Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Methodology for mix design of the mortar phase of self-compacting concrete

using different mineral additions in binary blends of powders
M. Nepomuceno a, L. Oliveira a, S.M.R. Lopes b,
a
b

Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Beira Interior, Centre of Materials and Building Technologies, Covilha, Portugal
Department of Civil Engineering, FCTUC, University of Coimbra, Portugal

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 10 November 2010
Received in revised form 27 May 2011
Accepted 18 June 2011
Available online 19 July 2011
Keywords:
Self-compacting concrete
Mortar phase
Mix design
Fresh-properties
Spread test
v-Funnel test

a b s t r a c t
This paper details a comparative analysis of the results obtained in tests on mortars suitable for self-compacting concrete (SCC). The binary and ternary blends of powder materials used were combinations of
two cements with four additions in different percentages: limestone powder, y ash, granite ller and
microsilica. The correlations between the mix design parameters of the mortar phase and the ow properties and compressive strength were evaluated. As a result of this evaluation, a simple methodology was
proposed for the mix design of the mortar phase in binary blends of powder with the aim of simultaneously obtaining both adequate ow properties and the necessary compressive strength of the mortar.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
To achieve a suitable viscosity, self-compacting concrete can be
produced using a viscosity-modifying admixture or, more commonly, using a large amount of powder materials (cement and
mineral additions). A superplasticizer is also used to control the
shear stress [1]. In the SCC discussed in this paper, no stabilizing
agents, such as viscosity-modifying admixture, were used.
For the purpose of increasing the viscosity of SCC, the most
commonly used mineral addition is limestone powder, classied
as a type I addition (nearly inert or inactive). This addition has been
successfully used as a partial substitute for cement and has produced improvements at the rheological level and in the substantial
reduction of the amounts of superplasticizer deemed necessary
when compared to cement-only mixtures with similar ow properties. In large masses of concrete, limestone powder has shown
to be effective in inhibiting temperature increase and in preventing
cracks caused by thermal gradients [1].
The type II (pozzolanic) additions include, among others,
ground granulated blast furnace slag, y ash and silica fume. Of
these three industrial by-products, the y ash is the most frequently used, as it offers improvements in concrete workability
due to the spherical shape of the particles [1]. In mixtures with
similar ow properties those including silica fume, even where
Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 239797253; fax: +351 239797123.
E-mail address: sergio@dec.uc.pt (S.M.R. Lopes).
0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.06.027

the percentage of cement replaced is lower than 10%, have required large amounts of superplasticizer when compared to any
other aforementioned additions, be they type I or type II [2,3].
Other additions originating from industrial waste materials are
being tested for use as ller in SCC, such as granite ller or marble
dust [4]. Such use of industrial by-products in SCC can provide
economic benets and prevent environmental pollution [46].
Moreover, investigations into the effects of binary, ternary, and
quaternary blends of y ash, blast furnace slag, and silica fume on
the properties of SCC have concluded that using mineral admixtures in the production of SCCs can improve the durability of concretes [6]. Fibres can also be used as an addition, but they have an
inuence on viscosity [79], which is in itself a property still being
studied [10].
The development of self-compacting concrete and the rst mixture design method, namely that proposed by Okamura, Maekawa
and Ozawa, later improved by the contribution of Ouchi et al.
[1,1113], represented an important step for concrete technology.
Furthermore, the guidelines proposed by the JSCE [1,11] establish a
basis for generalising its use. The method proposed by Okamura
was developed for general application and has the advantage of
simplicity. However, this method is considered conservative and,
in general, it leads to a self-compacting concrete mixture with
higher volumes of paste than an optimised mixture [14]. Afterwards, the general tendency was to focus on optimising mixture
proportions, aiming to reduce paste volume. The research done
by Petersson et al. [15,16], Tangtermsirikul and Bui [17], Bui and

a
b

Blaine.
Laser particle analyser Coulter LS200.

