Hi, stumbled across the forum while running some online searches so thought I would share my latest project! 

Just wondering what experience anyone out there has with A) Pumping concrete across a distance of 1.3km or thereabouts, B) Pumping concrete into a tunnel and C) First Stage Concrete pours.

We are pouring First Stage Concrete Track Slab at 645mm (chord size) in a 1.3km tunnel, being a tunnel there are canted sections etc, which is a huge problem in itself. We need the concrete wet enough to be able to flow through the 5" pipe but 'dry' enough not to fall into the canted section of the tunnel. The biggest cant of the tunnel is 145mm, therefore creating an approximate slope of 300mm across a span of 3.9m! 

The finish of the track slab is to be done with screed rails due to the tolerance being +-5mm, so accuracy is also a must! We are proposing on using a gantry on wheels that runs on the tunnel walls meaning we wont actually come into contact with the concrete. The screed rails will be taken out as we go along, but we have been discussing the option of having a rail that is above the pour and to use a 'rebated' tamp to get the final level, but with the tolerance we aren't sure if this would work that well.

We are aiming at pouring linear 60m a day, pouring 5 days a week, looking at an approximate figure of 130m3 a day and starting at 8am with a view to pour for approximately 6 hours. The pump we are using is a Putzmeister Static NW636 (BSA 2110D).

We have a plan etc and plan to start the pour on 7th August, so any ideas that can be posted or discussed before then would be nice, and maybe we can implement something into the tunnel!

Feel free to contact me via email on 'lewis@kellyformwork.co.uk'

Regards,

Lewis Turnbull

Sounds cool. My company has experiance with extreem distance pumping. I just wonder.. Are you the pump driver? Why is the finnishing your problem? Where do you get your equipment from?

We are on a project now where we have 4 pumps.  1408E, 2x 1409D, and one 2109D for the longest push.

I have very little time at the moment but would be funn to chat some time.. You can find me on youtube and facebook . Just look for ''Danicon AS''

why not just use a slip form for the tunnel, and pump self consolidating concrete. use a diversion valve at end to blow the pipe out with a go devil, devil catcher and air

Blowing out 1,3km of 5'' pipe with air?? Are you mad??

Yeah water wash would be safer lol. i did 2500ft 5 inch like that but 1.3km would be better to pump water

That my opinion at least. You will have no control over that distance. Can get very dangerous. Let me know if you need help Lewis! One of our specialties is to help out companies that (with all respect) have underestimated the pumping of concrete over long distances. It would not be the first time we come to the rescue  

I agree with Dipstick. You should use water to blow this out. I pumped quite a distance for tunnel work. The problem I had was the actual tunnel lining mix was not pump friendly due to the microfiber that they put in the mix. I could pour any of the other structural mixes without a problem. We poured wet but with a high strength mix so we could get our breaks in 12 hours. The forms were stripped and reset and another pour happened in 24 hours from pouring the last form. It was quite a challenge and the mix design was not up to it.

I am not the pump driver, I am the project manager on the job and we have been discussing the various options on how to go about pouring the tunnel slab etc etc, and with drivers seeing so many different types of concrete pours I thought I could get some ideas/advice on here!

After more discussions this week I have now established how we are cleaning the line. We are proposing to empty the line of concrete but put a 'pig' with 1 or 2 balls behind the concrete and then push with water. The concrete in the line then completes the pour and the water can be drawn back through the pipe and pump on the pump side and stored/disposed of.

My concrete pump knowledge isnt very extensive so thats about as best as I can explain!

Photo 1 - This is taken from the mouth of the tunnel, this is intended to be poured via mobile pump at this stage, the pour was 60m (linear) and we will use mobile pump for around 4-6 pours, and then we will proceed with the static pump method I mentioned previously.

Photo 2 - This is the contents of the pour, screed rails on the outside with a drainage pipe and chairs/mesh reinforcement in the middle. Our biggest concern is the level with our +-5mm tolerance, so we are hoping the rails do their job!

Photo 3/4 - Just some more snaps of the pour, its the first time we as a company have tried anything like this, and with the tolerance needed we really want to get this right, and at the first time of asking!

If you guys have any problems feel free to give me a call or send me a mail. My company would love to come and help you if needed. We are very flexible. We could come for a trip just to help you with one poor to kind of fine tune the system but we can also have a man on your job site 24-7. All depend on what you want. We are located in Norway but cover most of north and west europe. I have no doubt that we will mannage the 1,3km with a smile including prime and cleanout. Hope you take it serious because there is quitea lot that can go wrong on a job like yours.

Wish you a ton of good luck!!

Daniel Jongstra

Danicon A/S

Mail: daniconcrete@hotmail.com

Phone: +4794177633

I have seen Danicon A/S's work and they are impressive with the scope of extreme pumping that they do. I have also communicated with them via email and they are very knowledgable. I can also help with some questions and I have sent you my email in a private message. Many things can and will go wrong during long line pours.

Hei Lewis. I will be doing 2 long distance poors today and tomorrow. I will take some pictures of the equipment we use to wash out and post them here.

Hei Lewis. Here some pictures of our washout equipment. Hows things going over there? Did you gethold of a profecional company that can help you with your job? 

profesional i mean  

Do you supply the line only or would you also provide the labour?

Lewis

Just a couple of photos that show our line installed to the wall, and the line that is running vertically from above the tunnel entrance. Also the huge static pumps we are using. Nice to see our setup isn't too different from yours Daniel ;)

Looks pretty good. Not sure if I would want to weld the suports straight to the pipe though  we use special clambs for that.

We take every job for its self and are like i said flexible. Its up to what the customer wants. If he wants to buy the equipment himself than thats ok. But we can also provide it. Same with the labor. We can do it all but we also can just have one man to help you out with the dificult stuff and run the pump on pumpday. In that case the customer provides help when needed.  We have a lot of contacts and know where to get hold of equipment and good operators.

This kind of thing will usualy become clear during a first meeting. Everything is possible  

Wall bracket.

One of my co workers who is part time works underground at a potash mine when he isnt pumping for us. At the surface They have 5inch pipe going 3200feet vertical to mine level. At this point the line turns horizontal and continues for up to 6000ft. he has cell phone video driving in a 4*4 vehicle that goes all the way to the end of the line. he is driving fast and the video is 4min long. They fill caverns and holes with endless fillcrete. This is all done with the head pressure from the 3200ft vertical drop. they run a small line pump thats it. its pretty nuts. i still think the danicon video is the craziest i have seen yet. but this mine thing is pretty cool. i will try to get the video from him.

That sounds cool. Would like to see that.

How is it going Lewis? How far have you come so long? Any problems or smooth going?

So far so good! No blockages at all, everything running smoothly for the minute and I hope it stays this way! :)

Nice  What distance are you pumping now? Keep an eye on the 90 bend where you welded these suporters on. That a weak point. the welding weakens the pipe. It could blow if you go to max pressure..