Site Visit

Report
SPANCAST CARIBBEAN LIMITED

Contents
Executive Summary.................................................................................................... 2
Introduction................................................................................................................ 2
Safety is First Priority.................................................................................................. 3
What is Pre-stressed Concrete?.................................................................................. 3
Spancast and Pre-stressed concrete...........................................................................4
Contec Flooring System........................................................................................... 4
Hollowcore Flooring System.................................................................................... 4
Super Piles............................................................................................................... 5
AASHTO Bridge........................................................................................................ 5
Many Other Applications......................................................................................... 6
Water Tanks............................................................................................................. 6
Stadium Seats......................................................................................................... 6
Pan Mixer................................................................................................................. 6
Manufacturing of Concrete blocks...........................................................................7
Interlocking Concrete Blocks................................................................................... 7
V blocks................................................................................................................... 8
Waste Concrete....................................................................................................... 8
Appendix.................................................................................................................. 10
REFEERENCES.......................................................................................................... 17

Executive Summary
Spancast Caribbean Limited was incorporated in August 1990. The Trinidad
branch is located in OMeara Industrial Estate, Arima. Spancast Caribbean Limited is
involved in many building types that it is not always easy to categorize their work.
This report was done in order to highlight the various aspects of the company which
were introduced to us visiting. Upon initial research and later first hand observation,
it was noted that the company dealt with new technology in terms of concrete
based products such as Pre-stressed concrete and Concrete recycling as well an
understanding on time being a crucial factor in the construction industry.

Introduction
The site visit to Spancast Caribbean Limited was deemed necessary because
of the nature of the work being done there in accordance with the education of the
Civil Engineering Students of UTT, San Fernando. The company introduces or
maintains what is deemed New Technology in the Concrete field. They strive for
an improvement on the construction methods and materials of a contractor and by
extent, the employer. Where locals know a certain approach in construction, this
company has explored new as well as foreign methods and have had positive
results in testing these methods.

Safety is First Priority

Before the tour began, a safety session was conducted. This highlighted
various aspects the company worked under such as the OSHA act. It was explained
that the company lay under 9 acres of land and the ground was very rigid. There
were 3 main hazards that were stressed on. The first and foremost was that there
was a risk of the tensile steel bursting. Even though it had never happened before
and the area around the steel is made very secure, there was still a risk and as
such, a high level of precaution was put in this area of the company. The second
was that because they worked with heavy machinery, there was a risk of being run
over by a forklift. This, however would only occur outside the designated areas and
members were warned not to stray from the group. The third was that, the company
made concrete blocks and in order to do so, a few tonnes of hydraulic pressure was
used. This could pose a hazard if anyone were to get in the way of the hydraulics or
even fall into a pressing area. After the safety brief was concluded, the site visit
began.

What is Pre-stressed Concrete?

The companys main product was pre-stressed concrete. Pre-stressed
concrete is an architectural and structural material of great strength. Pre-stressed
architectural and structural concrete units are given predetermined, engineered
stresses which counteract the stresses that occur when a unit is subjected to loads.
This is accomplished by combining two quality materials: high tensile steel and high
strength concrete.

Concrete is cast around steel tendonscables or barswhile they are under

tension. The concrete bonds to the tendons as it cures, and when the tension is
released it is transferred to the concrete as compression by static friction. Tension
subsequently imposed on the concrete is transferred directly to the tendons. Pretensioning requires strong, stable anchoring points between which the tendons are
to be stretched. Thus, it is prefabricated and transported to the construction site.
This is why the pre-stressed concrete is also faster it takes a day or two to cure
depending on the volume and a few hours to install rather than traditional ways.

Spancast and Pre-stressed concrete

Spancast Caribbean Limited makes its mark on the industry with Pre-Stressed
concrete with its various forms and applications.

Contec Flooring System.

