FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Have questions about our state-of-the-art technology? Megamold Infrastructure Systems, LLC in Hingham, MA is always available to answer any questions you may have about our concrete construction products and services. Browse through our frequently asked questions below to learn more or contact us today with more specific questions.
What is a monolithic concrete and steel structure and how does it differ from a reinforced concrete structure?
Conventional Reinforced Concrete Structures
The foundation, vertical and horizontal elements of a conventional reinforced concrete structure are constructed separately in stages over an extended period of time using reusable formwork and steel rods to reinforce each individual element of the concrete structure.
Only after all the foundation elements have been cast and cured, can work begin in erecting forms to cast the vertical elements of the structure.
Only after all the vertical elements have been cast and cured can work begin in forming the horizontal floor and/or roof slab element.
This final stage of constructing a reinforced concrete structure is even more time consuming than the previous two stages because the formwork supporting the wet concrete must itself be supported by shoring until the concrete has fully cured.
Following the casting operation, the tasks of rubbing, waterproofing, and insulating the exposed concrete surfaces must be completed before the next series of construction activities can begin.
Monolithic Concrete and Steel Structures
In a monolithic concrete and steel structure the foundation elements, vertical wall and column elements, and horizontal floor and roof slab elements are cast in one single uninterrupted continuous operation using a stay-in-place apparatus called a construction mold to contain and shape the wet concrete during the casting operation.
Upon curing, the monolithic composite concrete and steel structure is immediately ready for utilization.
Why is monolithic concrete and steel construction less costly and dramatically faster to complete than conventional reinforced concrete construction?
Material costs for concrete, steel and formwork assemblies are essentially the same for both monolithically cast concrete works and reinforced concrete works. Time is money on major construction projects that employ skilled workers and rent equipment on an hourly basis and must construct false-work before constructing real work.
Monolithic concrete works are constructed in hours and days whereas reinforced concrete works on major infrastructure development projects take months and years to complete.
The practice of constructing concrete works in stages by erecting temporary formwork and installing steel rods and cages on site before casting a segment of concrete, and then removing the formwork, is labor intensive, time consuming and very costly.
Modular construction molds used to contain and shape wet concrete are shop fabricated off-site, delivered to the site, and pre-assembled in a laydown area during the site preparation stage of a project.
Once site preparation tasks are completed, modules are placed by crane into position and bolted together to form a single construction mold. The casting operation then commences and continues uninterrupted until all the void spaces of the construction mold are filled.
Why are monolithic concrete and steel structures stronger, more durable and less costly to maintain than equivalent reinforced concrete structures?
Monolithic Concrete and Steel Structures
The structural steel framework embedded in a monolithic concrete structure greatly increases the overall strength of the composite structure, giving it a far greater capability to resist lateral and vertical wind and water loadings than is possible with conventional steel framed structures, wood frame structures, earthen levee structures, and reinforced concrete structures using only thin steel rods to resist bending and buckling of the concrete elements.
The monolithic concrete component of the composite structure protects the structural steel framework from fire and corrosion.
The stay-in-place panelized encasement assembly acts as an insulating and watertight barrier that protects the monolithic concrete component against corrosive elements in the surrounding environment for the life of the structure.
As a result, monolithic concrete and steel structures are more resistant to fire, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding and other natural disasters than structures made of conventional reinforced concrete, wood, earth fill, and structural steel.
Conventional Reinforced Concrete Structures
Thin reinforcing rods embedded within reinforced concrete structures provide tensile strength to prevent buckling of vertical elements and bending in horizontal elements but they do not add to the rigidity or over-all strength of the concrete structure as does the structural steel framework embedded in monolithic concrete structure.
The surfaces of conventional reinforced concrete structures are exposed to the elements and therefore subject to corrosion. As a result they must be coated with layers of waterproofing material and insulation after the formwork has been removed to reduce the corrosion. Reinforced concrete structures are constructed incrementally in segments creating many cold joints in every structure that weaken it relative to a monolithically cast structure.
How can monolithic concrete and steel structures contribute to the nation’s future economic development?
Economically constructed multi-functional monolithic concrete works are the future of the construction industry.
They will make the task of rebuilding the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure systems economically feasible and produce a generation of durable, long lasting, maintenance free monolithic concrete works that will last for centuries, not decades as is the case with exposed reinforced concrete structures.
Everyone is well aware of the fact that all aspects of the nation’s crumbling infrastructure need to be updated.
- Flood control infrastructure facilities today are made from earth fill and sand bags, materials unsuited to the task of protecting lives and valuable urban properties from catastrophic flooding. Such inadequate facilities must be replaced with more durable long lasting maintenance free economically constructed multi-functional monolithic concrete and steel flood control structures.
- Shore lines subject to rising sea levels and violent storms must be protected with long lasting economically constructed monolithic multi-functional concrete and steel sea walls.
- Bridges across the country need to be strengthened and made to be more durable and maintenance free using economically constructed monolithic concrete structures.
- Houses, and commercial, industrial and municipal facilities located in areas prone to hurricanes and tornadoes could easily be designed and economically constructed as monolithic concrete and steel structures to withstand the forces of nature, no matter how severe.
- Concrete water and sewage treatment plant facilities containing chemicals and other corrosive materials can be modernized with economically constructed monolithic concrete and steel structures that require no maintenance and last for centuries.
- Monolithic concrete and steel defense facilities can be rapidly and economically constructed in hostile regions of the world to protect our military personnel and equipment from attack.