This paper examines 24 tremie-placed laboratory drilled shaft specimens, constructed using bentonite, polymer or natural slurry to identify correlations between slurry type and laitance channel formation. The extent of the laitance channel effects was quantified with surface texture, corrosion potential, and strength distribution methods. A direct correlation between the use of bentonite slurry and laitance channel formation was identified which showed a high propensity for corrosion and lower strengths. Shafts cast using polymer behaved the same as the shafts cast using water, neither of which showed a heightened propensity for corrosion or reduction in strength.
Author: Sarah Mobley, MSCE, P.E. and Kelly Costello, MSCE, E.I.
Publisher: DFI