Slipforming High-Strength, High-performance Concrete in High-rise Structures Case Study By Reda A Fattah

SYNOPSIS
Very High Strength-High-performance concrete is becoming popular in the construction industry in the Middle East in general and in the Gulf Region in particular. High-rise structures of 80 floors and above are common in Dubai and the race for building higher structures is in its peak. In order to cope with the fast-track construction schedules as well as cost effectiveness, Slipforming is gaining even more popularity in the construction industry in Dubai. Very High-strength concrete of 80 Mpa, 90 Mpa and 100 Mpa have been successfully tested and produced in Dubai however, to use such concrete in slip form is even more challenging. In these papers, the use of 100Mpa, 90Mpa and 80Mpa concrete in slip form in two high-rise towers in Dubai marina area, namely; The Torch Tower (86 stories) and Marina 23 (96 Stories) shall be discussed and the key success factors shall be analyzed. In particular, the selection of mixture proportions and material properties as well as concrete properties in both fresh and hardened states such as the type and proportions of cement and cementreplacements, chemical admixture, type of aggregates, water cement ratio, mix rheology and setting times shall be discussed. Of equal importance is the job coordination including the rate of lifting the form, rate of supply, homogeneity of concrete batches in each layer, slip form maintenance and cleaning are among the key factors that had a major impact on the overall success of the project.

Keywords: High-performance Concrete, Admixtures, Rheology, Slip Form.

Cement

Replacements,

Reda Abdel Fattah is the operations manager of Al Falah Ready Mix Concrete in Dubai and Northern Emirates. He received his Bachelor of Science in Geology from Cairo University in May 1988. He has worked in the field of Ready Mix Concrete from his graduation to date. He has been involved in all aspects of the ready mix industry with particular focus in the technical department. He has actively participated in several R & D programs relating to high strength and high performance self compacting concrete, Ultra Light-weight concrete, and latest was the development of 100Mpa slip formed concrete.

INTRODUCTION

So far there is no clear or unified definition of high strength or high performance concrete. The terms used commonly at different geographic regions quite often may indicate varying numerical values in terms of concrete compressive strength or other performance criteria. Of particular interest is the commercial production of such material in large-scale projects using locally available material. Some very high strength concretes are produced for small size localized applications using materials and techniques defined by ACI committee 363R as exotic. In our case study, we define high-strength concrete as: concrete of standard cube compressive strength of 80 Mpa or more at 90 days. The material and technology used to produce this concrete are those material and techniques used for the production of mostly all other types of concretes as well. While the term high performance equally means high strength in most cases, in this case it means also that the concrete shall be pumpable through static line up to the 30th floor level yet maintaining its rheological properties of being highly workable (but not self compacting) and cohesive requiring minimum effort in placement and compaction in thin heavily reinforced walls and columns. It also means that the concrete shall be of very low permeability and crack free after hardening. Most high-strength, high-performance concrete has common characteristics in terms of material and mixture proportioning, mainly:

Very low water to cement ratio. Generally less than 0.30. Considerably high cement content. Part of the cement is replaced by secondary cementitious material and mineral admixtures. The use of high-range water reducing additives. With the advanced developments in chemical admixtures technology, the use of polycarboxilic ether polymerbased admixtures has made it easier to produce such high-strength concrete with very low w/c.

In addition to the above characteristics, the application of concrete in slip form requires the concrete to attain additional criteria, mainly: Controlled initial setting time. Very low friction between concrete and the slipping steel form. PROJECT SUMMARY The concrete in both projects were used to cast the vertical structural elements such as the core walls and columns. While in the Torch Tower the core walls and few large columns were slip formed, in the Marina 23 project all vertical elements of the tower was slip formed. In the Torch, concrete from the first basement to 3rd floor was grade 90Mpa, Grade 100Mpa from the 4th floor to the 10th floor level and grade 80Mpa from the 11th floor to the 30th floor level. Above 30th floor level, the concrete grade is 60Mpa. In the Marina 23 tower, all vertical elements from the first basement to the 30th floor level are 80Mpa.

