Underwater

Concreting
Introduction
• Placing concrete under water is a specialized subject and
should be avoided whenever practical to do so . Where
concrete works have to be constructed below water level as in
the case of marine works, deep foundations of bridges etc;
one of the two courses may be adopted. Either water may be
excluded temporarily from the site by using cofferdams,
caissons, pumps, dewatering equipment OR Concrete may be
placed in water using special methods.
Introduction
• Whilst concrete will set and harden under water its placing
presents several problems. The most difficult is the prevention
of segregation and loss of cement. Formwork except for
simpler forms of construction, is difficult to place accurately
and in all cases must be anchored firmly. In view of these
difficulties, underwater concreting in generally confined to
mass un-reinforced work and consideration should always be
given to use of pre-cast block for the whole work or as
permanent formwork.
General Requirements
• Concrete should not be placed underwater when the temperature
of water is below 4°C.

• It requires a very workable concrete with slump as high as 200

mm and cement content upto 400 kg/cum.

• Placing is done in caissons, coffer dam or forms.

• Foundation clean up is required using hydraulic jets or pumps.

• Concrete must not be placed in running water.

• Concrete must not be allowed to fall in water.

• Concrete should not flow horizontally by more than 3m.

• During the underwater placing, it must be ensured that concrete should not be washout
by the water. Concrete should be designed such that it provides resistance against
cement washout. Concrete can be protected from washing by using tremie method of
concreting. In this method concrete is poured in to a steel pipe that was already buried
with the previous concreting. This steel pipe is the tremie.
• Under water concrete should have a better slump value that lies within the range of 6 to
10 in. This is so, because continued concreting under water flow laterally and loose
homogeneity. For better results make arrangements of anti-washout admixtures. Anti-
washout admixtures are very effective as they able the concrete to flow during pumping.
Anti-washout admixtures make concrete highly viscous when it is at rest. Anti-washout
admixtures are preferred during turbulent underwater conditions.
• Concrete mix should contain high amount of cementitious materials that lie within the
range about 360 to 400 kilograms per cubic meter.
• Underwater concrete should also contain 15 to 20 percent pozzolans. As pozzolans
improves the fluidity of concrete which in returns improves the concrete workability.
• Before discharging into the tremie pipe, pre-cooled the concrete to 4 Celsius. Because if
pouring is to be done on large area then concrete temperature reaches about 70 to 90
Celsius near the center of concrete. This imposes cracking in concrete as it cools down.
Cracks become even more prominent in situation concrete is unreinforced.
• The two scientists Gerwick and Holland who comes with a solution of concrete cracking.
They suggest that the use of blended cement that also carries 16 percent Portland
cement, 78% slag and 6% silica fume reduce the probability of cracking in concrete on
hardening.
• Water to cement ratio is another aspect that should also be consider. It should be about
0.40 to 0.45.
Anti Washout Concrete
 Characteristics of
Antiwashout Underwater
Concrete
• Flowability
• Underwater concrete must be so placed in the formwork that it will
require no further handling or compaction. The mix therefore should
be plastic, cohesive and have good flowability. The mix should also
be richer than it is for concrete placed in air, usually no less than 7
bags of cement per cubic metre. Cohesiveness and flow properties
can be greatly improved by using admixtures. A retarder and 4
percent entrained air are generally re commended as the
combination that ensures more uniform concrete strength across
the form, retards the initial set and internal heat development, and
reduces laitance. Because of the increased viscosity of antiwashout
underwater concrete, the slump transformation takes place over
several minutes. The slump is ultimately 200 to 250mm.
• Air Content

• Mortar and concrete mixed with cellulose ether have greatly

increased air content; therefore, such antiwashout admixtures
contain an air-detraining admixture to reduce the air content
of the concrete to between 3 and 5%. From a petrographic
standpoint, the bubble-spacing factor of concrete containing
the antiwashout admixture is about the same as concrete
without the admixture, but the freezing and thawing
resistance tends to be somewhat low.
• Bleeding

