Wharton-Smith Inc. of Charlotte, N.C. was awarded the Moore County Water Pollution Control Plant Expansion in Aberdeen.
The project required the construction of four tanks of varying diameters and heights. System flexibility and ease-of-use were major factors in choosing a form supplier. Other important considerations were form tie placement and spacing, form joints, and how the formwork would interact with the waterstop requirements. The contractor selected EFCO’s Redi-Radius system.
The system is designed to form radius walls with diameters greater than 20 feet and provide the highest quality, smooth, continuous concrete surface. With a pour pressure rating of 1400 pounds/per square foot, the system allows users to pour tall walls faster than competitive systems. Redi-Radius form panels are fixture-built. This means they have excellent panel joint alignment, eliminating offsets and minimizing grout leakage.
Each form panel is 6 inches deep, and requires no additional accessories or rolled angles to shape and hold the panel radius. Unlike other systems, cranes can handle it in large gangs, and it requires minimal bracing and alignment. In many instances form ties can interfere with waterstops at the bottom of a tank wall. EFCO’s forming system incorporates a 2-foot cantilevered form panel at the bottom of the wall to raise the tie placement above the waterstop or any other wall obstruction at the bottom.
Using just 32 lineal feet of Redi-Radius formwork, Wharton-Smith started construction of the sludge digester, pouring the 30-foot radius tank 30 feet tall in two lifts (17 feet and 13 feet). Once complete, the gang was crane-delivered to the Super Stud shaping table, adjusted to a different radius, and then set into place for the construction of the clarifiers. Using the same 32 lineal feet of the system, Wharton-Smith was able to complete the primary, intermediate, and final clarifiers with one set of equipment by reconfiguring the panels and adjusting the radius of the formwork for each tank.