This used a form of the Pre-stressed concrete as well as a form of interlocking
concrete. The design was based off wooden floors. It consisted of a Floor Joist which
was a T shaped beam of pre stressed concrete supported at both ends and laying
across an open area with the front view looking like an upside down T. the blocks
were specially manufactured for this. They were thinner with wings on both ends
along the height of the block. The floor joists were placed close enough to allow the
wings to rest on them and the blocks lined the beam along the entire length. A
large spaced wire mesh was placed on top of this and tied to the supporting steel
rods. Concrete then cover the entire area. This is meant to replace the system
where a decking/floor is cast and has to be supported by stilts until it dries
completely. Where this old system would take a week or more, this takes a day or 2
depending on the length. It is drastically stronger as well as faster.

Hollowcore Flooring System.

This is another form of pre-stressed concrete. It is typically used in
commercial buildings because of its design. The concrete is poured over pre
stressed wire using a mold design that allows tubular voids that extend the full
length of the slab, usually a diameter equal to 2/3 3/4 of the slab. The slab is then
cut to facilitate the desired lengths. The design allows for a much lighter yet
stronger floor slab of equal thickness which would have even cost a great deal
more. Factory production provides the obvious advantages of reduced time, labor
and training.

Super Piles
Another useful product which Spancast produces is prefabricated Super
piles .They are normally manufactured at 12x12, 16x16 and 20x20 dimensions
.These piles are formed using pile bed molds located on Spancasts premises. These
molds are made out of high strength steel and are very long so as to facilitate any
length needed. An example of this being used is in Michael Rahael Boulevard, South
Park San Fernando. Spancasts piles are reinforced with rebar and are often pre
stressed.

AASHTO Bridge
Precast pre-stressed bridge components are manufactured by Spancast
Caribbean Ltd, each bridge component is independently designed based on the
requirements on the construction site. The reason for pre stressing the concrete is
to overcome concretes natural weakness in tension, this aids in producing longer
spans than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete. The concrete is cast
around steel bars while under tension and when this tension is released it is

transferred to the concrete as compression by static friction the tension

subsequently imposed on the concrete is transferred directly to the tendons.

Many Other Applications

Spancast, however, doesnt limit itself to these alone. They have many
different applications of concrete that are not necessarily pre stressed.

Water Tanks
This is a new technology being researched and done by Spancast. It involves
casting semicircular molds of concrete individually and joining them on site to
create a giant cylindrical shape. They are then post tensioned by being pulled
together by steel cables. They interlock each other and are supposedly waterproof
when casted together.

Stadium Seats
Fresh concrete or a combination of regrind is used to produce precast
stadium risers and mini pavilions. Spancast has a wide range of designs for stadium
risers and pavilions and are applicable in many different structures .They are a
manufacture at higher strength to withstand structural damages to external forces
therefore being important to the construction industry. Because it is a precast
component they are erected relatively quickly and are cost effective.

Pan Mixer
3/8 and 3/4 aggregates are stockpiled to the back of the pan mixer separated
by a wall. A backhoe loader pushes the aggregates into a underground scale which
weighs the individual aggregates to a specified proportion, moisture meters which
are present measures the water / aggregate ratio to aid in computing the quantity
of water needed .After weighing and moisture calculations the aggregates are
introduced to the pan mixer along with cement and water . The mixture which is
produced is a relatively dry and stiff therefore having a low water /cement ratio, to
improve the workability and change its fresh early age or hardened state. Conplast
SP430 is added during the mixing stage. When mixing is completed after several
minutes the fresh concrete is emptied into a concrete hopper, it is then transported
by a rough terrain forklift to another holding hopper/ concrete bucket for the use
with the slip-former.

