Are there specific benefits in using silica fume in shotcrete beyond reduced permeability in the hardened shotcrete?
Shotcrete containing silica fume will tend to be more adhesive (sticking to substrate surfaces) and cohesive (adhesion to itself). This will result in quicker build-up (greater thicknesses per pass) and possibly reduced need for accelerÂators. Silica fume additions also result in dramatic reductions in rebound, particularly with the dry-mix process. (back to top) Question 50: The Park District Department of our city is in the process of designing a new swimming pool. One of the prospective bidders made a presentation in which they said they would use shotcrete instead of conventional cast in place concrete. Their design is to use 6 in.-thick walls instead of the 12 in.-thick walls as proposed for the cast in place design. They claim that 6 in. of shotcrete is as strong as 12 in. of formed concrete. Is this a true statement? Answer: If this statement was true, there would be a lot more shotcrete projects! The truth is that shotcrete is a method of concrete placement, not a special mater