2.3. Production of the mortars

The mix design of the mortars was supported by the following parameters: unit
volume percentage of each powder material in the total volume of the blend of
powder materials (Vp), unit volume percentage of each ne aggregate in the total
volume of ne aggregates (Vs), Vp/Vs (ratio in absolute volume between powder
materials and ne aggregates), Vw/Vp (ratio in absolute volume between water
and powder materials) and Sp/p% (ratio in percentage between the amounts in
mass of superplasticizer and powder materials). The volume of voids when calculating mortars and the contribution towards volume of powder materials originating
from ne aggregates were both overlooked.
Each of the blends of powdered materials dened in Tables 2 and 3 was combined
with different Vp/Vs. The Vp/Vs varied from 0.60 to 0.80 at 0.05 intervals for binary
blends of powders and only the Vp/Vs of 0.80 was used for ternary blends of powders.
For each one of such combinations, an experimental and iterative process was used to
nd the adequate values of Vw/Vp and Sp/p% that provided the required mortar ow
properties. The adequate values are those that fullled the ow requirements measured experimentally in slump-ow and v-funnel tests, expressed as the relative
spread area (Gm) and relative ow velocity (Rm). The interval admissible for Gm
and Rm was dened by Gm values between 5.3 and 5.9 and Rm values between
1.14 and 1.30 s1, corresponding, respectively, to Dm values between 251 and

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
Reference curve of fine aggregates

30

Sand 01

20

Sand 05

10

Aperture of the sieve mesh [mm]

Fig. 2. Reference curve and grading curves of ne aggregates.

38.1

25.4

19.1

0
12.7

3848a
4617a
4009b
5088b
3349b
1295b

The binary blends of powdered materials are illustrated in Table 2, whereas the
ternary blends are illustrated in Table 3. Each mixture is identied by a code that
indicates the amounts of the ne materials that constitute that mixture. Thus, for
example, in Table 2, the code (80C2 + 20FC) stands for a blend of powder whose total absolute volume is formed of 80% CEM II/B-L32.5N type cement and 20% limestone powder. The remaining codes, therefore, have the following meanings: C1
CEM I 42.5R Portland cement; FG granite ller; CV y ash; MS microsilica.

9.52

3.14
3.04
2.38
2.72
2.65
2.17

Fineness (cm2/g)

10000.000

2.2. Binary and ternary blends of powder materials

4.76

CEM I 42.5R (C1)

CEM II/B L32.5N (C2)
Fly ash (CV)
Limestone powder (FC)
Granite ller (FG)
Microsilica (MS)

Specic gravity

1000.000

and a neness modulus of 2.71. The ratio between the two sands was determined
experimentally in order to obtain maximum bulk density and be used as a reference
curve. The bulk density of this reference curve was 1598 kg/m3 and the neness
modulus was 2.22. The grading curves of the two ne aggregates and the resulting
reference curve are shown in Fig. 2.

2.38

Powder materials

100.000

Fig. 1. Particle distribution analysis of mineral additions on Coulter LS 200.

1.19

Table 1
Specic gravity and neness of the powder materials.

10.000

Particle diameter (m)

0.59

Two types of Portland cement (CEM I 42.5R and CEM II/B-L32.5N) and four
mineral additions (limestone powder, granite ller, y ash and microsilica) were
used. The specic gravity and the neness of cements and additions are indicated
in Table 1. The particle distribution analysis of the mineral additions tested in the
Coulter LS200 laser particle analyser is shown in Fig. 1. A modied polycarboxylate
based superplasticizer was used. It was supplied in liquid form and had a density of
1.05.
A mixture of two natural sands was used and kept constant for all the mortars
produced, with the proportion in absolute volume being 40% for Sand 01 and 60%
for Sand 05. Sand 01 is a ne sand, with a specic gravity of 2.59 and a neness
modulus of 1.49. Sand 05 is a coarser river sand, with a specic gravity of 2.61

1.000

0.297

2.1. Materials

Limestone powder
Granite filler
Fly ash
Microsilica

0.149

2. Experimental programme

110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.100

0.074

Montgomery [18], Sedran and Larrard [14] should be recognized.

Sonebi [19] has also investigated the effects of the content of cement, additions and superplasticizer on the fresh and hardened
properties of SCC and proposed a statistical model to simplify the
test protocol required to optimise a given mix. Many of the models
described are based on a given set of materials and correlations
and cannot be generalised to other materials unless new correlations are generated.
As a result of this analysis, the possibility of outlining a different
simple approach to the methodology of SCC mix design was considered. At the rst stage, the new proposal was supported by tests
on the mortar phase as proposed by the Okamura research group
[1,1113]. Our investigation evaluated the mix design parameters
of mortars in order to achieve adequate fresh properties and compressive strength when binary and ternary blends of powder materials were used; mixes of two cements and four mineral additions.
The mortars produced had compressive strength values between
25 MPa and 95 MPa and had similar ow properties, proving adequate for the production of self-compacting concretes (Is this what
you wanted to say Yes).
An experimental and iterative process was used to obtain adequate ow properties and a parameter was introduced in order
to account for the ratios between the absolute volumes of powder
materials and ne aggregates (Vp/Vs). The values assumed for the
parameter Vp/Vs should vary in such a way that the corresponding
volumes of ne aggregates vary below and above those proposed
by Okamura et al. [1,1113]. However, varying the volumes of ne
aggregates makes it necessary to evaluate the properties of fresh
mortars that produce self-compacting concrete. The ow properties were dened with an interval of variation to include several
proposals besides the one presented by Okamura et al. [1,1113].
Binary and ternary mixes of powder materials were used. These
were mixtures of two cements (CEM I 42.5R and CEM II/B-L 32.5N)
and four additions: limestone powder, y ash, microsilica and
granite ller. The granite originated from industrial waste and
underwent no additional processing. It was used here on a trial basis. The analysis was focused on mortars for SCC in which adequate
viscosity was achieved by including large amounts of powder
materials, and only the physical and mechanical properties of their
behaviour were evaluated.

