Tremie Method For Underwater Construction

The tremie method is a method of constructing concrete structures underwater. It involves placing a tube, called a tremie, into the water and using it to pour concrete into a form or mold that has been set up on the bottom of a body of water.

The tremie method is used to construct a variety of underwater structures, such as:

  1. Bridge piers: The tremie method can be used to build the piers that support bridge spans over bodies of water.
  2. Marine foundations: The tremie method is often used to construct foundations for marine structures such as docks, wharfs, and piers.
  3. Offshore platforms: The tremie method is used to build the foundations for offshore platforms, which are used for oil and gas exploration and production, as well as for other offshore activities such as wind energy production.
  4. Underwater tunnels: The tremie method can be used to construct the foundations for underwater tunnels that connect two points across a body of water.
  5. Other underwater structures: The tremie method is also used to construct other types of underwater structures, such as seawalls, revetments, and breakwaters.

The tremie method is a reliable and efficient way to construct concrete structures underwater, as it allows the concrete to be placed and cured without being exposed to the air or being mixed with the water. It is also a cost-effective method, as it eliminates the need for divers or other specialized equipment and personnel to place the concrete underwater.

Tremie Method For Underwater Construction 1

Tremie Method:

Tremie method is a way of placing concrete using gravity as the main driving force. Tremie method mainly consists of an impermeable, rigid pipe (also known as tremie) which is suspended vertically through the water.

Tremie method has been a reliable method for engineers of placing high-quality concrete. Its main advantage is that concrete can be done in a flow with very little disturbance or turbulence.

Here’s how the tremie method works:

  1. A form or mold is set up on the bottom of the body of water where the concrete structure is to be built.
  2. A tremie, which is a long, narrow tube with a discharge outlet at the bottom, is placed into the water near the form.
  3. The concrete is mixed on the surface and then fed into the tremie.
  4. The concrete is poured through the tremie and into the form or mold.
  5. As the concrete is poured, it displaces the water in the form or mold, preventing the concrete from becoming mixed with the water.
  6. The tremie is slowly lowered as the concrete is poured, ensuring that the concrete stays submerged under the water and doesn’t come into contact with the air.
  7. The concrete is allowed to cure and harden according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

The tremie method is used to build a variety of underwater structures, such as bridge piers, marine foundations, and offshore platforms. It is a reliable and efficient way to construct concrete structures underwater, as it allows the concrete to be placed and cured without being exposed to the air or being mixed with the water.

Underwater Concreting

Underwater concreting is same as conventional concreting except for one difference. It is done underwater.

There are mainly four methods for placing concrete underwater which are listed below-

  • Tremie method
  • Pump method
  • Hydrovalve method
  • Skip Method
  • Preplaced-Aggregate Method

Among these five methods, Tremie method is the most common method used for underwater concrete placement. This article only covers the tremie method however there will be tutorials on other methods soon.

Placement technique:

• A Tremie is placed up to a point where concreting is required.

• Tremie pipe generally is 250mm in diameter.

• Funnel-shaped hopper at its upper end so that concrete can be poured with ease.

• A loose plug or seal is present at the bottom which prevents concrete to move out before pipe is full. It also prevents water to enter from the bottom. After pipe becomes full with concrete a slight jerk is
given to break the seal to let concrete out.

Placement Scheme:

The area where tremie placement is needed dictates us to use certain scheme for placement. There are two general schemes used for Tremie placement.

  • Continuous concrete scheme
  • Advance Slope scheme
Continuous concrete method:

In the scheme, concrete is fed into several tremie pipes at the same time. The benefit of doing so that concrete rise everywhere at approximately the same rate.

This placement technique is very useful in small areas but for large concrete placement, it becomes almost impossible to meet concrete demand. Furthermore, cold joints can also come into play. To counter this negative aspect it is advisable to divide a large area into several smaller areas.

Advancing Slope Method:

In advancing slope scheme, Concrete placement starts at one location and then with time it is moved to cover the entire area.

When tremie location reaches a particular elevation, with an adjacent tremie is immersed in concrete by about 1m. The tremie placement will proceed to the adjacent tremie.

Tremie concrete flows with an advancing slope and it ranges from 1:5 to about 1:40 which depends on concrete slump (flowability) and also placement rate. The main advantage of this scheme is that it demands less concrete production as compared to the first scheme. Secondly, this scheme eliminates the potential of cold joints between adjacent concrete pours.

Slump Range:

Slump Range Used for tremie method is on higher size which is understandable as it needs to flow down and settle without and disturbance. A self-compacting concrete system is a very good option.

Cement Washout and Laitance Problem

cement washout problem is always a concern in underwater concrete placement. In order to minimize it, placement operation should cause very little disturbance to concrete underwater. Sources of disturbance can be

  • Starting and restarting of placement.
  • Loss of seal before time.
  • Dragging the tremie pipe horizontally while embedded in concrete. It is advisable that tremie pipe should be embedded to a minimum depth of about 2 ft in fresh concrete.

Cold Joint Problem:

Cold Joints can form as described earlier between two adjacent layers of the pour. Cold joints as we all know generally decrease the quality of concrete so it becomes important to continuously produce and supply concrete at required placement rate.

It is also essential that necessary material quantities are supplied to the batch plant at the required rate. There should be an alternative concrete source so that in case if concrete supply is stopped from one source, concreting goes on from another source.

REFERENCES

  • 1) Under Ground Concrete – Mix Design And Construction Practices by Sam X.Yao, Ben C. Gerwick
  • 2) Underwater concrete by Dr Jagadish.R.
  • 3) Foundation engineering by R. B. Peck, W. E Hanson, T.H.Thornburn.
  • 4) Concrete technology by M S Shetty.
About the Author
Er. Mukesh Kumar
Er. Mukesh Kumar is Editor in Chief and Co-Fonder at ProCivilEngineer.com Civil Engineering Website. Mukesh Kumar is a Bachelor in Civil Engineering From MIT. He has work experience in Highway Construction, Bridge Construction, Railway Steel Girder work, Under box culvert construction, Retaining wall construction. He was a lecturer in a Engineering college for more than 6 years.