- Title
- Evaluation of the "blockaid" reinforcement location device for speed and accuracy in the construction of reinforced blockwork walls
- Creator
- Brewer, Graham
- Relation
- 34th Australasian Universities Building Educators Conference (AUBEA 2009). Managing Change: Challenges in Education and Construction for the 21st Century: 34th Australasian Universities Building Educators Conference (AUBEA 2009) (Barossa Valley, S.A. 7-10 July, 2009)
- Relation
- http://www.unisa.edu.au/nbe/AUBEA09/default.asp
- Publisher
- University of South Australia, School of Natural and Built Environments
- Resource Type
- conference paper
- Date
- 2009
- Description
- The strength and durability of reinforced, hollow-fill concrete block work is mandated by design codes, which are interpreted by designers and implemented on the site by the trades. The eventual performance of the block work is dependent upon an appropriate combination of specification, and on-site execution and quality control, and any inadequacy in these steps will result in suboptimal performance, be it in terms of wall strength or longevity. The accuracy with which reinforcements bars are located both in relation to each other, and to the faces of the wall is a major determinant in this regard. Traditionally, reinforced block work is specified using conventional wire tying wherever continuity or proximity is required. A new product called Blockaid has been developed to replace wire tying. The author was commissioned to determine the effect that the use of Blockaid would have upon both the speed of erection and quality control during construction of a reinforced concrete block retaining wall. The research revealed that the use of Blockaid resulted in a completed wall structure that met the requirements of AS3700-2001 Masonry Structures in terms of achieving correct reinforcement positioning, consistently achieving greater accuracy than conventional best practices. Moreover it achieved a construction speed comparable with commonly encountered, low quality practices, and resulted in construction times 20% faster than best practice, wire tied techniques.
- Subject
- reinforced concrete block wall; efficiency; quality control
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/919770
- Identifier
- uon:8970
- Identifier
- ISBN:978192092712
- Language
- eng
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