VACUUM CONCRETE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SL. NO. TOPIC PAGE

NO.

1. Index 1

2. Introduction to concrete technology 2

3. What is Vacuum Concrete? 3

4. Conventional Method of preparation of Vacuum 4

Concrete

5. Recent Advancements in Preparation of Vacuum 6

Concrete

6. Experimental Analysis for Property Analysis of 8

Vacuum Concrete

7. Merits of Vacuum Processed Concrete 9

8. Certain Challenges yet to be addressed in the field 9

9. References 10

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 VACUUM CONCRETE

INTRODUCTION TO CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

Concrete is the most important material used in construction of structures. It is a key

factor in deciding the strength, durability and tolerance to natural disasters of a structure. The
materials from which the concrete mix is made up of, their contributing ratios in the mix, the
order in which they are blended and mixed play a very important role in determining the
mechanical and thermal properties of concrete. The ease of placement of concrete and the ease
of its transportation from one place to another are its performance parameters.

In the past few decades, there has been a lot of research going on in this field of civil
engineering. Different types of concrete have been developed over the years to suit the various
climatic conditions across the world. Also, various types of concretes have been designed to
cater to the needs and problems faced by the people.

A few of the recently developed types of concrete which are prepared by using different
materials to impart characteristic properties to concrete include,

1. Vacuum concrete
2. Shotcrete - Shotcrete is concrete (or sometimes mortar) conveyed through a
hose and pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface, as a
construction technique.
3. Lime Crete - A concrete made from a mixture of lime, sand, and gravel is said
to be as lime concrete. It was widely used before the lime was replaced by
Portland cement.
4. Pervious concrete – It is a special type of concrete with a high porosity used for
concrete flatwork applications that allows water from precipitation and other
sources to pass directly through, thereby reducing the runoff from a site and
allowing groundwater recharge.
5. Cellular concrete - Cellular concrete is a lightweight cement-based material,
containing many gas bubbles evenly distributed in the volume, produced by
blending and maturing of a mixture of cement, filler, water, agent generating
cells.
6. Cork-cement composites
7. Glass concrete – A concrete panel or slab into which are set a pattern of
translucent glass lenses that allow the passage of light.
8. Asphalt concrete
9. Rubberized concrete
10.Polymer concrete - Polymer concretes are a type of concrete that use polymers
to replace lime-type cements as a binder.
11.Geo-polymer concrete
12.Gypsum concrete - Gypsum concrete is a building material used as a floor
underlayment used in wood-frame and concrete construction for fire ratings,
sound reduction, radiant heating, and floor leveling.

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In all these types of concrete, I have concentrated on the topic of vacuum concrete for
my report.
In the next few pages we briefly look into the various techniques employed in the
preparation of vacuum concrete along with its various properties.

WHAT IS VACUUM CONCRETE?

Vacuum processing is one of the advanced and most reliable techniques for easing the
processes of placement and curing of concrete.

This technique was invented by BILLNER in the USA in 1935[1]. It was modified by
Tremix A.B of Sweden and was extensively implemented there for about 40-50% of all types
of flooring. This method which became famous as the Tremix Method was introduced in India
by the Aquaries Technologies in 1987. Later, in 1991, the production of vacuum concrete began
in India [2].

Vacuum processed concrete (also known as vacuum concrete) is a type of concrete

which has high water content during mixing but retains only the necessary amount of water
after final processing. This initial high water content is very useful as it increases the
workability of concrete and its ability to be moulded into complex shapes. When the
workability is no longer needed, the excess water is removed by vacuum processing.

Thus, vacuum concrete is defined as the concrete from which excess water content is
extracted before hardening of concrete begins.

When vacuum is applied on the concrete, the water is sucked out of it. Thereby, reducing
the water to cement ratio. This in turn ensures high strength and durability of the concrete.

Initially, only the Tremix method of conventional preparation of vacuum concrete was
practised around the world. But, over the years, many technologies have evolved in this field
which has successfully overcome the drawbacks of the conventional methods to a certain extent.

There are two methods of preparation of vacuum concrete which have been designed
and practised till now:

1. Conventional method / Tremix method

2. The New technique employing PVC pipes

Let’s now look into some of these methods of preparation of vacuum concrete.

