Soil and rock stabilization is an excellent application for shotcrete. However, ASA as an association does not provide engineering design. We recommend consulting with a geotechnical engineer familiar with the local geology and soil conditions to evaluate potential lateral earth forces from the claystone. Once potential loads are established, a consulting engineer experienced with shotcrete in soil nailing applications will be able to design the soil nail facing. You can check our online Buyers Guide to find a consulting engineer experienced with shotcrete.
We are replacing an undersized box culvert carrying a creek under a road with a vehicular bridge. To reduce excavation limits, we are using top-down caisson wall construction with shotcrete facing between caissons for abutments and wingwalls. The shotcrete will be placed in lifts as soil is excavated between abutment/wingwall caissons. The architectural pattern for the face of the abutments and wingwalls is a rectangular pattern of an indented, V-shaped notch. The notches have a maximum depth of 2 in. (51 mm). The structural portion of the shotcrete wall will be 12 in. (305 mm) thick with steel reinforcement. Can this horizontal and vertical V-notch pattern be formed or stamped into the face of the structural wall (with additional thickness as required for pattern) in one wall placement? Or does the pattern have to be a separate placement after the structural wall is cured? If this is done in two placements, I assume that we would need reinforcing bars from the structural portion of the wall into the architectural placement and reinforcement within the architectural placement to lock it in place. What is the minimum required thickness of the architectural layer to account for reinforcing bar embedded from the structural layer and the required reinforcing bar in the architectural layer?
There are many ways to approach this situation. It would be difficult, but not impossible, to install all of the work in a top-down sequence and end up with an architecturally uniform surface.
Approach 1: Install a minimal initial layer top-down with either fibers or welded wire reinforcement. Install dowels from the caissons into the structural facing layer. Install the facing from the bottom up with preplaced V-strips to make the pattern. Finish to the outermost face of the detail strips. Alternately tool the details, but likely more like 1 in. (25 mm) instead of 2 in. (51 mm).
Approach 2: Install the structural wall top-down, encapsulating the outer reinforcing steel to a plane at the depth of the detail strips. Prepare the surface by sandblasting or water blasting to create a favorable bonding surface. Install detail strips to the face of the roughened wall. Place and finish the finish layer to the depth of the detail strips.
If the base layer is properly prepared, the bond should be very good and adding dowels would be redundant. There is nothing wrong with redundancy and if so, the minimum layer thickness would be 2 to 3 in. (51 to 76 mm).
The nature of this work will mandate the use of a highly qualified shotcrete subcontractor who has experience in installing similar-quality architecturally significant walls.
We are involved in the design of a hydro project in a section of a water-conveyance power tunnel; we are considering using shotcrete reinforced with welded wire reinforcement as a final liner. In this particular section, the tunnel is under an internal water pressure of 189 psi (1.3 MPa) and water velocities in the range of 16.4 ft/s (5 m/s) can be expected. We have not found any examples of such a design/use at this water velocity and are concerned about long-term durability and potential erosion of the shotcrete and entrainment of fragments into the turbine/powerhouse. Would you have any information regarding the ability of shotcrete to resist water erosion, particularly at 16.4 ft/s (5 m/s)? (Any examples would be appreciated.) What additive can be used to reduce the porosity of the projected mixture?
Shotcrete is simply a placement method for concrete, so characteristics of concrete that are resistant to erosion are equally applicable to shotcrete. ACI 210R-93, “Erosion of Concrete in Hydraulic Structures,” has guidance on flow characteristics that lead to erosion of concrete. Also, ACI 350-06, “Code Requirements for Environmental Engineering Concrete Structures and Commentary,” Sections 4.6.2 and 4.6.3, also provide guidance on concrete mixture characteristics helpful for protecting against cavitation erosion. Properly designed shotcrete mixtures can easily meet the ACI 350 4.6.3 concrete requirements.
In 2000, Rusty Morgan compiled a list of some 37 water supply tunnels that had been lined with shotcrete (a copy of the data sheet can be supplied upon request). Shotcrete was not the final lining in all of these tunnels and not all the inverts were lined with shotcrete. The evaluation does not document the water velocity in these tunnels, but could be ascertained by contacting the project owners.
It should be noted, however, that the 16.4 ft/s (5 m/s) water flow rate is not particularly fast. The water velocity needs to be in excess of 39.3 ft/s (12 m/s) before cavitation erosion can be expected (refer to A. M. Neville, Properties of Concrete) and cavitation would be the most likely cause of erosion of the concrete surface.
Supplemental cementitious materials including microsilica, fly ash, and slag will generally reduce the porosity of the hardened concrete. Microsilica is used in many shotcrete mixtures, as it helps to reduce rebound, as well as gives the fresh concrete better adhesion and cohesion that can allow for thicker or overhead placements.
We would like to place 4 in. (100 mm) thick shotcrete reinforced with welded wire reinforcement and anchoring bolts in a water pressure tunnel. The water velocity would be between 10 and 16.4 ft/s (3 and 5 m/s). We would like to know if there is a possibility of erosion or cavitation of the shotcrete at this range of velocity. It is mentioned in our concrete manual that cavitation and destructive erosion begin when water velocities reach about 40 ft/s (12 m/s). Because the roughness of the shotcrete surface is higher than the concrete surface, is erosion more likely to occur? Do you know what may be the maximum water velocity acceptable for reinforced shotcrete?
Shotcrete is a method of placing concrete and the surface finish can be as smooth as that of cast concrete. Even with a nozzle finish, shotcrete erosion or cavitation should not be an issue at the stated velocities. Examples of smooth shotcrete surfaces can be found in many Shotcrete magazine articles and in particular (“Restoring the Century-Old Wachusett Aqueduct”).
