SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE :

RHEOLOGY AND MIX DESIGN

ASSIGNMENT 2 ACT
PRESENTED BY
AYSHA RASHMIN
S2 MTECH
ROLL NO: 3
SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE
 SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE : AN
INTRODUCTION

— Self Consolidating or Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) is a

highly flowable, deformable, non-segregating concrete that spreads
and fills in the formwork under its own weight.
— Flowability is maintained by using a high range of water-reducing
admixtures.
— Stability (avoiding segregation) is increased by using admixtures or
increasing the number of fine aggregates in the plastic concrete. This
also changes the viscosity of the mixture.
— SCC has a more improved interface between aggregate
and cement paste. It increases the strength of concrete.
 MATERIALS USED IN SCC

— Cement : Ordinary Portland Cement, 43 or 53 grade can be used.

— Aggregates: The maximum size of aggregate is generally limited to 20
mm. Well graded cubical or rounded aggregates are desirable.
Aggregates should be of uniform quality with respect to shape and
grading.
— Fine aggregates can be natural or manufactured. The grading must be
uniform throughout the work. The moisture content or absorption
characteristics must be closely monitored as quality of SCC will be
sensitive to such changes.
— Particles smaller than 0.125 mm i.e. 125 micron size are considered as
FINES which contribute to the powder content
 MATERIALS USED IN SCC

— Mixing with water : Water quality must be established on the same

line as that for using reinforced concrete or prestressed concrete.
— Chemical Admixtures: Superplaseizers are an essential
component of SCC to provide necessary workability. The new
generation superplasticizers termed poly-carboxylated ethers (PCE) is
particularly useful for SCC.
— Other types may be incorporated as necessary, such as Viscosity
Modifying Agents (VMA) for stability, air entraining agents (AEA) to
improve freeze-thaw resistance, and retarders for Control of Setting.
 PROPERTIES OF SSC

— Filling Ability: This property of the concrete is the ability to flow

under its own weight without any vibration provided intentionally.
— Passing Ability: This property is the ability of the concrete to
maintain its homogeneity.
— Segregation resistance: This is the resistance of the concrete not to
undergo segregation when it flows during the self compaction process.
 TESTS CONDUCTED ON SCC

— Filling ability test

 Slump flow test
 T50cm Slump Flow
 GTM screen stability Tests
 Orimet
 U- Box Test
— Passing ability test
 L-Box Test
 J- ring test
 U- Box Test
— Seggregation resistance test
 V- funnel test at T5 minutes
 GTM screen stability Tests
 Fill – Box Test
 ADVANTAGES OF SCC

— The permeability of the concrete structure is decreased

— SCC enables freedom in designing concrete structures
— The SCC construction is faster
— The problems associated with vibration is eliminated
— The concrete is placed with ease, which results in large cost saving
— The quality of the construction is increase
— The durability and reliability of the concrete structure is high compared
to normal concrete structures
— Noise from vibration is reduced. This also reduce the hand arm
vibration syndrome issues
Slump flow test
• About 6 liter of concrete is needed to perform the test, sampled normally.
Moisten the base plate and inside of slump cone, place base plate on level
stable ground and the slump cone centrally on the base plate and hold
down firmly.
• Fill the cone with the scoop. Do not tamp, simply strike off the concrete
level with the top of the cone with the trowel.
• Remove any surplus concrete from around the base of the cone. Raise
the cone vertically and allow the concrete to flow out freely.
• Simultaneously, start the stopwatch and record the time taken for the
concrete to reach the 00mm spread circle (This is the T50 time).floatable
test, might be appropriate.
• The T50 time is secondary indication of flow. A lower time indicates
greater flow ability. The Brite EuRam research suggested that a time of
3-7 seconds is acceptable for civil engineering applications, and 2-5
seconds for housing applications.
• In case of severe segregation most coarse aggregate will remain in the
centre of the pool of concrete and mortar and cement paste at the
concrete periphery. In case of minor segregation a border of mortar
without coarse aggregate can occur at the edge of the pool of concrete. If
none of these phenomena appear it is no assurance that segregation will
not occur since this is a time related aspect that can occur after a longer
period.
L- box test
• About 14 liter of concrete needed to perform the test, sampled
normally. Set the apparatus level on firm ground, ensure that the
sliding gate can open freely and then close it.
• Moisten the inside surface of the apparatus, remove any surplus water,
fill the vertical section of the apparatus with the concrete sample.
• Leave it stand for 1 minute.
• Lift the sliding gate and allow the concrete to flow out into the
horizontal section.
• Simultaneously, start the stopwatch and record the time for the
concrete to reach the concrete 200 and 400 marks.
• When the concrete stops flowing, the distances ‘H1’ and ‘H2’ are
measured.
• Calculate H2/H1, the blocking ratio.
• The whole has tom performed within 5 minutes.
V Funnel test at T5 minutes
• About 12 liter of concrete is needed to perform the test, sampled
normally.
• Set the V-funnel on firm ground.
• Moisten the inside surface of the funnel. Keep the trapdoor to allow
any surplus water to drain.
• Close the trap door and place a bucket underneath.
• Fill the apparatus completely with the concrete without compacting or
tamping; simply strike off the concrete level with the top with the
trowel.
• Open within 10 sec after filling the trap door and allow the concrete to
flow out under gravity.
• Start the stopwatch when the trap door is opened, and record the time
for the complete discharge (the flow time).
• This is taken to be when light is seen from above through the funnel.
The whole test has to be performed within 5 minutes.
 DISADVANTAGES OF SCC