Volume %

M. Nepomuceno et al. / Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

Material that pass trougth the sieve [%]

318

319

Table 2
Binary blends of powders.
Mixtures

Notation

Ref.
Binary blends

Ref.
Binary blends

1
2
3
4
14
15

100C2
80C2 + 20FC
80C2 + 20FG
80C2 + 20CV
60C2 + 40FC
50C2 + 50FC

5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

100C1
70C1 + 30FC
70C1 + 30FG
70C1 + 30CV
60C1 + 40FC
60C1 + 40FG
60C1 + 40CV
50C1 + 50FC
40C1 + 60FC

C1 CEM I 42.5R
C2 CEM II/B-L32.5N
CV y ash
FC limestone powder
FG granite ller

Relative flow velocity on the v-funnel, Rm

M. Nepomuceno et al. / Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

2.00
Increase of Sp/p%

1.80
1.60
1.40

Increase of Sp/p% with a

constant value of Vw/Vp

1.20
Increase of Vw/Vp

1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40

Increase of Vw/Vp with a

constant value of Sp/p%

0.20

Sp/p% = constant
Vw/Vp = constant
Target assumed in this
research work

0.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00

Relative spread area on the spread cone, Gm

Fig. 3. Schematically presentation of the iterative procedure.

3. Results and discussion

Table 3
Ternary blends of powders.

3.1. Correlations between mix design parameters

Mixtures

Notation

Ref.
Ternary blends

I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII

93C1 + 7MS
65C1 + 5MS + 30FC
65C1 + 5MS + 30FG
65C1 + 5MS + 30CV
56C1 + 4MS + 40FC
56C1 + 4MS + 40FG
56C1 + 4MS + 40CV

C1 CEM I 42.5R
C2 CEM II/B-L32.5N
CV y ash
FC limestone powder
FG granite ller

263 mm and t values between 7.69 and 8.77 s (is not used this way in English and I
am confused by which values correspond to which. It should be written in the form: A
corresponds to X and B corresponds to Y). The ow properties of the mortar phase are
designed to be suitable for producing SCC, meaning a slump ow diameter between
600 and 700 mm and a v-funnel ow time between 10 and 20 s.
The iterative procedure is shown schematically in Fig. 3. One can observe that
for constant Sp/p% the increase in Vw/Vp produces a linear translation of (Gm,
Rm) values and when the Vw/Vp remains constant and Sp/p% increases it describes
a curve displacement of the (Gm, Rm) values. For each iterative process, the Vw/Vp
and the Sp/p% are dened and the mortar is calculated and tested experimentally to
measure de Gm and Rm values. This procedure continues until the pair of Gm and
Rm values meets the target assumed in this research. A total number of 237 mortars
were produced to obtain the 74 mortars for binary blends of powders with the required ow properties and a total number of 27 mortars were produced to obtain
the 7 mortars for ternary blends of powders with the required ow properties. In
the iterative process, a mean of three mortars were produced to obtain the required
ow properties for each combination between the blend of powders and the Vp/Vs.
The mixing procedure was similar to the one proposed by Domone and Jin [2],
except for a brief stop introduced to clean the mixer-blades. All the dry elements
and the total amount of water being used are introduced in the mixer, and then
the mixing procedure is started at normal speed and continues for 6 min, followed
by a 2 min stop. Then, once again, the mixing procedure is resumed for 1 min at
normal speed. The superplasticizer is added to the mixture 1 min into the process
without stopping the mixer. The brief stop introduced to clean the mixer-blades occurs half way through the rst stage of the mixing procedure.
2.4. Fresh properties of mortars
The spread cone and the v-funnel measure as indicated in Fig. 4. The value for
(Gm) is obtained by Eq. (1), whereas (Rm) is obtained by Eq. (2). (Dm) stands for the
average spread diameter, in mm; (D0) stands for the initial diameter at the base of
the cone, in mm. (t) stands for the time of ow, in seconds.

