Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview

Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

SHOTCRETE - A BASIC OVERVIEW

Des Vlietstra
Elasto Plastic Concrete

1. INTRODUCTION

Shotcrete also known as “sprayed concrete or gunite has been around for over 80 years.
There are two application methods namely wet-mix and dry-mix. In the dry-mix
procedure a dry mixture of aggregates and cement is conveyed by means of compressed
air through the hoses of the machine, the water needed for hydration is added at the
nozzle. In the wet-mix procedure the concrete is delivered to the pump ready mixed
with all the water necessary for hydration already added. The mix is pumped through
the delivery hose and compressed air is added at the nozzle to facilitate spraying”.
(Melbye 2005, p9) For the purpose of this course these notes will concentrate on the
wet-mix procedure.

Shotcrete is in essence just another way of casting concrete and as such special demands
are made on the characteristics of the concrete during casting. While Shotcrete has
many varying and different applications in various fields we will concentrate on its use
underground as part of a support system.

2.0 MATERIALS

2.1 Cement

Cement is the bonding material (glue) that holds a cementitious material together.
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is most commonly used for Shotcrete applications

Portland cement is made from four main components namely Lime (CaCO3) and this is
the major raw material for cement production. The other elements Silica (SiO2),
Alumina (Al2O3) and Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) are necessary to ensure balanced and
consistent chemical composition and are used in smaller quantities.

When water comes into contact with cement hydration takes place. This is an extremely
complicated process and it is very difficult to find a simple model to explain it.
Essentially water surrounds the cement particles and a coating of gel appears on the
surface of these particles. As this gel develops, a series of crystal growths start to appear
as the reaction proceeds further. The gel and crystal growth continues to develop as
more of the cement reacts with water and the crystals form an interlocking matrix that
slowly binds the cement matrix together into a hard, rigid mass.
It is a time dependent process and is quite slow in the first few hours.
It is also temperature dependant, like any other chemical reaction, and will get slower as
temperatures fall and accelerate at higher temperatures.

Typically around 400kg of OPC is used per cubic meter of Shotcrete.

Page 1
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

2.2 Aggregates

“Aggregates are used to provide dimensional stability by providing a rigid skeletal

structure and at the same time they reduce the void space to be filled with the
cementitious paste thus reducing the cost of the mix.

The main parameters to consider are

 Grading and maximum size

 Particle shape and density
 The aggregate type, especially the presence of reactive chemicals and minerals
 The compressive strength
 Moisture content ( prior to mixing)” (Spearing 2002 p14)

The maximum size of the aggregate should never exceed 10mm this is due to pumping
limitations and to reduce excessive rebound.
The combined aggregate grading is extremely important for Shotcrete and should fit the
grading curve below.

Combined Aggregate Grading Curve

100
Cumulative %

80
Passing

60

40

20

0
19 13.2 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15 0.075

Sieve Size (mm)

Min. Limit Max. Limit

Important to note that almost 20% - 30% of combined aggregate should pass the 0.3mm
size sieve. A lack of fine material in the mix can be compensated for by addition of
micro silica or similar materials. Insufficient fine material can result in segregation, bad
lubrication and increased clogging while excess fine material will aid pumping, give
better compaction and result in a viscid concrete ( cohesive and sticky)

2.3 Water

Water is a fundamental component of concrete necessary for hydration and workability.

Only clean potable water should be used (clean from impurities harmful to concrete).
Should it be necessary to use an alternate source of water there are testing procedures
and an Australian Standard that can be followed to ensure the suitability of the water.
Ideally the water cement ratio should fall between 0.4 and 0.45.

Page 2
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

The water/cement ratio (w/c ratio) is the total weight of water in a mix compared to the
weight of cementitious material

Note: Total water is the water from all sources and NOT just the added water
(Moisture content of aggregates should be noted and included)

Example of calculating the w/c Ratio.