— There is no globally accepted test standard to undergo SCC mix design

— The cost of construction is costlier than the conventional concrete
construction
— The use of designed mix will require more trial batches and lab tests
— The measurement and monitoring must be more precise.
— The material selection for SCC is more stringent
 APPLICATIONS OF SCC

— Construction of structures with complicated reinforcement

— SCC is used for repairs, restoration and renewal construction
— Highly stable and durable retaining walls are constructed with the help
of SCC
— SCC is employed in the construction of raft and pile foundations
 RHEOLOGY OF SELF SCC

— Rheology is the science of the flow and deformation of the materials.

— It is concerned with the relation ship between stress-strain, rate of
strain and time.
— The term Rheology deals with the materials whose flow properties are
more complicated than those of simple fluids as liquids and gases.
— The Rheological principles and techniques applied to concrete include
the deformation of hardened concrete, handling and placing of freshly
mixed concrete and the behavior of its constituents parts, namely
cement paste and slurries.
 RHEOLOGY OF SELF SCC

— The Rheology of fresh concrete like workability includes the parameters

of stability, mobility and compatibility, which are necessary to
determine the suitability of any concrete mix.
— For defining the Rheological properties of fresh con crete, the above
parameters are defined in terms of forces involved in the transmission
of mechanical stresses on the concrete.
— During handling and placing of fresh concrete, it is subjected to normal
and shearing forces.
— SCC is designed and produced with fresh-state properties in mind.
— SCC exhibits enhanced capabilities substantially different than the ones
of the ordinary concrete.
 RHEOLOGY OF SELF SCC

— The enhanced properties that are looked for in SCC are: flowability,
viscosity (measure of the speed of flow), passing ability (flow without
blocking) and segregation resistance.
— The empirical approach is useful but it is possible to study the
phenomena in further detail. Fresh SCC can be modelled as a
viscoelastic fluid with a model that relates the shear stress (τ) and shear
rate (γ).
— There are various models for the equation that relates both properties,
but the Bingham model is one of the simplest and most widely accepted.
 RHEOLOGY OF SELF SCC

— There is a significant difference between the SCC when it is at rest for a

long period of time or when it has been recently mixed, due to its
thixotropy.
— The resistance to deformation varies substantially, so that two
parameters could be defined: static yield stress, that relates to
undisturbed concrete, and dynamic yield stress that relates to disturbed
concrete
 MIX DESIGN OF SCC

— Air Content: Air Content: Air Content: Air Content: Air Content:
Generally air content may be assumed to be 2%. In case of freeze-thaw
conditions in cold weather concreting higher per cent of air content may
be specified.
— Determination of Coarse Aggregate Volume Coarse aggregate
volume is defined by bulk density. Generally coarse aggregate (D > 4.75)
should be between 50% and 60%. Optimum coarse aggregate content
depends on the following parameters
— Determination of Sand Content: Sand, in the context of mix design
procedure is defined as all particles bigger than 125 micron and smaller
than 4.75 mm. Sand content is defined by bulk
 MIX DESIGN OF SCC

density. The optimum volume content of sand in the mortar varies

between 40-50% depending on paste properties.
— Design of paste composition: Initially the water/powder ratio for
zero flow (βp) is determined in the paste; with chosen proportion of
cement and additions.
— Flow cone tests with water/powder ratios by volume of e.g. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
and 1.4 are performed with the selected powder composition.
— The target values are slump flow of 24 to 26 cm and V-funnel time of 7
to 11 seconds. At target slump flow, where V-funnel time is lower than 7
secs, then decrease the water/ powder ratio.
— For largest slump flow and V-funnel time in excess of 11 seconds
water/powder ratio should be increased.
 MIX DESIGN OF SCC

— The superplasticizer is used to balance the rheology of the paste. The

volume content of sand in the mortar remains the same as
determined above.
— The target values are slump flow of 24 to 26 cm and V-funnel time of
7 to 11 seconds. At target slump flow, where V-funnel time is lower
than 7 secs, then decrease the water/ powder ratio. For largest slump
flow and V-funnel time in excess of 11 seconds water/powder ratio
should be increased.
— If these criteria cannot be fulfilled, then the particular combination of
materials is inadequate. One can also change the type of
superplasticizer.