Editing Concrete (section)

==== Underwater placement ====
{{see also|Underwater construction}}
[[File:Tremie operation.png|thumb|upright|Assembled tremie placing concrete underwater]]

Concrete may be placed and cured underwater. Care must be taken in the placement method to prevent washing out the cement. Underwater placement methods include the [[tremie]], pumping, skip placement, manual placement using toggle bags, and bagwork.<ref name="Larn and Whistler 1993">{{cite book|last1=Larn|first1=Richard|last2=Whistler|first2=Rex|title=Commercial Diving Manual|edition=3rd|year=1993|publisher=David and Charles|location=Newton Abbott, UK|isbn=0-7153-0100-4 |chapter=17 – Underwater concreting |pages=297–308}}</ref>

A tremie is a vertical, or near-vertical, pipe with a hopper at the top used to pour concrete underwater in a way that avoids washout of cement from the mix due to turbulent water contact with the concrete while it is flowing. This produces a more reliable strength of the product. The {{visible anchor|toggle bag}} method is generally used for placing small quantities and for repairs. Wet concrete is loaded into a reusable canvas bag and squeezed out at the required place by the diver. Care must be taken to avoid washout of the cement and fines.

{{visible anchor|Underwater bagwork}} is the manual placement by divers of woven cloth bags containing dry mix, followed by piercing the bags with steel rebar pins to tie the bags together after every two or three layers, and create a path for hydration to induce curing, which can typically take about 6 to 12 hours for initial hardening and full hardening by the next day. Bagwork concrete will generally reach full strength within 28 days. Each bag must be pierced by at least one, and preferably up to four pins. Bagwork is a simple and convenient method of underwater concrete placement which does not require pumps, plant, or formwork, and which can minimise environmental effects from dispersing cement in the water. Prefilled bags are available, which are sealed to prevent premature hydration if stored in suitable dry conditions. The bags may be biodegradable.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.soluform.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Underwater-Bagwork-Datasheet.pdf |title=Prefilled lined underwater hand-placed bagwork product datasheet |publisher=Soluform |website=www.soluform.co.uk |access-date=8 September 2024 }}</ref>

{{visible anchor|Grouted aggregate}} is an alternative method of forming a concrete mass underwater, where the forms are filled with coarse aggregate and the voids then completely filled from the bottom by displacing the water with pumped [[grout]].<ref name="Larn and Whistler 1993" />