BISON CONCRETE

Bison is the UK’s leading producer of structural, precast concrete products. Consistent, quality control is vital to maintain the company’s position at the forefront of the sector.

Bison is particularly renowned for prestressed elements, including hollow-core floors, solid composite floors and beams. Integral to the durability and structural performance of these products is the correct tensioning of the prestressing steel tendons. There are approximately 30 tendons in the average 1200mm-wide hollow-core floor slab. These may be up to 160m in length.

The tendon carrier precedes the casting hopper. It lifts the tendons to the required depth in the slab so that sufficient concrete cover is achieved during casting.

The tensioning equipment must be tested on a regular basis, but current methods are cumbersome and time-consuming to use. Accuracy is very much dependent on the skill of the operator.

The unique Digiforce developed jointly by TMS Systems, and Applied Measurements has enabled Bison to achieve rapid, highly repeatable, non-contact tension measurement using the latest technology.