• Concrete containing the antiwashout admixture retains more

of the mixing water. Since the normal amount of admixture
used is more than double the amount required to prevent
bleeding, very little, if any, bleeding occurs in antiwashout
underwater concrete. This lack of bleeding is responsible for
the small reduction in quality of the concrete and increases
the need for reinforcing steel.
• Setting Time
• The use of antiwashout cellulose admixtures affects the
setting time of underwater concrete. When a cellulose
antiwashout admixture is used, the setting time (ASTM C 191,
2007) is greatly extended; therefore, the antiwashout
admixture contains an accelerating admixture. The most
common accelerating admixture amounts are adjusted to
result in a final setting time of from 5 to 12 hours.
Antiwashout admixtures containing acrylic have no effect on
the setting time. When an air-entraining, water-reducing
admixture is added to the antiwashout admixture, the setting
time is slightly extended, but the increase in setting time for
the normal admixture amounts is less than 5 hours. Special
admixtures can extend the setting time for underwater
antiwashout concrete by 30 hours or more.
• Mixtures for underwater placements
• Concrete must be proportioned for very workable concrete if
it is to be placed underwater. The slump should be controlled
at approximately 7 in. Normally, the hydraulic-cement content
should be around seven bags per cubic yard. The maximum
size aggregate should be 1-1/2 to 2 in., and the fine aggregate
(fine) content should be around 45% of the total aggregate
content. Any application that improves the workability of
concrete should be considered. This includes pozzolans,
natural aggregates in lieu of crushed stone, and use of
chemical admixtures to extend the setting time and permit
additional water reduction. The fine aggregate proportion
should be higher than it is under normal conditions:
approximately 45 percent of the total aggregate. Coarse
aggregate should be gravel rather than crushed rock, the
maximum size being about 3/4 inch. In the case of large mass
placings, aggregate up to 11/2 inches in diameter can be used.
• Underwater Dispersion Resistance

• The dispersion resistance of concrete during an underwater

placement operation is evaluated by such tests as the
cementitious materials outflow rate, the change of water
permeation rate, the turbidity of the water, the change of pH
value, and the change of composition. The rate of dispersion is
decreased as the quantity of antiwashout admixture in the
underwater concrete is increased.
 Methods of Underwater
Concreting
Following are the methods of underwater concreting:
• Tremie method
• Pumping technique
• Hydro valve method
• Pneumatic valve method
• Skip method
• Tilting pallet barge method
• Preplaced aggregate concrete
• Toggle bags method
• Bagged concrete method
 Tremie Method of
Underwater Concreting
• Underwater concreting using tremie method is
convenient for pouring large amount of high
flowable concrete. The concrete is moved to the
hopper by either pumping, belt conveyer or
skips.
• Tremie pipe, which upper end connected to a
hopper and lower end continuously submerged
in fresh concrete, is used to place concrete at the
exact location from a hopper at the surface. The
reason to immerse the tremie pipe lower end is
to prevent intermixing of both concrete and
water.
 Tremie Method of
Underwater Concreting
 Tremie Method of
Underwater Concreting
 Tremie Method of
Underwater Concreting
 Tremie Method of
Underwater Concreting
 Tremie Method of
Underwater Concreting
 Process of Underwater Concreting
using Tremie Method
• There number of factors that should be considered during
Tremie pipe technique of underwater concreting:
• Tremie Equipment
• The tremie pipe might be configured in three different ways
such as constant length that is raised during concreting, pipe
with different sections which dismantled during concreting
and telescope pipe.
• An aluminum alloy pipe can adversely affect the concrete due
to chemical reactions between them therefore it should be
avoided. The pipe should have an adequate diameter to
prevent blockage because of aggregate size.
• The usual diameter is between 200- 300 mm and occasionally
150 mm and 450 mm could be used but aggregate size should
be considered for example 19 mm and 40 mm aggregate size
is lower limit for 150 mm 200 mm pipe diameter respectively.
• Tremie seal
• To avoid intermixing water and concrete in the pipe,
a wooden plug of plat is used to seal the end of the
pipe. This prevents entering water in to the pipe and
keeps it dry.
• After the pipe reach the intended position the
concrete is poured and break the seal. Then
concrete flow out of the pipe and creating a seal by
accumulating around the lower end of the pipe
• Placing the concrete
As soon as concreting began the pipe mouth should be
submerged up to 1- 1.5 m into fresh concrete to prevent
water entering the pipe. The concrete flow rate is
controlled by lowering and raising the pipe and either
decrease or increase in concrete discharge indicates the
loss of the seal, therefore flow of concrete should be
continuous and carefully monitored.