Dm
D0
10
Rm
t

Gm

2

1

1
2

3.1.1. Binary blends of powders

Fig. 5 shows the relationship between Vw/Vp and Vp/Vs for all
the binary blends that have been produced. It was observed that
for each mortar with the same blends of powder, increasing Vp/
Vs leads to lower Vw/Vp volumetric ratios. For the same Vp/Vs
and the same type of cement and addition, Vw/Vp decreases as
the percentage of cement replaced by the addition increases. Comparing mortars with the same Vp/Vs, it was veried that the mortars whose powder materials consist only of cement and those in
which this cement was partly replaced by granite ller recorded
the largest consumption of mixing water in terms of absolute volumes. On the other hand, it should be noted that the amount of
water required in the mixes including granite ller was always
equal to that used in the cement-only mixes, independent of the
percentage of cement replacement by the granite ller.
Fig. 6 shows the relationship between Vw/Vp and Sp/p% parameters. It may be observed that in each mortar with the same blend of
powders, the amount of superplasticizer, as expressed in terms of
Sp/p%, does not undergo any meaningful variation with Vw/Vp. In
mixtures using the same type of cement and addition, it turned
out that the amount of superplasticizer, as expressed by Sp/p%,
tends to decrease as the percentage of cement substituted by additions increases. When Vp/Vs remains constant, the mortars with the
same cement and the same percentage of cement replaced by the
addition showed similar values for the absolute dosage of superplasticizer, whatever the type of addition: y ash, limestone powder
or granite ller. The highest consumption of superplasticizer always
occurred in the cement-only mix. Such results differ from those obtained by Ho et al. [20], which indicated a higher consumption of
superplasticizer (polycarboxylate) in granite ller mixtures when
compared to limestone powder mixes, with equal ow behaviour.
In a research paper presented by Topu et al. [4], the effect of
waste marble dust content as ller on properties of self-compacting concrete was evaluated. The results are consistent with those
obtained during the current investigation for mortars with similar
ow properties. The water content did not show a signicant variation in absolute volume (3%) with the increase in the amount of
marble dust, while the amount of superplasticizer was signicantly
reduced (by more than 50%). This reduction in superplasticizer was
probably due to the reduction in cement dosage.

2.5. Hardened properties of mortars

For each of the mortars that fullled the ow requirements, four cubic test specimens of 50 mm per side were produced. These were allowed to age for 28 days and
then subjected to compressive strength testing.

3.1.2. Ternary blends of powders

It should be emphasized that microsilica was used to take
advantage of the pozzolanic effect and ne powder packing

320

M. Nepomuceno et al. / Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

270 mm
70 mm

60

59 mm

240 mm

29

100 mm
30

V-funnel test

Spread test

Fig. 4. Internal dimensions of spread cone and v-funnel test.

0.85

0.80
A12
A11
A7

0.75
A13

Vp/Vs

A10

0.70

A15
A5
A14

A3

A2
A8

A1

A9

0.65

A4
A6

0.60

0.55
0.66 0.68 0.70 0.72 0.74 0.76 0.78 0.80 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.88 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.96 0.98 1.00

Vw/Vp
A1 # 100C2
A5 # 100C1
A9 # 60C1+40FC
A13 # 40C1+60FC

A2 # 80C2+20FC
A6 #70C1+30FC
A10 # 60C1+40FG
A14 # 60C2+40FC

A3 # 80C2+20FG
A7 # 70C1+30FG
A11 # 60C1+40CV
A15 # 50C2+50FC

A4 # 80C2+20CV
A8 # 70C1+30CV
A12 # 50C1+50FC

Fig. 5. Relationship between Vw/Vp and Vp/Vs for mortars with binary blends.