The volume of concrete required for each pour was approximately 360m3 while the floor height is 3.6 meter. The rate of raising the form was set by the slip form team as 250mm per hour such that the concrete shall have an initial setting time of 4-4.5 hours. The form work in each project was operated through one hydraulic power source such that the whole formwork is raised in one
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single phase. Due to the considerably vast area to be cast, two mobile concrete pumps were used in each single pour of the lower floor levels. In the higher levels, two hydraulic placing booms connected to two stationary concrete pumps by static pipe lines were used to pour the concrete. The same arrangements were maintained in both projects where the construction processes on both projects were going on simultaneously.

MATERIAL SELECTION AND PROPERTIES CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL The selection of the cementitious material type and quantity was crucial to achieve the required concrete properties in both fresh and hardened states. Ordinary portland cement to EN197-1 grade 42.5N was used as the primary cementing material while ground granulated blastfurnace slag (ggbs) to BS6699 and Microsilica to ASTM C1242 was used as mineral additives. The mixture proportions are presented in table 1 and the properties of cement, ggbs and microsilica are presented in tables 2a, 2b and 2c. The core walls to cast are200-300mm thick while columns had a thickness ranging from 400mm to 800mm. the heat rise within the concrete mass and consequently the possibility of thermal stresses was not a concern for two reasons; firstly, the elements had small to medium thickness and second, in slip form the concrete is exposed to atmosphere during initial setting hence the heat is continuously dissipated and there would be very little chance for the heat to build up within the concrete mass. While heat due to cement hydration was not a concern, the cement content was kept at the minimum level to achieve the required strength as higher cement than necessary would mean unnecessarily higher long-term shrinkage as well. Ground granulated blast-furnace slag (ggbs) is commonly used in UAE either to enhance the concrete durability or minimize the rate of heat rise due to hydration or both. In most cases the ggbs is used to replace 50-70% of portland cement to achieve this target. Due to its finer particle size, compared to portland cement, and its sharp and angular particles, as a result of the grinding process, concrete with 504

70% ggbs have high yield stress and usually more susceptible to segregation besides being of sticky nature. Such property would not make ggbs the best option for slip form concrete unless it is used at lower proportion. In this particular instance, the use of ggbs at some 1520% will act to fill the space between the coarser cement particles resulting in a better packing and denser structure while improve the heat properties even to lesser extent. In the mean time, it was reported from laboratory and field observations that mix with such low ggbs content do not show the negative behavior of fresh concrete as with the high ggbs concrete. Of particular concern was the effect of high ggbs replacement on the strength gain as well the ultimate strength of concrete. BS6699 did not classify the ggbs on the bases of compressive strength but rather specified minimum strength for a blend of 70% of ggbs with 30% cement to BS12. On the other hand, ASTM C989 covers three strength grades of finely ground granulated blast-furnace slag for use as cementitious material in concrete and mortar. The ggbs locally produced when tested for compliance with ASTM C989 could hardly meet the requirements of the strength grade 80Mpa hence using higher proportion of such ggbs would not be a good option for high strength concrete. Microsilica from a reputable and proven source was used. The use of microsilica had two positive effects on concrete performance. The packing effect and the chemical effect through reaction with lime resulting from cement hydration. Again due to its very fine grain size and spherical particles it fills the space between the cement and ggbs particles producing continuous grading in the finer part of the concrete mixture. In fact it was observed that concrete with triple blend of cementitious material such as ordinary portland cement plus ggbs plus microsilica have better rheology than concrete with ggbs or microsilica only. In case of applications as slip form, contractors in the UAE has always expressed a concern to use microsilica in concrete for slip form as it would cause the concrete to stick to the steel form while it is being raised. However, using only 3-4% was enough to improve the mix performance and avoid the adverse effects of higher dosages such as 810% which are commonly used in high-strength concrete applications.

