Concrete Vibration Tips

Concrete can be poured easily but when it comes to vibration, its all about
quality. A good quality process will ensure that your concrete is finished
properly and that it will have the required strength once it reaches its 28 day
life. Here are some dos and donts about concrete vibration.

Concrete Vibration Best Practices

Before starting a job, be sure to have a spare vibrator ready as a backup

plan.

Do not over vibrate concrete. Over-vibration of concrete will lead

to honeycombinginstead of reducing it. It will also cause the concrete to
lose air, sometimes as much as one half of the air content.

If you are pouring a low slump concrete be sure not to under vibrate it,
as honeycomb will also be a problem.

Concrete with higher slump will require little vibration.

When pouring self-consolidating concrete, the vibration shall be

discarded.

Be sure to penetrate previous lift or layers of concrete already placed to

reduce cold joints. The vibrator shall penetrate at least 6 inches into the
previous layer

The vibrator shall be penetrated vertically to maximize its effects

Do not over-bend the vibrator, it will fail

A common mal practice is to use the vibrator as a concrete placement

tool. If you do this, you could be creating an inconsistent surface and the
concrete mix will be affected in certain areas.

Concrete vibrator shall be hold at least 10 seconds into the concrete

mix

Vibrator shall be pulled up at an average rate of 3 inches per second

Remember to use hand spading or puddling.

Every time the vibrator is inserted, it radius of action shall overlap from
the previous one. Remember that every concrete vibrator has its own field
of action. It is estimated that the field of action is four times the vibrator tip
diameter

Vibration shall be stopped when air no longer escapes concrete

The vibrator shall not be turned on outside of the concrete.

Stop vibration concrete when the concrete surface takes on a sheen

Do not force the vibrator into the concrete; it might get caught in the
reinforcing steel.

Not all concrete vibrators work for all jobs

Concrete Vibration Benefits

A good vibrated concrete will offer some benefits such as:

Have a higher compressive strength.

A properly vibrated concrete will increase the bonding capacity
between concrete and rebar.
Provide a better sealed concrete surface reducing its permeability.
Reduce cold joints, honeycombing and segregation
When the builder knows how to vibrate concrete, it can order drier
mixtures that require less cement

Offers greater durability

Bonding strength between layers of concrete will increase

Horizontally spread layers of 20 thick, will provide with best results in

concrete

Revibrating Concrete

Now that you know the basics of concrete vibration, we also need to discuss a
common issue that takes place in construction projects. Sometimes, the
vibration starts late, even when the concrete has already started its chemical
reaction. Once the concrete reaches its initial set, concrete could be vibrated
as it will interrupt the chemical process that forms calcium hydroxide. By
interrupting this process, and if concrete is plastic enough so the vibrator can
sink by its own weight, you can eliminate joints that could occur if the
revibration is not done. Revibration is permitted but it is a controversial
action to do.