mechanism in order to improve mechanical and durability properties. For example, it is known that microsilica, in normal concrete
provides marked early strength but signicantly decreases the
workability of fresh concrete [21]. It is therefore important to verify whether the benecial effects of one mineral admixture compensate the shortcomings of another within ternary blends.
Taking into account that self-compacting concretes need a large
amount of powder materials, it was understood that using microsilica as the only addition in binary blends would make no sense,
since it is usually much more expensive than the other additions.
Therefore, the option was taken of testing ternary blends in which
5% of cement mass (equivalent to 7% of its volume) would be replaced by microsilica, whereas 3040% of cement volume would
be replaced by one of the three other additions selected for use.
Fig. 7 presents the Sp/p% ratio achieved for each one of the mortars with ternary blends of powders. Very high percentages of
superplasticizer were used, especially in the reference mix. The
lowest Sp/p% ratio resulted from the A.V.0.80 mix (3.4%), which
presented a compressive strength of approximately 70 MPa. Such
a value of compressive strength may be considered too low to justify the use of two additions in the mix, as this value had been easily achieved by means of the binary mixes. Therefore and in the

light of the proposed goals, the use of these ternary mixes does
not seem to be justied.
In studies carried out by Domone and Jin [2] it was observed
that, in the binary mix in which Portland cement was replaced
by 15% of its volume of microsilica, the recorded consumption of
polycarboxylate based superplasticizer was 2.33 times higher than
that obtained in the cement-only standard mix and 3.89 times
higher than that obtained in the binary mix in which cement
was replaced by 40% of its volume of limestone powder. In ternary
mixes that combine, in absolute volume, 50% of Portland cement,
40% of limestone powder and 10% of microsilica, the consumption
of polycarboxylate based superplasticizer was around 49% of that
obtained in the binary mix, composed of 85% of cement and 15%
of microsilica, and about 1.13 times higher than that obtained in
the cement-only mix. In relative terms, the work carried out by Domone and Jin [2] showed that the introduction of microsilica led to
a rate of change of approximately the same order of magnitude as
that recorded in the current study for similar amounts of polycarboxylate based superplasticizer.
The use of foundry silica-dust (similar to silica fume) was also
reported by Kraus et al. [22] but related to different types of SCC,
which incorporate simultaneously a viscosity-modifying

321

Vw/Vp

M. Nepomuceno et al. / Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

0.98
0.96
A10
A3
A7
0.94
A5
0.92
A1
0.90
A4
0.88
0.86
0.84
0.82
A6
0.80
A15
0.78
A13
A8
A9
A11
0.76
0.74
A2
A12
A14
0.72
0.70
0.68
0.66
0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00 2.20 2.40 2.60 2.80 3.00 3.20 3.40 3.60 3.80 4.00

Sp/p%
A1 # 100C2
A5 # 100C1
A9 # 60C1+40FC
A13 # 40C1+60FC

A2 # 80C2+20FC
A6 # 70C1+30FC
A10 # 60C1+40FG
A14 # 60C2+40FC

A3 # 80C2+20FG
A7 # 70C1+30FG
A11 # 60C1+40CV
A15 # 50C2+50FC

A4 # 80C2+20CV
A8 #70C1+30CV
A12 # 50C1+50FC

Fig. 6. Relationship between Vw/Vp and Sp/p% for the mortars with binary blends.

admixture and a polycarboxylate based superplasticizer. Type I

Portland cement, y ash and foundry silica-dust were used as powder materials. SCC mixtures were made using foundry silica-dust
as a y ash replacement material. It was observed that at 30%
replacement of y ash with foundry silica-dust, the amount of
superplasticizer required increased considerably, reaching twice
that of the reference mixture without foundry silica-dust [22].
For replacement of 10% and 20% of y ash with foundry silica-dust,
the variation in superplasticizer dosage in comparison with the reference mixture was of no signicance [22]. The discussion shows
that for lower replacement percentages of y ash with foundry silica-dust the results reported by Kraus et al. [22] differ from those
obtained in the present research, probably as a consequence of
the use of the viscosity-modifying admixture.
The superplasticizer overdose observed in this study and others
discussed here is probably caused by the fact that microsilica surfaces are negatively charged in alkaline solution. The surface
charge of microsilica turns from negative to positive due to surface
adsorption of Ca2+ [23]. Thus microsilica can compete with cement
for superplasticizer. This explains why microsilica requires higher
10.00

dosages of superplasticizer. The solution could be the use of another kind of polycarboxylate molecules that could disperse more
effectively in microsilica/cement blends.
3.2. Parameters correlated with compressive strength
3.2.1. Binary blends of powder materials
Fig. 8 shows the relationship between the compressive strength
of mortar and Vp/Vs for each binary blend of powders. The compressive strength of mortar varied from 25 MPa to 95 MPa. It
may be observed that the average interval of variation in compressive strength in each binary blend of powders was around 10 MPa
as Vp/Vs varied from 0.60 to 0.80. This conrms that the compressive strength depends on the Vp/Vs for each binary blend of powder. However, there is no general correlation between the
compressive strength of mortar and the Vp/Vs parameter.
Correlations between the compressive strength of mortar and
W/C, in mass, are illustrated in Fig. 9. A general correlation regarding each of the cements being used can be observed, independent
of the type and amount of the additions. The W/C of the SCC mix is