AGGREGATES High-strength concretes typically contain such high contents of fine cementitious materials that the grading of the aggregates used is relatively unimportant compared to conventional concrete (ACI 363 R6). While the above statement could be true for high strength concrete placed in traditional formwork, it is definitely not the case when used in slip form. The overall grading of the mixture is crucial for achieving the required surface finish with no or minimum surface defects. The overall mixture grading means the aggregate grading and the grading of cementitious material as well. The best way to determine the optimum aggregate proportions in this case was by laboratory and plant trial batches using the material intended for use in the project. The properties of aggregates used in the subject mixtures are shown in tables 3 and 4. Fine aggregates of rounded and properly graded particles are not available in the UAE. Concrete producers use a combination of crushed rock sand 2-5mm in size combined with natural dune sand having particle size predominantly less than 0.6mm to produce fine aggregates for concrete. The high silt content of the crushed sand increases the water requirements in the mix and it is necessary to wash the sand before use in concrete. While washing reduces the silt content it also takes away portion of the fine sand fraction rendering the sand even coarser and gap-graded. Blending with the very fine natural dune sand does not fill the space of missing size fractions mainly the 1.2mm fraction. In order to overcome this problem we used to add higher percentage of dune sand however, there is an optimum percentage of dune sand in the fine aggregates beyond which the water requirement of the mixture will increase. There are wide variations in the properties of both crushed sand and dune sand from different sources within the UAE. For instance, crushed sand derived from Lime Stone quarries have generally better particle shape than the more angular particles of sand from gabbro quarries. Also dune sand varies considerably in size and silt content. Hence the optimum sand combination is best determined by trial mixtures using the materials intended for use in the project. While combined aggregate curves are helpful as a starting point when a new source of sand is located, most concrete manufacturers in the UAE have established sources with well known properties and mixture proportions. More often than not, the mixtures performance should be verified especially for newer requirements, such as high
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strength slip formed concrete. In the subject case we have used Lime Stone washed crushed sand having specific gravity 2.68 and water absorption 1.0%. The dune sand used has more than 95% passing 0.6mm sieve and less than 1.5% passing 0.075mm sieve. The overall percentage passing 0.075mm sieve of the combined fine aggregate was generally less than 3% by weight. Coarse aggregates in the UAE, on the other hand, are very good in terms of physical, chemical and mechanical properties. Two predominantly generic types of crushed rock aggregates are widely available in the UAE, namely gabbros and lime stones. Our selection was to use lime stone for the production of such high strength concrete. The lime stone used had excellent properties having 2.75 2.80 specific gravity for 5-10mm and 10-20mm size fractions respectively. The water absorption was less than 1%. In terms of mechanical strength, the ten percent fines value was 250KN and 270KN for the two size fraction while the aggregate crushing value was generally less than 20%. The particles were considerably well shaped having less than 20% flakiness and elongation indices when combined. Further advantage of using lime stone in high strength concrete with considerably higher cement content is its excellent thermal properties due its low coefficient of thermal expansion. The selection of the 20mm maximum size of aggregate was governed by the water requirement in the mix and its effect on the mixture rheology. While smaller maximum size aggregates would be beneficial in achieving the high strength requirements it would also increase the water demand or the quantity of chemical admixture needed for workability. The target was to keep the water content low just enough for strength and durability since lower water would make the mixture stickier and necessitate more dosage of admixture both of which contradicts with the controlled setting times and rheology requirements of slip form concrete. CHEMICAL ADMIXTURE Among the wide variety of chemical admixtures available, thorough knowledge of the performance of each generic and commercial type and its effect on concrete properties is necessary in order to make the right selection. For high-strength, high-performance concrete with 80-100Mpa compressive strength, the use of highly efficient polycarboxilic ether polymer- based superplasticizer help
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achieve the required degree of workability at low w/c without the need to increase the cement contents. While most polycarboxilic ether polymers are excellent in terms of water reduction, they have varying effect on setting time, viscosity and mix cohesion. The admixture selected has a proven record of achieving excellent results in highperformance self compacting concrete even without the need to use viscosity enhancing admixtures (VEA). It also allows control on the initial setting time necessary to meet the very basic requirements of slip form concrete. CONCRETE MIXTURE PROPORITIONING AND TESTING The mixture proportions were selected by laboratory and field trial batches. At first, plant trial batches were sent to the project site and been examined by the slip form expert, the contractors QA/QC engineers and the consultant engineers as well. Comments were considered and the mix was further tuned till it was ready for actual slip form test. Samples were taken and tested for fresh and hardened concrete properties. Fresh concrete tested for workability by means of slump test while setting time was tested in the laboratory and by filling a mock-up sample form of dimensions similar to that intended for use in the construction site. The concrete in the mock-up was monitored for setting by inserting a steel bar where the slip form technician, by experience, can tell when the concrete started setting enough to be able to hold its weight and shape and the form may then be raised. This a common technique use by most of slip form specialists although there are existing instruments that help in assessing the initial hardening of concrete and the right time for raising the form. Standard BS cubes were tested for compressive strength at 1, 3, 7, 28, 56 and 90 days. Additional samples were tested for 30 minutes water absorption of concrete to BS122, maximum depth of water penetration to DIN 1048 and the electrical indication of concrete to resist chloride penetration to ASTM C1202. The test results are shown in table