180 litres of water/m3

400 kg of cementitious material/m3
w/c ratio = 180/400 = 0.45

It is extremely important that no additional water is added to the mix once the truck has
left the batch plant

For a given mix design if the water content increases the w/c ratio increases and all
the properties reduce

The effect of increasing the water content of a given concrete mix can be seen by
comparing the w/c ratio to compressive strength
Moving from a w/c ratio of 0.45 to 0.55 merely by the addition of water may result in
the strength dropping from 45Mpa to 35Mpa. (using the bottom line of the range) in a
Shotcrete mix with 400kg of cement this would mean that by adding 40 litres of water
you effectively reduce the strength by approximately 22% an extremely expensive way
to achieve workability.

After CCAA

From the notes so far you will have noted that Shotcrete requires high workability
measured by means of slump, an ideal slump is to the order of 150mm and as mentioned
while water aids workability you want to keep the w/c ratio to 0.45 therefore the only
means of getting the desired slump or workability is chemically by the use of
admixtures.

Page 3
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

3.0 ADMIXTURES

Admixtures are chemicals that are added to concrete at the mixing stage to modify some
of the properties of the mix. (Spearing 2002, Sect 2.4) covers the explanation on
admixtures very well. “Many different admixtures can be beneficial in Shotcrete. The
most common of these being water reducers, (plasticizers and superplasticizers),
hydration controllers, micro silica and accelerators.

3.1 Water Reducers ( Plasticizers and Super plasticizers)

There are various types of water reducers available and they tend to fall into three broad
categories:

 Low range (e.g. lignosulphonates) that give about a 10 to 15% water reduction, but
some can retard the strength gain
 Medium range (e.g. melamines) that give about 25% water reduction
 High range (e.g. polycarboxylates) that give about a 45% water reduction

These admixtures work when added to the mix work by charging each cement particle
ionically and causing them to repel each other and defloculate thereby providing an
even spread of binder particles throughout the mix as well as effectively lubricating the
mix and thus being able to reduce the water while maintaining the same consistency
(slump) or alternatively keeping the required water but increasing the workability or
slump.

3.2 Hydration Controllers

Traditional Shotcrete had a shelf life of 1 – 2 hours dependant on ambient temperature

conventional retarders can further extended this to 4 hours however hydration
controllers can effectively put the mix to sleep for up to 72 hours with little or no
adverse effect on the quality of the mix. This is obviously dosage dependant.

It functions in 2 ways.

 By acting as an effective dispersant thus keeping hydrating particles apart.

 By forming a barrier around each cementitious particle, thus stopping the water
from coming into contact with the particle and therefore stopping the hydration
process altogether. The barrier does wear off with time and the higher the dosage the
thicker the barrier the longer it remains effective.

The addition of an effective accelerator at the nozzle cancels the effect of the hydration
controller and hydration starts to takes place. The hydration controller has no adverse
effect on the rate of strength gain and the ultimate strength, provided that adequate
accelerator is added.

3.3 Micro silica (silica fume)

Micro silica is a very fine and spherical material with a high pozzolanic reactivity.
That imparts some very desirable properties to Shotcrete, below is a list of some of the
benefits:

Page 4
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

 Improved durability (more resistant to freeze/thaw cycles and improved sulphate

attack resistance).
 Improved bonding to substrates.
 Higher strengths (compressive and flexural)
 Reduced rebound
 Improved flow in the delivery hose (in the wet process).
 Reduced wear in the pump and nozzle (in the wet process).
 Improved mix cohesiveness.
 Thicker single pass applications

A typical dosage would be 5 to 10% by weight of the cementitious binder.

It is also obtainable in liquid form as liquid precipitated silica and essentially produces
the same benefits as silica fume except for the strength gain as the liquid precipitated
silica does not have the pozzolanic reactivity. The dose rate of the liquid silica is
typically 2 to 4% by weight of cement (7.2 – 14.2 litres)

3.4 Accelerators

The use of an accelerator is essential in mining applications. Accelerators ensure that

the shotcrete:

 Develops a bond with the rock as soon as possible.

 Generates internal strength quickly.
 Is able to be placed in thick single passes (if needed).

Shotcrete accelerators generally fall into the following categories:

 Silicates (e.g. water glass or sodium silicate)

 Sodium or potassium aluminates
 Alkali free accelerators

Silicates are not really true accelerators as they only create a gelling effect rather than a
rapid early strength gain. Accelerators also tend to reduce the final strength of the
shotcrete. This is partly because the slower rate of strength gain in an un-accelerated
mix results in a finer and a more dense crystalline growth that creates a stronger final
product.

