Building the Ravenel Bridge


After all the photos I took, I've tried to arrange them in some order based on various topics I found interesting.

And a reminder from T.S. Eliot (East Coker from the Four Quartets) 

Old men ought to be explorers
Here and there does not matter
We must be still and still moving
Into another intensity
For a further union, a deeper communion
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March 12, 2005: Finishing the closure

Well it seems that I got it all wrong. The gap was not closed on March 11, 2005 but on March 12, 2005. I forgot about pouring the concrete between the floor panels. So here it is from Saturday, March 12.

The last gaps

Gap details: rebar (left) and plumbing (right)

Concrete is the result of a chemical reaction involving cement, sand, gravel and water. All chemical reactions take some time before equilibrium (in this case, fully cured) is achieved. So how do you know if the concrete has the correct properties when you start pouring? I was curious and watched the test. Then this morning, I did a Google search on concrete testing cone and found out that the cone was called a slump cone. Then I did another Google search on tamping slump cone and found these references. A good example of my using Google to chase my curiosity. Wikipedia has a good write-up about concrete.

Basically, a metal cone, known as a slump cone, is filled with three layers of fresh concrete from the transport truck. Each layer is tamped to remove voids. Then the concrete is leveled off with the top of the cone. The slump cone is then lifted and the height of the remaining pile of concrete is measured. Click for a more details description.

Left - the slump cone. Right, tamping to remove voids

Lifting the slump cone (left) and measuring the height (right)

How does the concrete get from the truck to the pouring point? By a pump - here without the feed truck.

Pouring: click for a 1 min quicktime video.

Some of the players: Guys (left) and Dave (right)

Derrick (left) and Somone (right)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

C. Frank Starmer

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