This is a common use for shotcrete. The key elements are as follows.
Proper surface preparation. To establish suitable surface roughness, use heavy-duty sandblasting, high-pressure water blasting, or mechanical methods such as scabblers or scarifiers, followed by sandblasting or high-pressure water blasting to remove the “bruised” surface material. Refer to ICRI Guideline No. 03732, concrete surface profile Chip 6 (CSP 6), or greater.
Provide mechanical connection between the shotcrete and concrete by installing L-bar anchors (epoxy or portland cement grouted) on a systematic pattern, with reinforcing bar (or heavy-duty mesh) spanning vertically and horizontally between the anchor bars. Size and spacing of the bars to be determined by the structural engineer. Position anchors and reinforcing bar to ensure adequate shotcrete cover to them. Nonmechanically connected veneers are not recommended.
Wash concrete surface with clean water to remove dust or any other contaminants to achieve a good bond and presaturate concrete. Allow concrete to dry back to a saturated surface dry (SSD) condition immediately prior to shotcrete application. If concrete dries excessively, bring back to SSD condition with fogging. (A 3000 psi [21 MPa] water pressure sprayer works well for this purpose).
Apply the shotcrete from the bottom up, taking care not to entrap rebound/hardened overspray. Use proper shotcreting techniques to encase reinforcing bar and anchors. Use 45-degree construction joints (do not construct long tapered joints).
Use shooting wires, guide forms, or other suitable methods (for example, rods with alignment bubbles) to establish proper line and grade. When the shotcrete has stiffened sufficiently, trim it to line and grade with cutting rods and then finish using fresnos or floats to provide the desired surface texture (wood floats for more textured finish, rubber/sponge floats or magnesium floats for intermediate texture finish, or steel floats with steel toweling for smooth finish). Note: very smooth finishes are not recommended as they tend to show imperfections from hand-finishing procedures. Avoid over-finishing of shotcrete or procedures/timing which could pull tears or sags/sloughs/delaminations in the fresh shotcrete.
Cure the freshly placed shotcrete using one of the methods prescribed in ACI 506R-90. Our preferred method is fogging/misting until the shotcrete has reached initial set, followed by wet curing for 7 days using presaturated plastic-coated geotextile fabric (for example, Transguard 4000), which is kept wet with soaker hoses. Curing compounds are a (second best) alternative, but should not be used if a paint or coating is to be applied, unless they are approved by the coating/paint supplier for such purposes.