In a typical dry mix, a powdered accelerator addition of between 2 and 5% based on the
weight of the total cementitious addition would be reasonable. Accelerator dosage rates
are normally expressed as a percentage of the total cementitious content.

There is confusion in the mining industry over the definition of an alkali free
accelerator. To understand this, the difference between alkalinity and alkali content
must be noted.

 Alkalinity refers to a “basic” liquid with a pH between 7 and 14.

 Alkali content refers to the presence of alkali cations, and a liquid may
contain alkali cations but have a neutral pH.

Page 5
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

To be a true alkali free accelerator according to CEN definitions (Comite Europeen de

Normalisation) an accelerator must contain <1 % by weight of alkali (Na2O)
equivalents. Certain accelerators on the market claim to be alkali free but do not meet
this specification and are only low alkali (and hence not as safe to use or as effective).

In wet shotcrete, the dose range is about the 3 to 10% based on the weight of the total
cementitious content. The latest trend is towards the (non-caustic) alkali free
accelerators because they are more environmentally safe, induce more rapid strength
gain and tend to cause significantly less long term strength loss. With such an
accelerator, a dose rate of around 6 to 8% is normal.

Before selecting an accelerator, compatibility tests must be carried out first. Certain
accelerators react differently with different cements”.

4.0 FIBRES

The use of fibres in concrete is by no means a new invention; this practice in fact dates
back centuries to the use of horse hair, cotton, sisal, straw and jute.

Concrete by nature is a brittle material that is weak in tension; historically Shotcrete

has been reinforced using mesh however steel fibre was successfully used in the 1980s
when its superior performance and economic advantages over mesh were recognized. In
more recent years macro synthetic fibres have come into favour mainly due to further
improved economies but there are also technical and safety advantages, and with the
continual research and increased product performance will continue gain favour into the
foreseeable future.

(Spearing 2002, P 80) States the following “Improvements in the handling and
performance of synthetic (plastic) fibres will continue, and the trend will be away from
steel fibres. This is because:

 In mining, shotcrete frequently operates post first crack, and with the steel,
corrosion of the fibres can be an issue.
 The plastic fibres are not a safety hazard that can cause minor cuts to personnel after
placement (as the steel fibres do that stick out from the shotcrete).
 The plastic fibres seem able to perform such that the shotcrete can deform more
before being totally ineffective.”

4.1 REASONS FOR USE OF FIBRE IN SHOTCRETE

• Ductility - to allow the composite material to carry flexural load beyond the
flexural capacity of the shotcrete itself.

• Durability - to allow the composite material to continue providing support in

the post cracked state

• Profile – to provide an integrated reinforcement system which can automatically

conform to irregular ground profiles.

Page 6
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

• Rebound reduction – use of mesh adds an additional layer for shotcrete to

rebound off, and when spraying against mesh the vibrations of the mesh can
cause loosening and additional fall out of shotcrete, by removing this “fixed”
reinforcement the rebound potential is reduced.

• Passive Fire Protection - under exposure to fire loading some fibres are able
to melt and provide capillary egress for expanding vapours, this is especially
valuable in the case of a vehicle fire where a rescue needs to be done, the last
thing needed is spalling concrete acting as shrapnel.

• Reduced Logistics – The reinforcing and shotcrete is applied in one pass with
one crew at the same time while with mesh there is the imposition of extra crews
leading to economies in cycle times and costs.

A quote from a report produced by the International Tunnelling Association sums up the
use of fibres over mesh very convincingly.

ITA REPORT n°005 / MAY 2010

“Fibre reinforcement has been proven to offer substantial advantages in
Comparison to normal steel mesh (typically about 5 to 7 kg/m2 with mesh
Openings of 100 to 150 mm), especially when used with the wet mix method.
It is possible to outperform the mesh in terms of failure energy and actual
Load carrying capacity and at the same time avoid compaction problems,
Corrosion problems and difficult and time consuming handling.
With this number of advantages using fibre reinforcement, it is a surprise
to still see so much work execution with mesh reinforcement.”

5 MATERIAL SUMMARY

The final strength of placed Shotcrete is mainly dependant on the w/c ratio and the
compaction or air content after placement which is a function of the available air
pressure.