• Flow pattern
Two types of flow pattern are recognized namely, layered
and bulging. The bulging flow is desired because it
displaced the concrete uniformly which leads to lesser
laitance deformation and flatter slopes.
 Underwater Concreting
using Pumping Technique
• Underwater concreting using pumping technique
is a developed version of Tremie pipe and it is
quicker method for concreting in areas that is
difficult to access such as under piers. Pumping
provide several advantages that Tremie pipe is
lacking for example, pouring concrete from mixer
to formworks directly, solve blockages in the
pipe because concreting is through pumping
instead of using gravitational force, and risk of
segregation is decreased.
 Underwater Concreting
using Pumping Technique
 Underwater Concreting
using Pumping Technique
 Underwater Concreting
using Pumping Technique
 Underwater Concreting
using Pumping Technique
 Hydro Valve Method of
Underwater Concreting
• This method of underwater concreting is
developed and employed by the Dutch in 1969.
A flexible hose which hydrostatically compressed
is employed to pour concrete.
• As soon as concrete placed in the upper of the
pipe, both friction inside the pipe and
hydrostatic pressure is overcame by concrete
weight. This leads to move concrete slowly in the
pipe and avoid segregation. A rigid tubular
section is used to seal the end of the hose. This
method is not costly and quite simple.
Hydro Valve Method of
Underwater Concreting
 Underwater Concreting
using Pneumatic Valves
• Pneumatic valves are joined to the end of the pipe line of
concrete. There are different types of valves which are
employed for underwater concreting such as Abetong-
Sabema and Shimizu. These two valves are alike apart
from a sensor that attached to the latter; its function is
to close the valve when concrete reach determined
thickness.
• Another type of valve is available which can be used to
pour concrete at a depth of 52m without immersing end
of the pipe. The function of the valves is to permit,
restrict, stop the discharge of concrete and this method
is the useful technique.
Underwater Concreting
using Pneumatic Valves
Underwater Concreting using
the Skips Method
• The equipment that is used for conveying concrete is a
bucket with double door opening at the bottom and
overlapping canvas flaps which is fitted at the top to
prevent concrete washing. The skip is lowered down
through water slowly as soon as it filled with concrete
and when it reaches the location the doors are opened
either automatically or manually.
• The Skip technique of underwater concreting is suitable
for cases where a large mass of concrete is required for
stabilizing foundations and small amount of concrete is
needed for different locations.
Underwater Concreting using
the Skips Method
Underwater Concreting using
the Skips Method
Underwater Concreting using
the Skips Method
 Underwater Concreting
using Tilting Pallet Barge
• This technique is useful for shallow water and
the concrete is poured in thin layers. Along the
deck of the barge a tilting pallet is constructed
upon which concrete is spread uniformly and
then fell into the water freely.
 Underwater Concreting
using Preplaced Aggregate
Concrete
• Preplaced aggregate concrete method is quite good for
cases where pouring ordinary concrete is difficult or
improbable. It includes placing aggregate in the forms
then injecting concrete into the bottom and fill the forms
to the top.
• To prevent trapping water and air, concreting is
beginning from the bottom. That is why it is necessary to
position the tubes in the forms before placing the
aggregate.
• Concrete strength about 70 to 100 percent of
conventional concrete can be obtained in this technique.
The pipes are distributed with the maximum distance of
1.5 m and their diameters ranges from 19 – 35 mm.
 Underwater Concreting
using Preplaced Aggregate
Concrete
 Underwater Concreting
using Preplaced Aggregate
Concrete
 Toggle Bags Method
• Toggle Bags method is useful when small amount
of concrete is required. A reusable canvas bag is
sealed at the top with chain and secured with
toggles is filled with concrete and dropped
carefully into the determined location then
through opening at the bottom of the bag the
concrete is discharged.
Toggle Bags Method
 Bagged Concrete Method
• Bagged concrete method used for renew ballast
or to seal holes temporarily. The bags are
produced from considerably strong fabric with
capacity of 10 -20 litres and it carried by divers
to the selected position.
• The concrete slump is between 19- 50 mm and
40 mm is the maximum aggregate size that can
be used. The installation of the bags is similar to
bricks in order to create bonds.
Bagged Concrete Method
Bagged Concrete Method
Bagged Concrete Method