JOB COORDINATION Of equal importance to the mixture proportioning and material selection was the proper coordination of the construction processes. Linking together all the tiny bits and pieces of the construction processes into one streamlined operation was a key success factor to the project. Several pre-construction meetings were held involving all the key persons in the project including the project manager, slip form engineer and technicians, consultant engineer, concrete coordinators from both the concrete supplier and the construction site, quality control engineers both at the plant and site. An important issue was the sequence of pouring concrete in uniform layers throughout the form. Each layer must be of the same batch of concrete in order to avoid differential setting within the same layer. While there is usually a considerable time gap (1.0-1.5 hour) between the initial and final setting of concrete generally, we have noticed during the trials that with high-strength concrete this gap is much less than with regular concrete grades of 60Mpa or less. The reason could be due to the higher cement content on one hand and the type of admixture use on the other. While admixture used have an excellent effect on the workability and workability retention for about two hours, it did not had much effect on set retardation and setting once started will go at faster rate than with the case when admixtures including Ligno-Sulfonates as set retarder are used. Of significance also is the high ambient temperature in Dubai and its effect on the setting time pattern of different concrete mixtures. The form work (1.0 meter) height was filled initially in three equal layers. Each layer was filled with 32 m3 concrete (4 loads of concrete, 8m3 each). In order to minimize the time gap between the first and last loads within any single layer, two batching plants were used simultaneously where the difference in batching time between the first and the last loads were maximum 10 minutes. This has ensured homogeneity throughout the entire layer. The concrete pouring gang was made aware of the importance of filling the form in layers of equal thickness and the risk of having layers of irregular thickness.

Once the form is initially filled with concrete, the slip form technician, after ensuring the first layer have started to set, raises the form in 30mm jumps while pouring new batches of concrete is resumed. In this instance, the correct time to raise the form is more crucial in high-strength concrete than with normal grade concrete. Any minor delay would mean the concrete could reach final setting and the wet surface layer necessary to minimize the friction with the form work would disappear. Should this be the case, there would appear surface defects ranging from minor surface cracks horizontally oriented to major cracks and cut-out in the concrete walls or columns. Proper communication between all the different parties (slip form gang, concrete pouring gang, and the batch plant) was a key success factor in the project. Additional team was assigned for cleaning the form work while being raised to avoid the buildup of thin layer of sand and cement residues on the forms surface. Such thin layer has minor effect initially however, unless it is cleaned regularly, it dries out quickly within few minutes and absorbs the water from fresh concrete thereby its thickness increases exponentially with time causing surface defects. CONCLUSION Slip forming high-strength concrete grade 100Mpa was successfully achieved in Dubai through proper material selection and proportioning as well as proper planning and coordination of the overall construction process. Among the key success factors are: In depth understanding of the various material properties and performance individually and when combined together in the concrete mixture and their effect on the overall concrete performance. For each particular material there is an optimum addition level to achieve the best results and avoid the adverse effects of over or under usage of the material. While concrete literatures give guidance on the use of different concrete materials it is necessary to determine the optimum addition rate by trial batches and not being restricted by any predetermined range.