The strength gain and genera performance of the Shotcrete needs to be reliably achieved
as sprayed. This means that the mix must be pumpable, bond well to the substrate with
minimal rebound, build up desirable thicknesses and gain strength rapidly

This generally implies the need for a cohesive mix with a high initial slump low slump
on placement and capability of sufficient strength gain. This can be achieved by the
following
 Micro-silica for cohesion, rebound reduction and durability
 Superplasticizers for high slump (150mm ideal) and low w/c ratio for high
strength
 Accelerators for early strength development
 Fibres that will not deteriorate over time (durability)

Page 7
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

6.0 SHOTCRETE APPLICATION

6.1 Substrate Preparation

The substrate should be scaled and cleaned to ensure it is free of any loose material,
dust and residue or films. An ideal way of achieving this is with hydroscaling.

6.2 Shotcrete Spraying

The use of good lighting can not be over emphasized here as it will help ensure that
spraying is done with safely and with a high degree of quality.

It is common practice to spray the sidewalls first and finally the backs, this is so that as
you spray rebound will fall onto sprayed areas below rather than clean unsprayed
substrate, thereby avoiding incorporating any rebound into the shotcreted sides and
backs. Rebound would have a negative effect on the in-situ Shotcrete strength and
should always be discarded and never considered for re-use. Rebound with wet spraying
is typically 5 – 10%

During spraying, it is beneficial to fill cracks instead of bridging them this has a
beneficial effect on the overall rock mass stability by tending to stabilize the rock

Larger voids or cavities should be carefully filled first before shotcreteing the
surrounding area.

Nozzle should always be kept perpendicular to the substrate to minimize the amount of
rebound and ideally only 1 – 2 metres from the face to aid compaction.

Pulsations at the nozzle are an indication that the slump of the mix is to low and thus
incorrect filling of the pistons is occurring. This increases the use of accelerator and can
in some instances result in overdosing of accelerator.

Correct nozzle design is also very important as this helps effect the compaction, bond
and consistency, and ensures the accelerator is well mixed into the Shotcrete.

7 HOW IT WORKS

When sprayed the Shotcrete initially fills any openings, cracks, fractures joint planes
and fissures and thus binds any loose or partially loose materials together this prevents
any further deterioration and also aids the previously fractured sidewalls and backs to be
more self supporting and can reduce the unsupported span to a certain extent.

When spraying is started a thin layer of paste and fine particles penetrate the pores and
fractures and form a thin film on the surface of the substrate, at this stage the larger
particles tend to bounce off in the form of rebound. As this film builds up larger
particles are absorbed, till finally rebound gets less and less and the largest size
aggregates in the mix get absorbed into the layer of Shotcrete.

Shotcrete effectively prevents or minimizes rock displacement in loosening ground, “it

stiffens and strengthens the rockmass immediately adjacent to the tunnel opening by

Page 8
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

filling in any joints and fractures, this in turn helps transfer the rock load to the adjacent
stable rock through adhesion or shear”. Vandewalle, 1998, P12) It helps maintain the
planned tunnel profile and protects it from air slack and weathering. With the advent of
macro synthetic fibre it helps maintain a large amount of integrity with large movement
or squeezing.

8 QUALITY CONTROLL AND TESTING

When we talk of quality we should be thinking in terms of a product that works in the
way we expect it to Quality shotcrete implies fitness for use and or that it conforms to
the requirements as laid out in the specifications or contract.

Since shotcrete is part of a ground support system quality assurance is essential

It is therefore very important that a QA/QC system is established and should cover
things such as concrete materials, batching plant and mixing procedures and transport of
concrete. A typical QC control would be along the lines of totally prohibited the
addition of water to the concrete mix after the agitator truck has left the batching plant.
The same must be in place for shotcrete equipment, substrate cleaning, reception of
concrete, concrete placement procedures, services such as air pressure checks, tests to
execute on fresh concrete and hardened concrete. Appendix 1 contains a list of relevant
standards that relate to Concrete and Shotcrete.