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CONVENTIONAL METHOD OF PREPARATION

OF VACUUM CONCRETE

The conventional method of preparation of vacuum concrete, also known as tremix

method or Vacuum Dewatering Flooring (VDF) technique is a time efficient and safe method
to construct structures which are inhabitable. The method is specially designed for structures
which are exposed to hot weather conditions where there is a problem of uncontrolled
evaporation leading to formation of cracks and shrinkage of concrete (This problem is
addressed by the left over moisture content within the concrete after the vacuum processing is
terminated).
A VDF technology / Tremix method is defined as follows: “VDF is a special type of
flooring to achieve high strength, longer life, better finish and faster work. This type of floor is
suitable for high abrasion resistance and heavy traffic movement [2].”

Fig. 1 – VACUUM DEWATERING PROCESS

This technique effectively removes the moisture content from the top layer of concrete i.e.
up to 15cm depth by the application of vacuum. It increases the compressibility by 100% for
3-day aged concrete and by 50% for a 28-day aged concrete [3].
The following equipment are employed in the production of vacuum concrete:
1) Filter pads
2) A top cover of suction mat
3) Vacuum pump.

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Fig. 2 – ACTION OF VCUUM ON CONCRETE

The detailed procedure is given below in steps:

1) On the freshly placed, levelled concrete, filter pads are placed exposing about 4inchs
of concrete on all the sides. These filter pads prevent the cement particles from being
sucked into the vacuum.
2) The flexible, air tight suction mat is placed on the filter pads and rolled out until all the
strips of exposed concrete are covered.

3) At the centre of the suction mat, a vacuum pump is connected through a suction hose
and the pump is turned on.
This process immediately creates a vacuum between the filter pads and the suction mat.
The atmospheric pressure compresses the concrete and the surplus water is squeezed out from
the continuous system of water filled channels in the fresh concrete, lowering the water content
by 15-25% [2]. According to tests [1] conducted, it takes about 2 minutes for dewatering every
centimetre of the concrete in the upper layers. Effective dewatering takes place only within the
upper 15cm of concrete. Therefore, the entire process is completed within half an hour. The
dewatered concrete floor is dried and compacted to such an extent that it is possible to walk on
the floor without leaving any footprints on it. This implies that the concrete is ready for
finishing.

Thus, the w/c ratio of the cement is reduced, improving its durability, abrasion
resistance and strength and decreasing its permeability.

Although, this method is successful in removing the water content from the concrete, it
is only from the top layers. Therefore, methods were designed to suck water from the deeper
strata.

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RECENT ADVANCEMENTS IN PREPARATION

OF VACUUM CONCRETE

This new method of preparation of vacuum concrete ensures the removal of water from
a greater depth of concrete. It improves the mechanical properties of concrete when employed
at early stage of concrete.

Fig. 3 – CROSS SECTION OF PERFORATED DEWATERED PIPE

Here, perforated PVC pipes encased in cotton or muslin cloth are embedded inside the
concrete, rather than the surface of it (as in the case of conventional dewatering system). These
pipes form an interconnected network or a system of multiple pipes connected directly to the
vacuum pump that removes excess water from within it. These dewatering pipes cannot be
removed from the concrete as it rapidly stiffens. Therefore, these pipes remain embedded in
the concrete itself. However, they do not hamper the compressive strength of the concrete as
their surface area is negligible when compared to the total surface area of the concrete.
When experimental tests were performed on the samples of OPC (Ordinary Portland
Cement – 1:2.5:3.5 – cement : sand : coarse aggregates) inserted with PVC pipes of 10mm
outer diameter and 7mm inner diameter having 12 holes per 100mm of pipe, it was found that
only insignificant amount of fine particles and cement were extracted along with the water.
Also, 20% decrement in water content was achieved in concrete blocks of dimension 250 X
250 X 750 mm3 while, 41% decrement was achieved in concrete blocks of dimension 150 X
150 X 750 mm3 [1]. This is far better than the conventional technique where only 20% of
dewatering occurs restricted to the upper 15cm only.

