A Review on Precast Concrete Construction

Abstract

In simple understanding a product manufactured with usual or special composition of aggregates, cementing material, water, with or without reinforcement at a place and used else-where to function, can be termed as precast product. Bricks of different kinds, cement-mesh works, lining works of open ground wells can be thought of primitive/initial precast products. A few decades back, India with its largest network of railway tracks, could replace different types of track-sleepers with PSC (prestressed concrete) sleepers. They are factory produced precast products which are pre-stressed by pre-tensioning. Accomplishing this gigantic task, at very early times in the advancement of precast-construction, India still needs to catch-up the wide applicability of the methodology. This is necessitated because the country's priorities are moving around mass housings, public toilets, community utilities like drainages, roadways, transporting of petroleum products and many more. Having talked to some extent about precast, now it is high time to define it. Precast concrete construction is defined as "a method of execution of a structure, wherein the structure as a whole or its component segments are cast beforehand, off-site, either at nearby available location or a separate and exclusive plant/factory, cured, transported and placed/connected on-site to function". Each process cited in the definition, is a characteristic feature and is again a field of study/practice.

Optimized Building Envelope: Lightweight Concrete with Integrated Steel Framework

“…The utilization of stationary production methods for concrete components facilitates the standardization and mass production of prefabricated elements, thereby playing a critical role in the industrialization of the construction process [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. The development of standardized elements goes along with the steadily advancing rationalization of the construction process and promises competitive advantages over cast in place concrete construction due to shorter construction times, reduced labor costs, weather-independent production, and high quality assurance [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Typical applications of the precast construction method in building construction include industrial buildings and warehouses, parking garages, office buildings, hospitals, schools, and multistory residential buildings [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].…”

“…The development of standardized elements goes along with the steadily advancing rationalization of the construction process and promises competitive advantages over cast in place concrete construction due to shorter construction times, reduced labor costs, weather-independent production, and high quality assurance [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Typical applications of the precast construction method in building construction include industrial buildings and warehouses, parking garages, office buildings, hospitals, schools, and multistory residential buildings [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. In structural engineering, precast elements are used in particular when a significant cost advantage can be expected or when the construction conditions at the site cannot be achieved otherwise at a justifiable cost [ 4 ].…”

“…This applies, for example, to the manufacture of bridges, towers, or masts. Other important product areas include elements for water and wastewater management (e.g., tanks, pipelines, or sewage systems), and elements for traffic infrastructures (e.g., railroad ties, noise barriers, or modular paving) [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].…”