9.50

9.00
8.00

5.70

6.00

5.70

4.80

5.00

4.20

4.00

56C1+4MS+40CV

56C1+4MS+40FG

56C1+4MS+40FC

65C1+5MS+30CV

65C1+5MS+30FG

1.00

65C1+5MS+30FC

2.00

4.20

3.40

3.00
93C1+7MS

Sp/p %

7.00

0.00
A.I.0.80

A.II.0.80

A.III.0.80

A.IV.0.80

A.V.0.80

A.VI.0.80

A.VII.0.80

Identification of mortars with ternary blends of powders

Fig. 7. Percentages of superplasticizer for mortars with ternary blends of powders.

M. Nepomuceno et al. / Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

Mortar compressive strength ( fm,28), in [MPa]

322

100.0
95.0
90.0
85.0
80.0
75.0
70.0
65.0
60.0
55.0
50.0
45.0
40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
0.55

A5

A8
A6
A11
A9

A7

A4

A1
A10
A12

A2
A3
A13
A14

A15

0.60

0.65

0.70

0.75

0.80

0.85

Vp/Vs
A1 # 100C2
A5 # 100C1
A9 # 60C1+40FC
A13 # 40C1+60FC

A2 # 80C2+20FC
A6 # 70C1+30FC
A10 # 60C1+40FG
A14 # 60C2+40FC

A3 # 80C2+20FG
A7 # 70C1+30FG
A11 # 60C1+40CV
A15 # 50C2+50FC

A4 # 80C2+20CV
A8 # 70C1+30CV
A12 # 50C1+50FC

Fig. 8. Relationship between fm, 28 and Vp/Vs for the mortars with binary blends.

the same as its mortar phase. However, it is clear that for the same
W/C, a mortars compressive strength may be different from the
SCCs compressive strength. The mortar phase is designed with
the aim of obtaining an SCC with a specied compressive strength.
For this reason, it is important to know in advance the relationship
between the SCCs compressive strength and the mortars compressive strength. Fig. 10 presents such a general correlation obtained from a total of 60 SCCs produced by the authors from
mortar phases with different binary blends of powders and different Vp//Vs values designed according to the methodology discussed in this paper. All the concretes have a maximum

dimension of coarse aggregates of 19.1 mm and had a slump ow

diameter between 600 and 700 mm and a v-funnel ow time between 10 and 20 s. The compressive strength of each SCC was measured from 150 mm cubes while the compressive strength of the
mortars was measured from cubes of 50 mm per side. All the specimens were cured and tested in standard conditions after 28 days
aging.
One of the initially assumed parameters for controlling the
compressive strength was the combination of powder materials.
This study has shown that it is possible to establish a relationship

100.0

95.0

y = -64.195Ln(x) + 9.9222
R2 = 0.9607

y = -62.392Ln(x) - 14.094
R2 = 0.9089

90.0
1

85.0
80.0
75.0
70.0
2

65.0
60.0
55.0
50.0
45.0
40.0
35.0
30.0

CEM II/B - L32.5N

25.0

CEM I 42.5R

20.0
0.22 0.26 0.30 0.34 0.38 0.42 0.46 0.50 0.54 0.58 0.62 0.66

Water/cement ratio (W/C), in mass

Fig. 9. Mortar compressive strength vs. W/C (in mass) for the binary blends.

SCC (150 mm cube) compressive strength (fcm,28), in [MPa]

Mortar (50 mm cube) compressive strength ( fm,28), in [MPa]

100.0

95.0
90.0

y = -0,004x2 + 1,2995x
R = 0,9334

85.0
80.0
75.0
70.0
65.0
60.0
55.0
50.0
45.0
40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

Mortar (50 mm cube) compressive strength (fm,28), in [MPa]

Fig. 10. Mortar compressive strength vs. SCC compressive strength.

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M. Nepomuceno et al. / Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

Unit percentage of cement replacement

by the addition (fAd.)

0.70
0.65
0.60

CEM I 42.5R + LIMESTONE POWDER

0.55
0.50
0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30

Vp/Vs = 0.60

0.25

Vp/Vs = 0.65

0.20

Vp/Vs = 0.70

0.15

Vp/Vs = 0.75

0.10

Vp/Vs = 0.80

0.05
0.00
0.240

0.280

0.320

0.360

0.400

0.440

0.480

0.520

0.560

0.600

0.640

0.680

W/C
Fig. 11. Relationship between the unit percentages of cement replacement fAd. and the W/C ratio (in mass) when using CEM I 42.5R and limestone powder.

