The placement of concrete is a very important operation, which largely determines the success of a structure and its durability. Pumped concrete is widely used and more reliable method for the concrete placement in construction of multi-storied buildings, bridges, tunnels, dams etc. The liquid concrete is pumped/ transferred in construction site by piping is realized mainly by three types of equipment which are, stationary concrete line pump, truck mounted boom pump and concrete placing boom. Concrete placing booms are developed to aid the concrete pump in extending its reach.
Truck mounted booms pumps are employed at large construction sites owing to its pumping capability and also saves time as well as labour cost. Line pumps are used in smaller construction sites; line pumps are comparatively slower and require manual labour as well. A separate concrete placing booms are used in sites where the application of truck mounted booms pumps is not convenient such as if the concrete pumping is to be done at a height where the boom pumps fails to achieve or the job site area is too large to operate through line pump or truck mounted boom pumps. To overcome the limitations of stationary pump and truck mounted boom pump, concrete placing booms in conjunction with concrete pump are ideally used at large construction sites by means of tower cranes or mast for concrete placing at necessary locations.
Some structures such as columns, internal bridges or coverings do not allow using stationary pumps at all or make the application of such machinery very complicated. Concrete placing booms becomes ideal variant to choose for working on the large area (up to 450 square meters). By means of a tower crane they are easily transported to the necessary location and provide good concrete pumping just wherever needed! So, the separate concrete placing booms are typically used on job sites where concrete logistics are an issue due to lack of site access, large floor areas or where concrete is required to be pumped to heights that a conventional mobile boom pump is unable to reach.
A concrete placing boom is plant incorporating an articulating boom, capable of power operated slewing and luffing to place concrete by way of pumping through a pipeline attached to, or forming part of, the boom of the plant. It is a comparatively new product developed for enlarging the range of concrete pouring and improving the mechanization level of pumping construction. Being corollary equipment of concrete pump, it increases the range of concrete pumping by connecting with concrete pump; also, it plays an important role in increasing construction efficiency and reducing labour intensity.
Normally, the boom is set on a pedestal or a rotating platform, which can be located hundreds of feet from the pump and connected with a pipeline. The standard elements of the separate concrete placing boom are: the boom itself for concrete distribution, a kind of mast, rotating platform, an adapter connecting the mast and rotating platform (it provides quick assembling and dissembling of the unit) and concrete supply piping from the pump itself to the place of location of separate concrete placing boom.
To suite the diverse needs on the construction site, various types of concrete placing booms are available in order to meet the job specific requirements: stationary, self-climbing, rail-mounted, floor-mounted and even ship-mounted concrete placing booms. The self-climbing models allow the boom climbing by itself. The rail-mounted are featuring the ability to meet the demands for concrete placement of long span or high-rise structures and large surfaces. With the ship-mounted model it is easy to work in water, with vertical reach related to tower-body height. Mobile models combine excellent mobility, wide application, high utilization, high safety and reliability, easy transportation by means of a crane.
The advances in technologies in concrete equipment, prompted by the need to enhance efficiency, have impacted heavily on concrete placing boom designs. New engineered equipment designs have achieved much more performance and functions than would have been conceived a decade ago. Today's concrete placing booms cover a range of horizontal and vertical reaches with placing booms. The new generation equipment range covers numerous applications starting with the small, versatile concrete pump and ending with the concrete pump that has the highest reach and best maneuverability. By combining modern design elements such as finite element analysis and structural optimization, modern Concrete Placing Booms have a more intelligent structure, lighter weight, and longer service life.
Advanced concrete boom placers include functions such as full-hydraulic control technology that are appropriate for the entire range of boom movements, featuring step-less regulation of boom operation. It also employs a load-sensitive proportional control system with pressure compensation to easily change the running speed of booms. The user has complete speed control by regulating the angle of the control lever, and the boom is able to reach optimal operating performance. Moreover, it is equipped with local control, wired remote control and ultra-long-distance remote control.
Separate placing booms are becoming a more common construction method for placing concrete with today's construction methods as modern buildings are designed taller, more complex and concrete placement demands grow larger due to the efficiencies separate placing booms can provide on modern job sites. Pumping concrete through a separate placing boom has replaced crane-and-bucket methods on many high-rise and other mega construction jobs. Mounted on a pedestal, the boom supports placing line and discharge hose, eliminating the time-consuming work of moving line and hose during each pour.
The extended reach of boom placers and ongoing trend in the construction industries of using better equipment to get better results will surely increase the demand for Concrete Placing Booms in future. The concrete placing booms primarily find their customer in form of rental sales agencies who then rent out the equipment to the concerned end user making the business value chain a lucrative one for the suppliers.
