Pump Places Shotcrete for First-ever Mexican Soccer Hall of Fame

Shotcrete equipment plays a key role in successful completion of historic structures

The Thom-Katt TK 20 high-pressure shotcrete/concrete pump was used to place wet-process shotcrete on the exterior of the Mexican Soccer Hall of Fame.
The Thom-Katt TK 20 high-pressure shotcrete/concrete pump was used to place wet-process shotcrete on the exterior of the Mexican Soccer Hall of Fame.

Known as the "Cradle of Mexican Soccer," Pachuca, the capital of Hidalgo, opened the doors to the first-ever Mexican Soccer Hall of Fame (Salon del Futbol Nacional e Internacional) and the Mundo Futbol, an interactive museum devoted to Mexican soccer, in July 2011. The Hall of Fame is comprised of three levels of galleries and pictures that represent the country's soccer evolution since 1901, when the city founded Mexico's first club. The Mundo Futbol, located next to the Hall of Fame, encourages visitors to experience the emotions and sensations specific to the game of soccer.

Spearheaded by the Pachuca Football Club, the Hall of Fame stands 125 ft. (38 meters) tall and 98 ft. (30 meters) in diameter. It was first erected with steel, then covered with PANEL W (a building system based on tridimensional structure of steel wire with polyurethane or polystyrene nucleus) and finally sprayed with shotcrete on both the interior and exterior.

Soluciones Técnicas y Profesionales ADRA S.A. de C.V. (ADRA), the shotcrete equipment contractor for the project, supplied an Allentown Thom-Katt TK 20 high-pressure shotcrete/concrete pump and the Aliva 260 shotcrete spraying machine, which both arrived on site in February 2011. Together, they covered the 53,820 sq.-ft. (5,000m2) surface area (both interior and exterior) of the Hall of Fame with 523 cu. yds. (400m3) of shotcrete.

"Shotcrete was chosen because, placed with our Allentown equipment, it allows for fast application and covers more square feet than any other system. On average, we sprayed about 4 cu. yds. (3m3) per hour which equates to 646 sq. ft. per hour (60m2/hr)," notes Ing. Raúl Bracamontes, civil engineer and director of ADRA. "In addition, less people are needed to spray the shotcrete as compared to other placement methods, ultimately increasing the cost efficiency of the job."

Equipment Delivers Concrete Productivity

Founded in 2005 and based out of Leon Guanajuato, Mexico, this was ADRA's first time spraying shotcrete for a circular-shaped structure.

The TK 20 was chosen to place wet-process shotcrete for the exterior of the structure and the Aliva 260 was chosen to place dry-process shotcrete for the interior. Both units applied shotcrete at the same time to expedite the application process.

"The shotcrete mix for both the interior and exterior was a standard mix, with its compressive strength reaching 2,844 psi (200kg/cm2) in 28 days," says Bracamontes.

The features of the trailer-mounted TK 20 made it well suited for the sprayed shotcrete exterior. "It has a very smooth stroke and features the least pulsation of any shotcrete machine available today," explains Bracamontes. "We were able to operate it at a very low output, making life easier for our nozzleman. In addition, the TK 20 is capable of spraying up to 17 cu. yds. per hour (13m3/hr) at 2,000 psi (13.8 MPa), which is very important to us because it provides the flexibility needed for the different types of jobs we're on."

The pump also proved capable of pumping the shotcrete 131 ft. (40m) above ground level, which proved a big advantage because of this structure's height. An on-site mixer fed the shotcrete mix into the TK 20's 9.5-cu.-ft. (270L) capacity hopper.

The Aliva 260 was chosen to place the shotcrete for the interior because Bracamontes and his team were able to set it up inside the structure and mix on site, which ultimately reduced the amount of hose required by 230 ft. (70m). "With this set up, we were able to reach from one end to the other," notes Bracamontes.

ADRA completed the application of the shotcrete in May 2011.

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