Which Material Is Used For Capping Concrete Core?
Which Material Is Used For Capping Concrete Core?
Sulphur and rubber capping are extensively used techniques. However, caution must be used when using the Sulphur capping method, particularly for high-strength concrete, where a capping thickness of 1-2 mm is required and enough capping compound strength is required. The rubber capping method is not approved for measuring concrete strength of more than 80 MPa.
Concrete cylinders can also be ground using a grinding machine. But care should be exercised to ensure that no cracks develop in the cylinder surface and that the scoring action of the grinding wheel is uniform over the entire surface.
The grinding wheel should be held perpendicular to the surface of the cylinder and should make light passes over the surface. The rate of grinding should be slow and the wheel should not be overloaded with concrete. Excessive grinding will cause heat build-up and may damage the surface of the cylinder.
What Is A Concrete Capping Beam?
Capping Beams are steel and concrete structural pieces that connect all of the pilings, provide the base for the slabs, and aid to hold the soil and neighboring homes back. Capping Beams are installed along the top of the piling to reinforce it all together.
A minimum of three capped piles are required to construct a capping beam. A reinforced steel cage is built to fit over the pile tops and is then filled with sprayed or poured concrete. Formwork can be removed once the concrete has dried.
If substantial subsurface shrinkage is anticipated, the capping beam can be cast upon a layer of polystyrene or similar compressive material, allowing for both swelling and shrinking of the subsoil without causing damage to the capping beam.
To maintain the structural integrity of both the piles and the capping beam, the design of the capping beam and the accompanying architecture of the piles it is connecting should take into consideration the predicted superstructure loadings.
Typically, 3D simulations are utilized to do the necessary calculations and simulate the requisite piles and capping beams.
When Should Capping Beams Be Used?
Capping beams are used to connect pile foundations, and as such, they are typically found only in construction projects that require extremely deep foundations due to the size and loading of the superstructure, or where ground conditions indicate that the surface subsoil is not structurally sound enough to support shallow foundations.
High-rise structures in congested metropolitan areas are examples, as are infrastructure projects such as roads and highways. Pile foundations and capping beams are also commonly employed when a building project must descend through the water to reach the solid rock in order to place foundations.
Capping beams can also be utilized to distribute the weight of a load-bearing wall between many pile caps or superstructure columns throughout a series of piles.
