Sustainability of Shotcrete in the Pool Industry
Shotcrete Terminology
Compressive Strength Values of Pool Shotcrete
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ASA Outstanding Shotcrete Awards Program
The ASA Outstanding Shotcrete Project Awards Program exists to recognize excellence and innovation on projects in which the application of shotcrete has played a significant role.
ASA’s Annual Outstanding Shotcrete Project Awards Program provides an exciting real-world demonstration of the exceptional advantages of placing concrete via the shotcrete process. Many sustainability advantages are also inherent in the shotcrete process and play a significant role in winning projects as well as the project owner’s ultimate decision to use shotcrete as the method of concrete placement. Projects must be completed between January 1, 2021, through September 1, 2023, and can be submitted in the following areas: Architecture │ New Construction, Infrastructure, International Projects, Pool & Recreational, Rehabilitation & Repair, Underground.
To assist in your submission, we have provided submission resources to inform you of the submission guidelines, a list of questions, and a copy of the owner release form. Please email any questions to [email protected].
Award Archive
2023 – Nineteenth Annual Outstanding Shotcrete Project Awardees
Swimming pools were first built using shotcrete in the 1930s. Shotcrete is especially suited for pools to accommodate its many curves, penetrations, and difficult details. Formwork is minimized and when shot in stable ground can be largely eliminated. The flexibility of placement that shotcrete affords allows every pool owner to have a uniquely shaped pool. Shotcrete pools are watertight, durable, attractive, and economical.
The ASA Technical Questions and Answers is a free service offered to all users, but primarily intended for engineers, architects, owners and anyone else who may be specifying the shotcrete process and/or has need for a possible answer to a technical question.
User agreement: The answers provided to submitted questions are intended for guidance in planning and executing shotcrete applications. This information is intended only for the use of individuals who are competent to evaluate the significance and limitations of its content and recommendations, and who will accept responsibility for the application of the material it contains. The American Shotcrete Association provides this information based on the best knowledge available to them and disclaims any and all responsibility for the information provided. The American Shotcrete Association will not be liable for any loss or damage arising therefrom.
If you are unable to find what you are looking for in the archive, then submit a new technical question.
I have used ASA’s Position Statements from the Pool and Recreational Committee and find them very useful. Are there any design guides or books on shotcrete pool design that are available? I am a structural engineer and tend to design pools as retaining walls, but I believe some of my designs could be “value engineered” to reduce rebar in the case of walls with a vertical curve (base of the wall is curved and not straight) and possibly the use of a bond beam at the top.
The current International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) has no provisions for design of concrete pool shells. Many structural engineers use ACI 350 Code Requirements for Environmental Engineering Concrete Structures for pool structures, especially commercial pools. ACI 350 is based on ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete but has modifications to provide a design for concrete structures that are normally exposed to water, and thus need more crack control for watertightness. ACI 350 also addresses requirements for durability for concrete exposed to liquid so that structures will be expected to be serviceable for at least 50 to 100 yrs. Some engineers feel ACI 350 is overkill for pools and may use ACI 318, or just use their past experience. Generally, use of ACI 350 will require a higher percentage of reinforcing steel, have closer steel spacing and somewhat reduced tension in bars to control cracking. ACI 350’s concrete cover provisions may also be somewhat higher than ACI 318, to provide more corrosion protection of reinforcing. ACI Committee 506 is developing a guide document for construction of shotcrete pools, but does not directly address design. ACI has recently authorized a new technical committee to develop a Code for Design of Pools and Watershapes. However, staffing the committee and then developing a consensus standardized document will take several years.
Regarding the cove of the floor-wall joint, if you have a cove or the bond beam you can use the additional “d” distance for your vertical steel from external loads on the walls though the moment has to be carried in the thinner sections of the floor and wall adjacent to the cove. If you consider the bond beam is a stiffening element for the top of a straight wall acting as a panel between the ends in a rectangular plan pool you may be able to reduce some of the vertical bending stresses. However, that may be hard to quantify for a freeform pool without a more advanced analysis.
Regarding reference books you may find David Billington’s Thin Shell Concrete Shells useful for analysis and design of concrete shells. It is an old book (1982 for 2nd Edition) and may be hard to find but may be helpful. Hopefully ACI’s new Code Committee for Pools will set the standard of practice in the pool industry and be specifically referenced by ISPSC.