Manufacturing of Concrete blocks

The aggregates mainly sand or regrind to be used are stored at the back of
the block making facility which is separated by using the Mass concrete retaining
walls which themselves produce. The aggregates are then transported by using a
skid steer loader, subsequently each material is weighed to ensure proportions are
adequate. The weighed material is then added to the concrete mixer which blends
all the dry material, and a small amount of water is then added. The system is not
fully automated therefore manual introduction of the cement is required at the
mixing stage. It is noted that a very stiff dry mixture is produced so that the blocks
will hold its shape when it is removed from the block mold. Once the mixing process

has been completed, the fresh concrete is discharged onto a conveyor belt
underneath the mixer, and carried up and into the holding hopper of the block
machine itself. The mixing cycle is then began for the next load. In the block
machine the concrete is forced downwards into molds which consists of an outer
mold box containing several liners which determines the outer shape of the blocks
an inner shape of the block cavities .The blocks are then shaped and made due to a
small degree of compaction but mainly because of heavy vibration. In this process
three concrete blocks are manufactured simultaneously. The blocks then leave the
machine on pallets and are most times inspected by the workers .The pallets are
then lifted and place on racks for curing overnight.

Interlocking Concrete Blocks

This is a relatively new form of concrete blocks which has a pinnacle on one
end, a grove on the other (to fit the pinnacle) and a shallow grove on top and
bottom in order to house a steel rod. This technology is self-straitening with the
ends and is reinforced by the steel rods on the top. Because there is no need to use
mortar to hold them in place and use nylon lines to straighten them, there is a
drastic increase in time as well as accuracy. It is mentioned that with these blocks,
walls are erected much faster (a wall that would have taken a day, now takes a few
hours) and they are much stronger. An example of this being used is under the
TOYOTA building in South Park, San Fernando. Here, the bricks were used, along with
post tensioned decks in order to create an underground drain.

V blocks
Spancast Caribbean Ltd is also in the business of producing what is known as
Gravity Retaining walls by utilizing Mass concrete in the form of large blocks. These

blocks are interlocking and rely solely on its own weight to withstand pressures from
backfilling soil or just to stand up on its own acting as a wall barrier. The density of
Spancasts concrete blocks are approximately 2300 kg /m3 and weigh an
approximate 800kg each. These blocks can be laid together by using mortar to join
them or by simply stacking them upon each other since their interlocking design
caters for this, it is all dependent on the design requirements .Regrind is normally
combined with fresh concrete to manufacture these blocks since there is no
detrimental effect on the strength of the concrete mass; a higher strength may even
be produced. Reinforced steel bars are not used in the manufacturing of these
blocks since little to no tensional forces are applied to the blocks.

Waste Concrete
Concrete, being a very rigid and hard material cannot be dumped as easily.
The company saw a buildup of 30 years of waste concrete. As such, Spancast has
begun recycling it and using it as aggregate in their products and the result is a
much stronger block that if new material was used. This is due to the unreacted
cement grains in the crushed material being mixed with more cement and as such
creating a stronger product. A chemical reaction with massive physical properties.
The waste is grounded to different sizes for different uses and even sold to other
concrete based companies as it has such positive results and also that Spancast is
the only company now that recycles waste concrete. This helps the company save
money as well as reduce the need for new material.

Appendix

FIG 1. Contec Flooring System close up

FIG 2. Contec Flooring System showing Beams, Blocks, Wire Mesh, Steel Rods and
over layered concrete

FIG 3. Hollow core slabs being stacked up

FIG 4. Pile Bed Molds spanning a few hundred feet

FIG 5. Water Tanks (relatively new technology)

FIG 6. Backhoe shoveling material up to Pan Mixer

FIG 7. Mini Backhoe carrying aggregate to mixer

FIG 9. Concrete mixer shown

FIG 8. V blocks stacked

FIG 10. Interlocking Blocks

FIG 11. Contec Flooring Blocks

FIG 12. Waste Concrete

FIG 13. Crusher

FIG 14. Waste Material Aggregate.

FIG 15. Manufacture of Pre Stressed Concrete

REFEERENCES
-

University of Melborne, Site Visit Reports for Engineers,

http://services.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/471286/Site_Repor
ts_for_Engineers_Update_051112.pdf

Polgono Industrial de Juncaril Albolote (Granada) SPAIN, Process of production

of concrete blocks, http://www.poyatos.com/concrete_blocks.asp

Hornbostel, Caleb. Construction Materials, 2nd Edition. John Wiley and Sons,
Inc., 1991