Precast Concrete

A Study on the In-situ cast Concrete

Construction Process Shoring and Underpinning
 Introduction

Precast concrete

In-situ cast concrete

Shoring

Underpinning
Precast Concrete
What is Precast Concrete?
• Cast into specific shapes at another location

• Developed in the late 1960s

• First use: stair treads, coping, lintels, and window sills

• Known for its high quality architectural products

Characteristics
• Great accuracy and high quality

• Additional features: reinforcing, moles, anchor bolts, etc

• Characteristics controlled by different materials

• Reinforcement: Conventional reinforcing or prestressed

steel
Manufacture
• Casting beds used
• High strength steel strands
pretensioned

• Transverese bulkhead
seperators inserted

• Additional reinforcement added

• Concrete poured and vibrated
• Cured with live steam or radiant
heat
Slabs
• The most standardised precast elements

• Includes solid flat slab, hollow core slab, double tee

slab, and single tee slab
Solid flat slab
Hollow core slabs
Double tee slabs
Single tee slabs
Beams
• Made in different sizes
• Rectangular beams, L shaped
beams, inverted T beams and
AASHTO beams
Wall panels
• Prestressed or conventional
reinforcement

• Used as load bearing walls

• Includes solid wall panels,
hollow core wall panels and tee
wall panels
Solid wall panels
Hollow core wall
panels
Tee wall panels
How are precast buildings put together?

Double tee slabs supported on frame of columns and

girders
Hollow core slabs supported on load bearing walls
Double tee slabs supported on load bearing walls,
columns and inverted tee beams
In-situ cast concrete
What is in-situ cast concrete?
• Concrete that is cast into forms on the building site

• Any shape that can be formed can be cast

• Certain types of concrete elements cannot be precast,

and can only be cast in-situ
Selecting an in-situ cast concrete framing system
• Are the bays of the building square or nearly square?

• How long are the spans?

• How heavy are the loads?

In-situ Concrete mix
• Appropriate concrete properties designed

• Appropriate mix design developed

• Mixing, transporting and handling coordinated with

placing and finishing
In-situ concrete placement
• Should not be placed more rapidly than it can be spread

• Deposit as near as possible to the final position

• The concrete is placed in forms and consolidated

Curing
• Satisfactory moisture content and temperature required

• Concrete in formwork is protected from drying out

• Curing compounds and treatments prevent loss of

moisture

• Large surface areas problematic during curing

Advantages
• Easy transportation of wet concrete

• Flexible when it comes to geometric shapes

• Relatively easy to do late changes to structure

• Structure becomes monolithic

Disadvantages
• Produced in an unprotected environment

• Additional time required for drying out process

• Requires more temporary work

• Complex process with many inputs and flows

Shoring
What is shoring?
• Construction of a temporary structure to support an
unsafe structure
When do we need shoring?
• When walls bulge out

• When walls crack

• When an adjacent structure needs to be pulled down

• When openings are to be newly made or enlarged in a

wall

• During construction
Shoring during
construction
Raking shores
• Rest upon the ground and
support the wall by being inclined
against it
Using raking shores
• Size of the raker decided on
anticipated thrust from the wall

• Center of the raker and wall

should not meet at floor level

• Shoring may be spaced at 3 -

4.5m

• Wedges should not be used on

sole plates

• For tall buildings, rider raker can

be used
Dead Shores
Flying Shores
Scaffold type shoring
• Scaffolding was first designed to
support loads imposed by
workers

• Often used as support for

formwork

• Provides rapid utilisation for

formwork support
Underpinning
What is
underpinning?
• Strengthening and stabilising
the foundation of an existing
building

• Installation of temporary or
permanent support

• Provides additional depth or

increase bearing capacity
When do we need
underpinning?
• Construction of a new building
adjacent to the old one

• Settlement of an existing
building

• Change in how a structure is

used

• Need to add a basement below

an existing building
Temporary support with maintenance jacking
• Light structures may be supported with timber or concrete mats

• If settlement occurs, mechanical or hydraulic jacks keep the

structure level
Bracket pile
underpinning
• Steel bracket piles driven
adjacent to the structure

• Load is transferred from the

structure into the pile through a
steel bracket

• Backfilled with lean sand

cement mix
Minipiles
• Minipiles inserted through the
existing foundation

• Generally do not require

temporary support of the
building
New foundation wall
and footing constructed
underneath the existing
foundation
• The area is excavated
• The new footing is constructed
• The excavated area is backfilled
Support during
underpinning
• Digging trenches at intervals
• This leaves most of the
foundation supported by the soil
Support during
underpinning
• Using needle beams
• Beams are threaded through
holes cut in the wall
• Entire wall can be exposed at
once