Unit percentage of cement replacement

by the addition (fAd.)

0.70
0.65
0.60

CEM I 42.5R + GRANITE FILLER

0.55
0.50
0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30

Vp/Vs = 0.60

0.25

Vp/Vs = 0.65

0.20

Vp/Vs = 0.70

0.15

Vp/Vs = 0.75

0.10

Vp/Vs = 0.80

0.05
0.00
0.240

0.280

0.320

0.360

0.400

0.440

0.480

0.520

0.560

0.600

0.640

0.680

W/C
Fig. 12. Relationship between the unit percentages of cement replacement fAd. and the W/C ratio (in mass) when using CEM I 42.5R and granite ller.

Unit percentage of cement replacement

by the addition (fAd.)

0.70
0.65
0.60

CEM I 42.5R + FLY ASH

0.55
0.50
0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30

Vp/Vs = 0.60

0.25

Vp/Vs = 0.65

0.20

Vp/Vs = 0.70

0.15

Vp/Vs = 0.75

0.10

Vp/Vs = 0.80

0.05
0.00
0.240

0.280

0.320

0.360

0.400

0.440

0.480

0.520

0.560

0.600

0.640

0.680

W/C
Fig. 13. Relationship between the unit percentages of cement replacement fAd. and the W/C ratio (in mass) when using CEM I 42.5R and y ash.

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M. Nepomuceno et al. / Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

between the W/C and the percentage of cement replacement by

the addition. However, the study has also clearly shown that such
a relationship depends markedly on the Vp/Vs parameter dened
for the mortar, as illustrated in Figs. 1116.
3.3. Methodology for mix design of the mortar phase
The methodology used to achieve both adequate ow properties and the required compressive strength of mortar started with
the selection of the ne aggregates (1, 2 or more sands) and the
determination of their unit volume percentages with reference to
the total volume of Vs, in order to obtain a size distribution close
to the reference curve. Secondly, the compressive strength of mortar that leads to a specied compressive strength of SCC can be predicted from Fig. 10. After that, the W/C ratio is dened according to
the type of cement and the desired compressive strength of mortar
using Fig. 9.
In order to obtain the desired W/C ratio, both Vp/Vs and the
type of addition to be used should be decided before calculating
the percentage of substitution of cement by the addition. This research work has revealed that the percentage of substitution de-

pends on the Vp/Vs of the mortar. It should be noted that

mortars having higher Vp/Vs values, which means a larger volume
of powders, will lead to self-compacting concrete with a higher
volume of coarse aggregates and a lower volume of mortar for
the same workability. On the other hand, lower values of Vp/Vs
will result in a self-compacting concrete with a lower volume of
coarse aggregates and a higher volume of mortar. This suggests
that a Vp/Vs value around 0.80 should be adopted if the objective
is to maximize the volume of coarse aggregates in SCC. After selecting the type of addition to be used and the Vp/Vs parameter, the
percentage of substitution of cement by the addition can be estimated from the graphs shown in Figs. 1116. Different additions
will lead to different percentages of substitution in order to obtain
the same W/C ratio.
The previous steps have dened the unit volume percentage of
each powder material in the total volume of the blend of powder
materials (Vp), the unit volume percentage of each ne aggregate
in the total volume of the ne aggregates (Vs) and the Vp/Vs leading
to the appropriate W/C and, therefore, the desired compressive
strength of mortar or SCC. To complete the mortar mix design
Vw/Vp and Sp/p% still need to be to dened. According to the

Unit percentage of cement replacement

by the addition (fAd.)

0.60
0.55

CEM II/B-L32.5N + LIMESTONE POWDER

0.50
0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30

Vp/Vs = 0.60

0.25

Vp/Vs = 0.65

0.20

Vp/Vs = 0.70
0.15

Vp/Vs = 0.75

0.10

Vp/Vs = 0.80

0.05
0.00
0.240

0.280

0.320

0.360

0.400

0.440

0.480

0.520

0.560

W/C
Fig. 14. Relationship between the unit percentages of cement replacement fAd. and the W/C ratio (in mass) when using CEM II/B-L32.5N and limestone powder.

Unit percentage of cement replacement

by the addition (fAd.)

