The Tremie Guide – about Concrete Performance and Sustainability-Paper

Paper

Pdf Summary

The EFFC/DFI Guide to Tremie Concrete for Deep Foundations provides practical guidance for producing reliable bored piles and diaphragm walls using tremie placement. Developed by an international task group over more than a decade, its third edition was released in late 2024, with a fourth planned to incorporate further validated research.<br /><br />The Guide addresses the full process: concrete mix design and testing, reinforcement detailing, placement, trials, and quality control of completed works. It emphasizes that successful tremie concrete must combine adequate workability and retention with stability against segregation, bleeding, and filtration. Slump flow is recommended as the main measure of workability, alongside tests that help assess flow rate, stability, and how performance changes over time. These properties must be considered with reinforcement spacing, cover, execution methods, and project-specific conditions.<br /><br />Numerical modelling is being used to improve understanding of concrete flow and the effects of parameters such as rheology and excavation geometry. The models help explore underlying relationships but are not intended as digital twins of actual pours.<br /><br />A key aim is to embed the Guide’s performance-based approach in standards. This can replace prescriptive minimum cement-content requirements with specifications tailored to the application, helping improve construction quality while enabling lower-cement, lower-carbon mixes without compromising performance. The Guide promotes collaboration among designers, contractors, and concrete suppliers, and is intended to complement—not replace—applicable standards and project specifications.

Keywords

tremie concrete

deep foundations

bored piles

diaphragm walls

concrete mix design

slump flow

quality control

numerical modelling

performance-based approach

low-carbon mixes