Pushing the Limits: Airform Seam Strength and Concrete Culverts
Over the years, we’ve built many different air-formed concrete culverts. We’ve built them for others and for ourselves on our properties here in Texas. They are bulletproof and easy to build.
Last year, we were asked to help build some forms for a precast culvert system. We were excited to be part of that project, but you have higher pressure requirements in a precast system. These higher requirements forced the question, how much pressure can these forms take?
We ran the pressure up much higher than I expected before the Airform exploded.
I live 300 yards from the site where we were performing this test, and the explosion shook the windows in my house. I know that because my wife called me moments after the explosion to find out what had happened! We had a good laugh when Gary Clark, VP of Monolithic, was also surprised by the explosion and came running out of the office, mad that we hadn’t invited him to the show.
Test tube-shaped form inflated inside of our manufacturing facility in Italy, TX
The domed end of the tube helps create a nice cylindrical shape all the way down the tube.
This inflator fan is built for pressure over volume. This fan will put well over 25 inches of water column pressure, which is a lot for a concrete Airform tube!
A pressure gauge is installed to help monitor the pressure inside the tube.