –
Dos of Needle Vibrator Engineering Services,
1. Insert vibrator vertically in the concrete, allowing it to penetrate rapidly to the bottom of concrete layer so that entrapped air in concrete is removed uniformly
and at least 6 inches into the previous concrete layer.
Tardeo, Mumbai.
2. Compaction of concrete time may vary depending on slump of the concrete mix. Stop vibration when entrapped air no longer escapes from mix, the
pitch/tone of vibrator changes. Congratulations you have
3 The withdrawal of vibrator should be slow so that the hole left by the needle is filled up by mix. won a gift voucher. Details
4. Only skilled workman should do concrete compaction using vibration and should be placed in uniform layer, maximum 500 mm thickness. will be mailed to you.
6. Rate of placing and concrete compaction must be equal and let the vibrator operators work in-group rather than in a scattered way, resulting in uniformity of
compaction.