0.60
0.55
0.50

CEM II/B-L32.5N + GRANITE FILLER

0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30
Vp/Vs = 0.60

0.25

Vp/Vs = 0.65

0.20

Vp/Vs = 0.70

0.15

Vp/Vs = 0.75
0.10

Vp/Vs = 0.80

0.05
0.00
0.240

0.280

0.320

0.360

0.400

0.440

0.480

0.520

0.560

W/C
Fig. 15. Relationship between the unit percentages of cement replacement fAd. and the W/C ratio (in mass) when using CEM II/B-L32.5N and granite ller.

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M. Nepomuceno et al. / Construction and Building Materials 26 (2012) 317326

Unit percentage of cement replacement

by the addition (fAd.)

0.60
0.55
0.50

CEM II/B-L32.5N + FLY ASH

0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25

Vp/Vs = 0.60

0.20

Vp/Vs = 0.65
Vp/Vs = 0.70

0.15

Vp/Vs = 0.75
0.10

Vp/Vs = 0.80

0.05
0.00
0.240

0.280

0.320

0.360

0.400

0.440

0.480

0.520

0.560

W/C
Fig. 16. Relationship between the unit percentages of cement replacement fAd. and the W/C ratio (in mass) when using CEM II/B-L32.5N and y ash.

proposed methodology, these values must be obtained experimentally by testing a mortars v-funnel performance to obtain Rm and
its slump-ow performance to obtain Gm. As a starting point the
Vw/Vp and Sp/p% parameters shown in Figs. 5 and 6 can be adopted.
Experience has shown that the Vw/Vp parameter obtained from the
graph in Fig. 5 does not undergo signicant variation, even for additions of similar nature from different suppliers, while the Sp/p%
parameter exhibits lower values as the superplasticizers based on
modied polycarboxylate are improved. Nevertheless, the changes
in Sp/p% did not signicantly affect the compressive strength, since
it is used in relatively small percentages.
Using this methodology, mortar parameters such as the unit
volume percentage of each powder material in the total volume
of the blend of powder materials (Vp), the unit volume percentage
of each ne aggregate in the total volume of the ne aggregates
(Vs), Vp/Vs, Vw/Vp, Sp/p% and W/C are the same adopted in SCC.
Indeed, to complete the mix design of SCC concrete, it is enough
to dene the volume of void and the parameter Vm/Vg (ratio between the absolute volume of mortar and the absolute volume of
coarse aggregates), together with the maximum size and size distribution of coarse aggregates.
4. Conclusions
This paper reports the results obtained in tests on mortars
appropriate to produce self-compacting concrete (SCC), when binary and ternary blends of powder materials were used, combining
two cements and four additions: limestone powder, y ash, granite
ller and microsilica. In the rst stage, the inuence of mortar constituents and the correlations between the mix design parameters
and the ow properties were discussed. After that, the correlations
between the mix design parameters of the mortar phase and the
compressive strength was evaluated. As a result of this evaluation,
a simple methodology was proposed for the mix design of the mortar phase in binary blends of powder to obtain both adequate ow
properties and the required compressive strength. The obtained results permit the following conclusions to be established.
Under identical ow properties, the granite ller shows identical demand for superplasticizer compared to the results obtained
using y ash and limestone powder, whereas microsilica requires
far more superplasticizer, either in absolute terms or when compared to the remaining additions. On the other hand, the fact
seems to stand out that the consumption of mixing water with

additions of granite ller is always equal to the consumption of

mixing water in mixtures with cement-only, independent of the
percentage of cement replaced by the addition.
The use of microsilica was included in order to improve
mechanical properties and durability. However, considering the
very large quantity of superplasticizer required when using
microsilica in ternary blends, it was decided to exclude the ternary blends from the proposed methodology analysis. If another
kind of polycarboxylate molecules could be made to disperse
more effectively in microsilica/cement blends, the presented
methodology could be adapted to include ternary blends of
powders.
The compressive strength of the mortar phase (50 mm cubes)
that leads to a specied compressive strength of SCC (150 mm
cubes) can be estimated from the general correlation presented in
this paper, and is independent of the constituents materials in use.
In binary mixes, the correlation between the W/C and the percentage of substitution of cement by the addition may be improved
if Vp/Vs remains constant. It may also be concluded that once the
powder materials to be used (cement and addition) are selected
and the Vp/Vs is decided, it will be feasible to estimate the percentage of cement to be replaced by the addition that leads to a specied W/C.
Finally, a simple methodology was proposed for the mix design
of the mortar phase in binary blends of powder to obtain both the
adequate ow properties and the required compressive strength.
As with other discussed methodologies, the correlations presented
in this paper are based on a given set of materials. However, the
proposed methodology itself can be generalised, since new correlations can be easily generated using other materials.
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