CFA Concrete Pump & Line Cleaning-PPT Presentation

PPT Presentation

Pdf Summary

The presentation examines how to reduce blockages and compressed-air risks in concrete delivery lines, drawing on Ausipile’s experience with piling and dewatering projects in challenging ground conditions.<br /><br />Blockages may result from poor or segregated concrete, complex delivery-line layouts, delays between concrete trucks, restrictions on mix designs or admixtures, and segregation caused by compressed air. The key hazard is air trapped in the lines—either between concrete and a sponge or between multiple concrete masses forming blockages. Its uncontrolled release can expose workers to danger.<br /><br />To reduce blockages during blowout, the presentation recommends adding grout directly onto the concrete in the hopper, pumping until the concrete is purged and only grout remains, reversing the pump to remove as much grout as possible, and then carrying out the usual compressed-air blowout. Grout can clear concrete without the segregation associated with water. Removing aggregate from the lines reduces the likelihood of blockages and the amount of air pressure needed.<br /><br />For blockages that still occur, the proposed engineered control is to assume that compressed air is present and trapped between two blockages. Controls at each delivery-system disconnection point allow sections to be isolated and disconnected more safely, reducing workers’ exposure to a sudden air release.

Keywords

concrete delivery lines

blockages

compressed air risk

blowout procedure

grout purge

concrete segregation

air entrapment

engineered controls

delivery system isolation

worker safety