European developments in sprayed concrete

There have been considerable developments in sprayed concrete materials, specification, application technology and performance testing in recent years in Europe. Some of these reflect changes elsewhere, such as North America, but others are unique to Europe. This paper gives a brief history of sprayed concrete (shotcrete) development and describes some of the changes in practice that have occurred in recent years, as viewed from the perspectives of the construction process, materials, design, quality and standards. Obstacles to further development of the product and its more widespread use, are described together with some examples of attempts to address such issues in Europe, including the EFNARC specification and development of European (CEN) standards.