Our company is carrying out a tunnel project in rather poor geological conditions, including water seepage and poor rock, with wire mesh and two layers of steel mat. What is the reasonable rebound percentage in such conditions?
Shotcrete rebound varies for many different reasons, many of which you mention in your question. The water seepage must be controlled or the shotcrete will likely not adhere to the surface and will slough off as the water saturates the fresh shotcrete. Accelerator will help, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve good results against a seeping surface. ACI 506R-05, “Guide to Shotcrete,” estimates approximate range of shotcrete losses from 10 to 30%. Some other factors affecting the percentage of rebound are:
Mixture design
- Shotcrete process (wet- or dry-mix)
- Concrete mixture design and materials (for example, microsilica will tend to create less rebound; more than 30% coarse aggregate can cause more rebound)
- Plastic concrete properties (air content, slump)
- Nozzleman competence
- Vertical placement generally has less rebound than overhead
- Thickness of buildup per layer
Reinforcing grid
- Size and spacing of reinforcing
- Stability of reinforcing grid
We are, and have been, designing and constructing permanent soil nail and shotcrete retaining walls. Typically, our designs consist of a primary nozzle-finished shotcrete facing to shore during our top-down construction, followed by a secondary shotcrete facing that is shot and sculpted once the full height of the wall has been excavated, drilled, and shot with the primary facing. We had a comment recently that only the secondary facing thickness can be used in our design for the wall’s flexural capacity because the shotcrete layers may delaminate. Our general practice is to pressure-wash the primary nozzle-finished shotcrete facing before our approved and experienced nozzlemen place the secondary layer. From our experience, this procedure has been very effective and we have not experienced any delamination between shotcrete layers on any of the millions of square feet of shotcrete we have placed this way. If installed correctly with our general practice, is there any reason the shotcrete layers would delaminate? If not, have any studies been done to prove this to our reviewer?
All of your points are valid, but the Engineer of Record or the owner makes the final decision on recognizing a composite system or ignoring the value of the initial layer. As your experience shows, shotcrete provides an excellent bond between freshly placed layers and properly prepared concrete or shotcrete substrates. There are many articles available in the Shotcrete magazine archives—found on our website, —that may provide the designer or owner more information to allow them to make their design decision.
We are developing a tunnel. At the tunnel portal (entrance), we have high walls around the portal about 60 ft (18 m) tall. They will have an inner structural shotcrete layer (4 in. [102 mm]) and outer architectural shotcrete (12 in. [305 mm]). Between the structural shotcrete and rock/soil, we have a drainage system to handle the groundwater. At the same time, we may have water at the top ground surface that will drain from top to bottom of the wall. The owner didn’t want to make the water flow as a sheet over the wall surface. We proposed an inlet and vertical 6 in. (152 mm) pipe drop from the top to bottom and band to a ditch at the base of the wall. Can we locate the 6 in. (152 mm) pipe between the structural shotcrete and the architectural shotcrete?
The Federal Highway Administration’s “Manual for Design & Construction of Soil Nail Walls” should address this issue. Many soil nail wall systems incorporate a drainage ditch at the top of the wall that catches the runoff and takes it to the ends of the wall. Your concept of a catch basin and drain between the layers is not something we have seen in the past and we are not qualified to express an opinion on this. We have seen systems with catch basins at the top of the wall and the drains behind the initial layer of shotcrete requiring notching the subgrade. To answer your question, yes, a 6 in. (152 mm) pipe can be fully encased in shotcrete between the layers. Complete encasement of an embedment of this size needs an experienced shotcrete nozzleman with properly sized equipment, appropriate concrete mixture design, and a trained shotcrete crew. The issue of appropriateness of the approach is better answered by a licensed professional engineer familiar with soil nail systems or retaining walls, and shotcrete/concrete.
We are using wet-mix shotcrete for culvert linings, with an existing corrugated steel plate pipe stream culvert. The pipe is 96 in. (2438 mm) long and deteriorated. There is a water diversion, but there is a pressure gradient forcing water through the voids. Any ideas on leak repair procedures?
Installing a shotcrete lining requires a somewhat dry substrate and certainly is not compatible with running water. The water needs to be blocked or diverted.
A means of blocking the inflow is to inject a swellable urethane grout through the openings in the existing pipe. The grout, if done properly, will expand upon contact with water and seal the outside of the pipe. Another means of diverting the water is to install drainage material over the inflowing area to collect the water and remove it from the pipe. The shotcrete can then be applied over the drainage material.
I am an engineering technologist working on a landslide project where shotcrete had been applied to stabilize the sandstone head scarp at the crest of the slope. The shotcrete was applied in 1998. After a recent inspection, it was noted that the surface of the shotcrete had some cracking in some sections. How can this be repaired? Can the cracks simply be filled with a grout/mortar mixture of some sort or do the cracked sections have to be removed entirely and shotcrete be reapplied?
Shotcrete can and has been used to overlay previously installed shotcrete or concrete that has cracked over time. It would be advisable that you engage an engineer knowledgeable in geotechnical engineering and concrete properties to formalize a solution. It is important that the cause of the cracks be determined and adequate reinforcing be designed to ensure that the cracks do not propagate through the overlaid shotcrete.
We have a 17 mile (28 km) long TBM tunnel for water that will drive our underground powerhouse. Is there a recommended shotcrete surface texture we could use? Our contractor is using 0.31 in. (8 mm) aggregate, but they are getting an undulating surface. Can you provide some clarity as to what we should ask our contractor to try and achieve?
Shotcrete can be applied with many different textures. The nozzle finish shown is very rough, even for a natural gun finish. Nozzle finishes can be done smoother than this. Another technique would be to use a broom to make it smoother after it is shot. Other finishes include wood float, rubber or sponge float, broom, and smooth trowel finishes. There are many examples of finishes shown in articles in Shotcrete magazine.