Chilled water, crushed ice and evening pouring were all part of the recent effort by a New Hampshire-based concrete contractor to mitigate the effects of 113-degree temperatures and complete the construction of an ice rink in Dubai.
The New Hampshire Business Review reports that Somero Enterprises, with headquarters in Jaffrey, New Hampshire and its primary manufacturing facility in Michigan, was called in to help with the project because of its extensive experience building ice rinks, including the one that serves as home ice for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.
Somero worked as a subcontractor under CIMCO, the primary contractor on the job and a specialist in the building of ice rinks.
On the September day when the pour was scheduled, the 113-degree temperature was much too hot for adequate hydration. In order to deal with the problem, the job was started early in the evening to take advantage of slightly cooler temperatures of 95 degrees. Additionally, the concrete was cooled using chilled water at the hatching plant and kept workable during transit with crushed ice. A 5.5-inch hose was used for pumping the concrete to minimize the heat of friction that would be likely with a smaller-diameter hose. The team also ran chilled water through the pipes to remove some of the heat.
Eliminating the need for dedicated teams of men to rake the roughly placed concrete, Somero's ride-on PowerRake was able to push and pull large piles of freshly poured concrete over the submerged mesh surface, working in front of the company's CopperHead XD, which, with its laser screed, cut the concrete flat to its final grade and vibrated it smooth to the standard required by CIMCO. The process was repeated throughout the night, until 470 cubic yards - about 45 Redi-Mix trucks full - were screeded level.