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Fig. 4 – NEW VACUUMDEWATERING PROCESS

The dewatering process is done within 30-40 minutes practically. After this time, the
rate of dewatering decreases drastically and becomes uneconomical if continued further. The
slowing down of the process occurs mainly due to 2 reasons: [1]
1. The capillary diameter of the cement paste decreases as the w/c ratio decreases.
2. The hydration and setting of cement paste increases at a later time decreasing
the capillary diameter leading to slowing down of the dewatering process.
This process allows the dewatering of any thickness of concrete of almost any shape. It
increases the strength up to 3-folds at earlier stages. Also, it manages the entire process very
time-effectively as the process of dewatering can be initiated as soon as the concrete is cast in
form and is done simultaneously with the vibration and finishing of concrete.
However, this new technique is not suitable for vertical structures like columns, where
the external pressure increases as the depth of fresh concrete increases. In these structures the
w/c ratio is less at the lower end and higher at the upper ends due to variation in pressure and
bleeding of concrete. This is a potential demerit of this system as of now and needs to be
addressed by further advancements in technology.

EXPERIMENTAL METHODS FOR PROPERTY

ANANLYSIS OF VACUUM CONCRETE

Non-destructive methods are always preferred for the testing of concrete. The Schmidt
Hammer test, Windsor Probe test, Pulse Velocity determination tests which is usually used to
test the compressive strength of any type of concrete are not preferred for the testing of vacuum
concrete. Therefore, a new technology known as Artificial Neural Network (ANN) assessment
was designed to study the properties of vacuum concrete using regression equations. It involves
a network similar to network of neurons in the brain where there are many computational
elements arranged in layers. The final values are obtained by using a set of equations involving

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single independent variables. This technique, could predict the compressive strength of
concrete precisely. [3]
The graph comparing the strength of vacuum dewatered concrete to that of normal
concrete is given below:

Fig. 5 -COMPARISON OF COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

MERITS OF VACUUM PROCESSED CONCRETE

Vacuum processed concrete has a wide number of advantages. Some of them are listed
below:
1. In this concrete both workability and high strength are achieved simultaneously as
dewatering is achieved through dewatering.
2. The final increase in strength of concrete is about 25%.
3. Bond strength of concrete is increased by about 20%.
4. The permeability of concrete reduces.
5. The density of concrete is high.
6. The wear resistance of concrete is increased.
7. The freeze thaw resistance of concrete improves [3].
8. As the shrinkage is reduced, the surface obtained after dewatering is smooth and plain.

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9. Absorptiveness of various gases by concrete decreases.

10. The surface obtained is entirely free of pitting.
11. As a result of improvement of all the above properties, the durability of concrete
increases.
12. The final finishing time required for concrete is reduced drastically and can be used at
the earliest.

Nowadays, vacuum concrete technology finds many applications such as construction of

abrasion resistant pavements, roads, terminals, car parking lots, industrial floors and deck slabs
of bridges.

CERTAIN CHALLENGES YET TO BE ADDRESSED IN

THE FIELD

Though, the technology of producing vacuum concrete has succeeded to a great extent, the
problems pertaining to certain issues still persist. Some of the major disadvantages of vacuum
concrete are listed below:
1. In this method, though the workability improves due to more than sufficient method of
water, placing of the concrete slab is itself a problem.
2. The PVC pipes used in the new technology of preparation cannot be recovered after
every use and are to be left inside the concrete slab itself. This implies that one has to
invest and afford them every time one prepares a concrete slab.
3. The water extracted leaves behind minute holes in the concrete so that the full
theoretical average is not achieved (But the volume of water removed is greater than
the volume reduction shown by concrete.
4. The cost of initial set-up is high.
5. It demands trained labourers.
6. The process requires the use of specific equipment.
7. Electric power is consumed during the dewatering process.
8. It cannot be employed for the construction of vertical structures as the external pressure
increases as the depth of concrete increases.
9. It hasn’t turned out to be very efficient for structures with depth greater than 200mm.

All these disadvantages provide a great scope for further research in this field.

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REFRENCES

[1] Study a new technique for producing vacuum-dewatered concrete –

International Journal of Enhanced Research Science, Technology and Engineering – Vol. – 3,
Issue 10, Oct – 2014, pp: (1-6).

[2] Vacuum Dewatering: New way of concrete flooring by Tremix Method – by Vivek Kumar
Patel, Jayesh Kumar pitroda – April 2015.

[3] Prediction of Compressive Strength of Vacuum processed concrete using Artificial Neural
Network and Regression techniques – Mirsel Erald – Scientific Research and Essay – Vol. – 4
(10), pp - 1057-1065, October – 2009.

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