Colored CLSM to help

identify what is buried in the

Trenches for years to follow

Frank A Kozeliski, P.E.

Gallup, New Mexico
fakoz123@gmail.com
 The View from a
Former Ready-Mix
Producer
Tips for a Producer to promote
this colored product for
backfill.
 Why?

Easy to identify

Easy to locate lines

Especially those that are not on
as-built drawings
Allows field crews to clearly
see warning of potential
Hazards.
 If trenches are back filled
with native soil, only the
workers know where the
trenches really are located.
present and future owners
are usually unaware of the
location of buried utilities

COLORED TRENCHES will

help locate utilities.
 Uniform Color Code for
Flowable Fill
•Red -
electrical power lines & cables
•YELLOW -
gas, oil or steam
 Uniform Color Code for
Flowable Fill
ORANGE -
communications, alarms
BLUE
- water , irrigation and
slurry
 Uniform Color Code for
Flowable Fill
•GREEN
- sewers and drain
Purple
none potable water
 Uniform Color Code for
Flowable Fill
• RED - electrical power lines & cables
• YELLOW - gas, oil or steam
• ORANGE - communications, alarms
• BLUE - water , irrigation and slurry
• GREEN - sewers and drain lines
• Purple - none potable water
 Traditional Backfilling
• Is labor intensive
• Requires extra equipment
• Does not identify an
excavation trench
Flowable Fill
is an inexpensive alternative
Selling Points of Colored
Flowable Fill
•SAFETY, SAFETY
• lower job costs
• easy to place- no special
equipment or skills
• easy to remove
• stronger than soil
•
Before excavations begin

1st thing is to get the utility

companies to come to the site
immediately to determine
the exact locations of the utility
Does this always happen ?
Before excavations begin:
What really happens is the
Actually excavations occure and
results in disruptions of under
ground service
Example No Phones
No Water
Broken gas lines
• During excavation, crews
encounter colored backfill
and are able to identify the
type of utility line.
 Excavation Safety

• FLOWABLE FILL reduces the

need for compaction and
potential maintenance resulting
from compaction damage to
the lines.
Ingredients
• cement
• fly ash
• fines
• water
• admixtures
 CEMENT

TYPE I or II
or
Blended Cement

Conforming to ASTM C 150 or C 595

 FLY ASH

Class F or Class C

Used to improve flow ability

Non-conforming ash can be used.

Fine Aggregate Gradation

Fines % Passing
3/8” 100
#4 96
#8 72
#16 55
#30 45
#50 39
#100 34
#200 26
 Aggregate Properties

Liquid Limit - less than 30

Plastic Index - less than 5

 CHEMICAL ADMIXTURES
Air --
Improves Flowability
Economical--enhances insulation
Reduces density
Water Reducers--
Accelerate hardening
May not be cost effective
NON-STANDARD MATERIAL
Local aggregate is most economical.
Bottom Ash from a power plant
Recycled concrete
Foundry Sand
High carbon fly ashes

No wood chips or wood ash

Flowable Fill Properties

Slump 5” to 8”
Plastic Unit Wt 130 pcf
C.B.R. 34 to 42
Strength 35 psi to 150 psi
“Koz-Crete” Flowable Fill
Mix Design
Cement 94 lb/cuyd
Fines (3/8’ max) 3000 lb/cuyd
Water (50 gals) 416 lb/cuyd
Color (depends)

TOTAL 3510 lb/cuyd

Dosages and cost for color Dry
pigments 1997 (Davis colors)
COLOR CODE DOSAGE, COST, $/CY
LBS/BAG OF
NUMBER CEMENT
Red 100 3 $ 2.25
Yellow 569 5 $ 4.95
Orange 5084 5 $ 5.15
Blue 418 5 $ 111.00
Green 5376 3 $ 6.68
Purple 1395 4 $ 4.32
 Dosages and cost for color
dry pigments 2016 (Huntsman)
COLOR CODE DOSAGE, COST, $/CY
LBS/BAG OF
NUMBER CEMENT
Red 100 3 (3.52) $ 10.56
Yellow 569 5 (4.02) $ 20.10
Orange 5237 5 (4.26) $ 21.30
Blue 418 5 (66.20) $ 325.00
Green 5376 3 (12.53) $ 37.59
Purple 1395 4 (4.31) $ 17.24
 Standard colors used to
identify types of utility lines
Utility Type Flowable Fill Color
Electrical power lines and Red
cables

Gas, Oil, or steam Yellow

Fiber optics, Orange
communications, alarm
Portable water Blue
Sewer lines Green
Non-Portable water Purple
Single Product Color Liquid
Dispenser, BASF.

34
 CLSM with NO Aggregate

• Cement
• Water Then Mix for 5 minutes
• Add Fly Ash
• Mix for at least 15 minutes
• to get a Homogeneous Slurry
 Loading Sequence
• 70 to 80 % of the water
• 50 % of the aggregate filler
• And the Color
• add all cement and fly ash
• balance of the aggregate
• balance of the water
• MIX FOR 5 MINUTES TO CHECK
THE LOAD
 Gallup Sand & Gravel Co
Loading Sequence

• 80 % of the Water
• Cement and Fly Ash
• Color & Aggregate
• 20 % of the final Water
• Mix for 5 minutes to check the load
 Consistency
Fluid Mixtures
• ASTM D 6103 Part 04.09
• 3” x 6” cylinder lifted 8” diameter
flow
• ASTM Flow cone
• 30 sec + 5 sec. No agg > 1/4”
size
3” x 6” cylinder
ASTM D 6103-04 part 04.09
Flow Consistency of CLSM
with drawn in 2013 from astm
Flow cylinder 6” long by 3”
diameter
fill cyl.with CLSM , level and remove
spillage, raise the cyl. up, measure
the diameter two direction
perpendicular to each. Average
diameter typically 8” to 12”
Measure the Diameter
 Test Cylinders
• 4” x 8” cylinders molds
with
4 (1/4 ) holes so they
can drain freely
4” x 8 Cylinder
 Test Cylinders

• Cure in a moist
environment not a
curing tank
• 2-7; 2-28; & 2-56 day
test results
 Test Cylinders
• # 6 rebar (12”
penetration) 6 to 25
blows with a T post
fence driver
Flowable Fill Cracks
Color Samples
Testing Colored Cylinders

Neoprene Soft wet suite

material
 Wet suite
material is soft
Flowable Fill too Hard
Cemeteries with Flowable Fill will
reduce settlement of head stones
Add a color will help know where
some one is buried
Questions?

Frank A. Kozeliski, P.E.

Gallup, NM

phone: 505-870-0316
fax: 505-722-9707

e-mail: fakoz123@gmail.com