World record pump height

Enjoying considerable success outside its domestic market is germany's putzmeister.

Currently to be found working at one of the world's most iconic structures – the Burj Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), a combination of concrete pumps, a sophisticated delivery line system, non-ballasted stationary booms and demanding concrete mixtures will see sub-contractor Unimix attempt to vertically pump concrete over 570 m later this year – a new world record.

The 800 m-plus high building's concrete core finishes at about 575 m, after which it will consist of a steel structure. On site since 2005 Putzmeister's engineers have been advising Unimix on the correct layout and pumps needed to achieve the world record.

Following extensive on-site testing Unimix is using two BSA 14000 SHP-D (Super High Pressure) pumps and a BSA 14000 HP-D pump. Each pump's frame, hopper, transfer tube and tube bearings have been reinforced and adjusted to withstand the enormous pressure during pumping. Putzmeister's engineers also modified the drive allowing concrete pressures of over 400 bar to be theoretically possible.

The combined weight of the 193 pipes and couplings (nearly 28 tonnes) and the concrete in the pipes (over 23 tonnes) comes to more than 51 tonnes.

The core and “wings” of the building will use a variety of concrete. The podium uses C80A with a maximum particle size of 20 mm and this is also used up to level 26 (95 m) the walls use a C80A mix. Up to level 126 (452 m) the walls use C80 with a maximum particle size of 14 mm, while above this the walls will be made of C60. All the floor slabs are cast from a C50 mix.