Comparison of Conventional and Self-Consolidating Concrete for Drilled Shaft Construction. Tech Summary.

摘要

Significant anomalies have been observed in many of the recent drilled shaft construction projects throughout Louisiana. The anomalies typically occur in the form of honeycombing within the zones of heavy reinforcement or sometimes at the shaft bottom. Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC) has shown great potential to overcome the difficulties as noted in some pilot studies. For example, SCC was used in the drilled shafts for the Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans and performed satisfactorily. In contrast to the Huey P. Long Bridge, conventional concrete was used for the Audubon Bridge. Problems were noted in the construction as well as the shaft resistance. Both projects consist of large size shafts constructed in the Mississippi River in similar conditions. This project was undertaken to determine the use of SCC and various test methods to assess the suitability of SCC in underwater placement conditions.