The following procedures will ensure consistent shotcrete quality

 Consistent material source

 Consistent batching procedure
 Routine calibration of batch plant scales and meters
 Routine calibration of dosing pump
 Well maintained equipment
 Stable work force in particular shotcrete operators
 Routine concrete testing
 Routine sprayed panel testing
 Competent personnel

The most common tests carried out at the batching plant are

1. Moisture content of aggregates this is to determine how much moisture is in the

aggregates so that the added water can be adjusted to maintain the correct w/c
ratio.
2. Slump test: this is to determine that the correct slump as required by the
shotcreter is achieved; the slump at the plant should be slightly higher to allow
for slump loss during transport / setup etc.
3. Cylinders are usually cast at the plant, this is to determine the 28 day
Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) when testing strength gain they can
also be tested at 3, 7 and 14 days however 28 days is the standard test.
4. W/C ratio and air content testing can also be carried out but are seldom done

Once the concrete has been delivered the following tests are common

Page 9
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

1. Spraying of boxes for drilled cores: This is to determine the in-situ UCS of the
actual Shotcrete which has been accelerated, usually tested at 28 days in
conjunction with the cylinders

2. Spraying of Panels for round determinate testing this is done to test the flexural
strength of the shotcrete and the performance of the fibres.

3. Early strength testing, this is commonly done using a penetrometer or

penetration needle a hilti gun can also be used however the most reliable test is
done using a beam tester, A gang mould is used and beams are sprayed at the
face, the mould should be such that the beams can be removed without
damaging them usually within 30 minutes of spraying. Testing can then
commence and continue to till the shotcrete achieves a UCS of 8MPa.

Other testing includes bond / adhesion tests. There are a number of other tests available
that are beyond the scope of this course.

It is of utmost importance that testing is carried following the correct laid down
procedure and with extreme care as it is the test results that are often used to determine
the quality of the Shotcrete and workmanship.

Page 10
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

References

Addis, B 2004, Fundamentals of concrete

CCNI

Clements, M 2009 – 2011 Various personal correspondence

Grenz Consulting

Cooper, A 2006 – 2011 Various personal correspondence and presentation notes.

Elasto Plastic Concrete

Clayton, P 2006 - 2011 Various personal correspondence

Elasto Plastic Concrete

Melbye, T. 2005, Sprayed concrete for rock support

Degussa.

Spearing, S. 2002, Shotcrete in Mining

Degussa

Vandewalle, M 1998, Tunneling the world

Bekaert

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract management

http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/dsrd/part/the_tendering_process/26/134/627.html

Page 11
Des Vlietstra Shotcrete – A Basic Overview
Elasto Plastic concrete www.elastoplastic.com

Appendix 1
Standards relating to Concrete and shotcrete

AS 1012.3-1998 Methods for the determination of properties

related to the consistence of concrete
AS 1012.9-1986 Method for the determination of the compressive
strength of concrete specimens
AS 1012.11-1985 Method for the determination of the flexural
strength of concrete specimens
AS 1012.14-1991 Method for securing and testing cores from
hardened concrete for compressive strength
AS 1141.32-1995 Methods of sampling and testing aggregates -
Weak particles (clay lumps, friable and weathered
aggregates)
AS 1379-1997 Specification and supply of concrete
AS 1379-1997 Suppl 1 Specification and supply of concrete –
Commentary (Supplement to AS 1379-1997)
AS 1478-1992 Chemical admixtures for concrete
AS 2758.1-1998 Concrete aggregates
AS 3582.3-1994 Supplementary cementitious materials for use with
Portland cement - Silica fume
AS 3972-1997 Portland and blended cements

ACI 506R-90 Guide to Shotcrete

ASTM C1018-94b Test Method for Flexural Toughness and First-

Crack Strength of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete
(Using Beam with Third-Point Loading)
ASTM C1140-89, (1994) Standard Practice for Preparing and Testing
Specimens from Shotcrete Test Panels
ASTM C1116-95 Specification for Fiber-Reinforced Concrete and
Shotcrete

SAA HB79-1996 Alkali Aggregate Reaction - Guidelines on

Minimising the Risk of Damage to Concrete
Structures in Australia

EFNARC-1996 European Specification for Sprayed Concrete,

European Federation of National Associations of
Specialist Contractors and Material Suppliers for
the Construction Industry

Page 12