Rebound hammer testing as part of the quality assurance program in swimming pool construction using shotcrete

• Main Authors: Follosco, Marc Angelo S., Punzalan, Katrina D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2008
• Subjects: Shotcrete—Testing; Strength of materials; Swimming pools—Design and construction; Civil Engineering; Construction Engineering and Management
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/5427
• Institution: De La Salle University

The construction industry has seen a steady growth in condominiums, subdivisions, resorts and theme parks. Because of the country's warm temperature and people becoming more health conscious, swimming pools have been an inevitable structure for new land development or high rise projects.The industry of swimming pool construction does not have a governing body to make a uniform decision regarding quality control thus leaving the checking of structural integrity to the hands of the contractor. Nowadays, shotcrete has been utilized for construction for more speed, rigidity and water tightness but leaving a hole for more quality check. In practice, 6" x12" cylinder sampling has been required to test under the UTM but this alone does not address the issue of checking the proper application of shotcrete leading to an idea of adding another quality assurance step.In this study, the researchers tested the in-placed concrete and the molded specimens with the use of the rebound hammer. UTM testing was also done with the molded specimens and was compared to the results of rebound hammer.The results of this study showed that the use of C181N concrete hammer can be a potent yet cheap addition to the current quality assurance standards set for swimming pools. The study has revealed that there was a very small difference in strength when in-placed concrete and cylinders was compared both using the rebound hammer. The results of in-placed testing presented in the study were consistent. It showed that the in-placed testing with the use of rebound hammer yields around 85% of the UTM test results.The study concluded that the rebound hammer may be added as a quality assurance step to check shotcrete pools and the concrete shall pass if the in-placed strength is within 85% of the UTM test results.