French Guide to Tremie Concrete for Deep Foundations, 2nd Edition - Guide du Béton de Fondations Profondes Mis en Oeuvre au Tube Plongeur, 2nd Edition-PDF

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The EFFC/DFI <em>Guide to Tremie Concrete for Deep Foundations</em> (second edition, 2018) provides practical guidance for specifying, designing, producing, placing, and assessing concrete used in bored piles, diaphragm walls, barrettes, and similar deep foundations. It supplements—not replaces—applicable standards and project specifications.

The guide emphasizes that successful construction depends on balancing concrete flowability, retention of workability, and stability. Fresh concrete must flow and compact under gravity, pass through reinforcement, and remain resistant to segregation, bleeding, and filtration. Slump-flow and its rate of spread are recommended as practical indicators of key rheological properties; visual stability assessment and additional tests can help identify risks. Qualification, production-conformity, and delivery-acceptance testing should be planned together, with testing frequency and target values tailored to project conditions.

Concrete mix design should account for structural and durability requirements, available materials, reinforcement layout, aggregate grading, admixture interactions, temperature, delivery logistics, and placement duration. The guide recommends robust formulations, trial mixes, and full-scale trials for complex or high-risk work.

Design and construction details strongly affect concrete flow. Adequate reinforcement spacing and concrete cover should be provided; the guide recommends a nominal cover of at least 75 mm for construction. Placement guidance covers excavation preparation, tremie equipment and spacing, initial placement, minimum embedment, and recording concrete levels and volumes. Avoiding interruptions and excessive tremie embedment helps maintain effective flow.

The guide also describes common flow patterns, post-construction testing, and interpretation of imperfections such as inclusions, water channels, and “shadowing” behind reinforcement. Numerical modelling can help assess sensitivities, but its results depend on the assumptions and physical models used. Overall, reliable outcomes require coordination among the client, designer, specialist contractor, and concrete supplier.

Keywords

tremie concrete

deep foundations

bored piles

diaphragm walls

barrettes

concrete flowability

slump-flow

mix design

reinforcement spacing

post-construction testing