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There is no alternative to proper planning and close coordination of the whole construction process as it makes the difference between success and failure. REFERENCES

ACI 363R-92 (Reapproved 1997) - State-of-the-Art Report on HighStrength Concrete Reported by ACI Committee 363. ASTM C 989 99 Standard Specification for Ground Granulated BlastFurnace Slag for Use in Concrete and Mortars. BS 6699:1992 - Specification for Ground granulated blastfurnace slag for use with Portland cement.

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Table1:MixtureProportions MaterialType OPC,Kg/m3 Slag,Kg/m3 Microsilica,Kg/m3 Water,Kg/m3 w/c washedcrushedsand,Kg/m3 Dunesand,Kg/m3 10mmcrushedaggregates,Kg/m3 20mmcrushedaggregates,Kg/m3 admixture,Ltr/m3 Aircontent Table2.aPropertiesCement Strengthgrade,BSEN1971 Fineness,m2/kg C3Acontent Totalalkalis Initialsettingtime finalsettingtime compressivestrength@28d 80Mpa 400 70 20 146 0.30 600 320 400 530 5.5 1.0% 90Mpa 420 90 20 140 0.26 600 300 400 540 6.2 1.0% 100Mpa 460 80 25 140 0.25 590 280 420 500 7.0 1.0%

42.5N 325 7.5% 0.38% 135min. 165min. 53N/mm2

Table2.b:PropertiesofSlag(ggbs) SiO2 33% CaO 43% Al2O3 15% Lossonignition 1.3% Initialsettingtime 200min. finalsettingtime 235min. compressivestrength@28d 42N/mm2

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Table2.c:PropertiesofMicrosilica SiO2 >90.4% Fineness,m2/kg 18,000 Moisturecontent,% 0.4% Lossonignition@975 C 2.78% PozzolanicActivityIndex 145% BulkDensity(Densified) 610Kg/m3

Table 3: properties of fine aggregates 5mm crushed Lime Stone Density, kg/m3 2680 Water Absorption, % 1.0

Natural Dune Sand 2630 0.7

Table 4: properties of coarse aggregates 10mm Density, kg/m3 2740 Water Absorption, % 0.40 Flakeness Index, % 16 Elongation Index, % 23 10% fines value, KN 250 Aggregate crushing value, % 18 Aggregate impact value, % 17

20mm 2800 0.40 13 24 270 17 16

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TABLE 5: SUMMARY OF CONCRETE ACTUAL SITE TEST RESULTS

TEST DESCRIPTION TEST STANDARDS LIMITS OF PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS CONCRETE TEST RESULTS 80Mpa 90Mpa 100Mpa

SECTION 1 : FRESH CONCRETE

Fresh concrete temperature , C (using ice @ 42 C ambient Temp.) SLUMP OF FRESH CONCRETE, (mm) 15 Min 1 hour 2 hours BS 1881 part 107 ASTM C 231 ASTM C 232 No limit No limit 0.5 BS 1881 part 2 Minimum 200mm at Placement ASTM C 1064 25 250 230 205 2490 1.2 Nil 25 245 220 200 2520 1.1 Nil 28 250 215 185 2510 1.1 Nil

Fresh Density, Kg/m3 Air Content, % Bleeding, %

SECTION 2 : HARDENED CONCRETE

24 Hours 3 Days 7 Days BS 1881 part 116 28 Days 56 Days 90 Days Hardened Density, (Kg/m3) @ 28 days Water absorption, 30 min. (Average) Water Penetration, (mm) (Average) Rapid chloride permeability "R.C.P", (Coulombs) BS 1881 part 116 ---No limit 81.3 88.1 85.3 96.3 92.8 110.7 117.8 2540 1.0 % @ 56 days Nil @56 days ---31.2 53.8 65.5 36.7 61.4 70.1 52.6 73.5 82.8

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH. (Mpa)

Test Discontinued 2520 1.1 % @56 days 6 mm @56 days 2525 1.0 % @ 56 days 7 mm @56 days

BS 1881 part 122

No limit

Din 1048

No limit

ASTM C1202

No limit

923 @56 days

706 @56 days

367 @56 days

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140 120 100 Compressive Strength Mpa 80 60 40 20 0 0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 91 Age days 80Mpa 90Mpa 100Mpa

Fig 1: Compressive Strength Development Curve

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