Case Study: PV Plant

Concrete Cabins
Presented by:

Justin Kretzmar
Rocla (ISG)
ISG – Infrastructure Specialist Group
Justin Kretzmar BSc Eng (Civil)

• Started at Rocla in 2010

• New product development, marketing and sales

Jason Roberts BTech (Civil)

• Started at Rocla in 2012

• Research, development and implementation of
SCC at Rocla
Self-compacting Concrete (SCC)

What is SCC?
SCC refers to a Self-compacting concrete, that:

• fill air voids,

• without segregation
• and excessive bleeding, *

• without vibration.
Self-compacting Concrete (SCC)

Goals recognised for moving towards SCC

• Time and Cost Savings

• Zero Vibration (Energy Saving)
• Less-Engineered Moulds
• More Complex Product Designs
• Improved Safety and Work Environment
• Labour Efficiencies*
• Improved Concrete Quality
SCC Required for New Products
REBLOC
Alfabloc
Wingwalls
• New
Portable
Improves
roadSecurity
Inlet
barrier
and
system
and
outlet
retaining
licensed
hydraulics
wall
from
blocks
to aAustria
pipeline

Mini Alfabloc
2.1m in Height

584 liters of Concrete

Required

Cast Time: 132 seconds

400
200
Initial Challenges and Problems

Initial Challenges Recognised

• Old traditional pan mixers installed

• SCC traditionally sensitive and repeatability
is difficult

• Ideal SCC is designed around a

holistic approach

• Assisted by CCE lab using M&R ARC

technology

• Transport complications*
• Discharge complications
Initial Challenges and Problems

Initial Problems Encountered

• Insufficient Mixing Energy
• Poor Repeatability with various Chemical Suppliers
• Average Quality and Strengths

Where to from here?

Preliminary Successes

Roodepoort
Preliminary Successes

Virginia
Preliminary Successes

Reasons for Success

• Understanding how SCC works

• Trying different mould release oils
• Minimising vibration during transport
• Maintaining a constant cast rate
• Ensuring that the moulds were properly clean*
• Educating the labour about this new concept
Initial Failures

Polokwane

• Repeatability was an issue

• Old pan mixers have a tendency to leak, causing paste loss
• Aggregates not ideal for SCC
• Method of transportation*
• Method of discharge
Concrete Cabins Solar Project

• 128
128
Cabins
MWon(130,000
Cabins inSite
Total houses)
Concrete Cabins Solar Project

• Transformer
Switchgear
Inverters
Concrete Cabins Solar Project

Cabin Size
• 8.7m x 2.6m x 3.1m

Volume and Mass (individual)

• Shell: 18 Tons

Volume and Mass (complete)

• Complete Cabin: 28 Tons

Mass Delivered
• Electronics included: 38 Tons
Concrete Requirements

Strength Requirements
• 40MPa at 7days
• Minimum of 18MPa at 16 hours

Quality Requirements
• Provide concrete testing certification
• Architectural finish

Production Schedule Requirements

• One complete cabin per day

Challenges
• Highly reinforced thin walled sections
• Wall thickness ranged from 40 – 100mm
Updated SCC Requirements

• Pumped SCC

• High early strengths at

18MPa for stripping

• Entirely eliminate
honeycombing and
requirement for
patching/painting

• Glass-like finish
First Cabin Cast

Problems Encountered

• Pump blockages
• Pinholes and Blowholes
• Pullouts
• Bleeding and Segregation
• Low Early Strengths
Back to the Drawing Board

• Design a more robust SCC

• Changed the aggregate proportions

• Increased the cementitious content
• Reduced the additive content

• Manage the pumping rate to avoid segregation of

the mix
• Reduce stripping time
• Overall quality improvements were required
The Outcome

• Minor pump blockages

• Pipeline maintenance and layout is critical

• Still low early strengths

• Pinholes and Blowholes

• Pullouts
Mix Design III

• Introduced a hardening accelerator from Mapei at

1.5% of the cementitious content

The Outcome
• Consistency of the SCC seemed to have changed
• Stripping strengths at 16hours were achieved
• Product quality reduced
• Pinholes and Blowholes still visible
• Pullouts still occurred
Mix Design IV

• Reduced the accelerator to 1% in hope to

improve product quality

The Outcome
• The workability seemed to have improved
• Stripping strengths reduced, causing delays
• Pinholes and Blowholes still visible
• Pullouts still occurred
• Introduced steam curing
Mix Design V

• Called in CCE Laboratory to analyse the SCC

design and to comment on site procedures

The Outcome
• Increased the filler sand and reduced the stone
• Cast from two positions only
• Near perfect product achieved
• Pullouts still occurred
• Areas of minor honeycombing occurred
Final Changes Introduced

• Experimented with 4 different

mould oils and 3 methods of
application

• Mould modifications and

maintenance to reduce pullouts

• Adjusted spacers and placement

to eliminate honeycoming

• More stringent moisture checks

with mixer operator
The Outcome

QQuueestions?
stions?