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The use of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) can facilitate the placement work, and the congestion nature of the reinforcement. With
of concrete in congested members and in restricted areas. Given the highly the increasing use of congested reinforcements in mat foun-
flowable nature of such concrete, care is required to ensure adequate
stability. This is especially important in deep structural members and wall
dations and moment-resisting reinforced concrete structures,
elements where concrete can segregate and exhibit bleeding and settlement there is a growing interest in specifying highly flowable
which can result in local structural defects that can reduce mechanical concrete. Various factors that contribute to formwork
properties. congestion and how to minimize such problems through
formwork selection, mixture proportions, placement
The objective of this paper is to evaluate the uniformity of in situ mechan-
ical properties of SCC used to cast experimental wall elements. Eight opti-
methods, and consolidation are well documented.1,2
mized SCC mixtures with slump flow values greater than 630 mm and a Concrete can be proportioned to be highly flowable to
control concrete with a slump of 165 mm were investigated. The SCC spread into place under its own weight and achieve good
mixtures incorporated various combinations of cementitious materials and consolidation without internal vibration. Such concrete is
chemical admixtures. The water-cementitious materials ratios ranged
between 0.37 and 0.42. Experimental walls measuring 95 cm in length, 20
referred to as self-consolidating concrete (SCC). The use of
cm in width, and 150 cm in height were cast. No consolidation was used for SCC has gained wide acceptance in Japan since the late 1980s
the SCC mixtures, while the medium fluidity control concrete received thor- for casting congested members as well as the placement of
ough internal vibration. Cores were obtained to evaluate the uniformity of concrete in restricted areas where consolidation may not be
compressive strength and modulus of elasticity along the height of each
practical. Among the applications of SCC is the construction
wall. Bond strengths were also determined for 12 horizontal reinforcing
bars embedded at various heights of each wall. of anchorages and the substructure above the water level of the
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan where 240,000 m3 of SCC
All SCC mixtures exhibited small variations in compressive strength and was cast in congested formwork without internal vibration.3
modulus of elasticity in relation to height and were similar to those The use of SCC is an extension of technological advance-
obtained with the medium fluidity control concrete. Considerable reduc-
ments in the area of underwater concreting where the mixture
tions were, however, obtained between compressive strength values deter-
mined on core samples and those of cast cylinders. Such reduction was is proportioned to ensure high consistency and yet a good level
approximately 10 and 20 percent for SCC mixtures made with 10- and 20- of resistance to water dilution and segregation.
mm maximum size aggregate, respectively, and 10 to 15 percent for the SCC often incorporates several chemical admixtures, in
control concrete. The top-bar factor for reinforcing bars positioned
particular a high-range water reducer (HRWR) and a
approximately at 140 cm from the bottom of the experimental walls was 1.4
+ 0.2 for seven of SCC mixtures and approximately 2.0 for the control viscosity-modifying admixture (VMA), also known as anti-
concrete and one SCC. The optimized SCC mixtures are therefore highly washout admixture. The HRWR is used to ensure high fluidity
stable despite their flowing nature and can ensure uniform in situ proper- and reduce the water-cementitious materials ratio (w/cm). The
ties when cast in deep structural elements. VMA is incorporated to enhance the yield value and viscosity
of the fluid mixture, hence reducing bleeding, segregation,
Keywords: bond strength; congested formwork; filling capacity; flowable
and settlement.4,5 The enhanced cohesiveness can ensure
concrete; high-performance, top-bar factor; self-consolidating concrete;
settlement; viscosity-modifying admixture. better suspension of solid particles in the fresh concrete and
therefore good deformability and filling capacity during the RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
spread of fresh concrete among the various obstacles. Another Ensuring adequate consolidation of concrete is essential to
way to enhance deformability and stability is to increase the obtain proper strength and durability. With the increasing use
volume of the cement paste, thus reducing the relative volume of highly flowable and SCC, it is important to assure that such
of aggregate. Yurugi, et al.6 found that the volume of coarse concrete can secure uniform in situ mechanical properties that
aggregate in concrete has a greater effect on the filling are similar to those obtained with properly consolidated
capacity of concrete among congested reinforcement than the concrete of conventional fluidity levels. This paper offers data
sand-to-paste ratio. For SCC made with w/cm of 0.53, the coarse concerning the distribution of mechanical properties vs. height
aggregate volume is recommended to be 310 to 340 L/m3 when of wall elements cast using SCC mixtures made using various
the sand-to-paste volume ratio is 65 percent and to 330 L/m3 for combinations of binary and ternary cementitious systems.
mixtures with 75 percent sand-to-paste volume ratio. Such data can be useful to engineers considering the use of
The reduction in aggregate content necessitates the use of SCC to enhance the filling capacity of restricted areas as well
a higher volume of cement which increases cost and results as highly congested reinforced sections.
in greater temperature rise. Therefore, SCC often contains
high volume replacements of fly ash, blast furnace slag, or EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
Materials
limestone filler. Such materials are less reactive than cement A Type 10 Canadian portland cement (CSA3-A5-M83,
and can reduce problems resulting from fluidity loss of the similar to ASTM C 150 Type I cement) and a blended silica
rich SCC. The incorporation of one or more type of supple- fume cement (HSF) containing approximately 8 percent
mentary cementitious materials having different silica fume, by mass, were used. The chemical and physical
morphology and grain-size distribution values can improve characteristics of the two cements are presented in Table 1.
particle size distribution and packing of solid particles, The majority of the investigated mixtures incorporated one
hence enhancing workability and stability. Tangtermsirikul or two types of mineral additives to enhance workability.
et al.7 reported that the use of finely ground blast furnace These materials included Class F fly ash (ASTM C 618-84),
slag increases the segregation resistance of SCC. Miura et blast furnace slag, finely ground limestone filler, and silica
al.8 evaluated the influence of supplementary cementitious fume. Their chemical and physical characteristics are
materials on workability and reported that the replacement of summarized in Table 2.
cement by 50 percent of blast furnace slag and 30 percent of Two types of river-bed siliceous sands and a crushed lime-
fly ash can significantly improve rheological properties. stone coarse aggregate were used. The specific gravity,
The increase in fluidity does not necessarily result in absorption, and fineness modulus values of the different
proper filling of congested areas since highly flowable used aggregate are summarized in Table 3.
concrete may not possess enough cohesion between the A naphthalene-based HRWR conforming with CSA3-
cement paste and aggregate to ensure uniform deformation. A266.6-M85 was used. It had a solid content of 42 percent and
Therefore, SCC should be cohesive enough to enhance a specific gravity of 1.21. A liquid-based carboxylic hydroxide
filling capacity of cast members in the absence of internal or acid conforming with CSA3.A266.2-M78 was used for the set
external vibration. High cohesiveness is also necessary to retarding admixture. A microbial polysaccharide (welan gum)
minimize bleeding, segregation, and settlement of the cast was used for the VMA to enhance stability of the SCC. The
concrete before stiffening. The lack of stability can weaken powder VMA was vigorously mixed in 1 percent solution with
the interface between aggregate and cement paste and part of the mixing water to prehydrate the polymer prior to
increase the tendency to develop local microcracking that addition to concrete. The VMA can also be diluted with part of
can increase permeability and reduce mechanical properties. the HRWR, up to 10 percent, to facilitate dispensing.
Bleeding can also result in some accumulation of porous
cement paste under the lower half of horizontally embedded Mixture proportions
reinforcement and under the ribs of vertically positioned The SCC mixtures presented in this paper were optimized in
bars. The settlement of fresh concrete can reduce the effec- a study which investigated the effects of aggregate and paste
= P/db ls