Design and properties of self-compacting concrete mixes and their simulation in the J-ring test

Although self-compacting concrete (SCC) has matured beyond laboratory studies and has now become an industrial product, its characteristics behaviour and performance, in the fresh and hardened states alike, still need to be thoroughly comprehended. This thesis presents the results of a study on behaviour of SCC in the fresh and hardened states. The work was divided into three main parts of research. In the first part, the focus was to develop a simple and rational method for designing SCC mixes based on the desired target plastic viscosity and compressive strength of the mix. The expression for the plastic viscosity of an SCC mix developed using the so-called micromechanical principles has been exploited to develop this rational method. The simplicity and usefulness of this method was enhanced by the provision of design charts for choosing the mix proportions that achieve the mix target plastic viscosity and compressive strength. Experimental work was performed attesting the validity of this mix design procedure via a series of SCC mixes in both the fresh and hardened states. The test mixes were found to meet the necessary self-compacting and the compressive strength criteria, thus fully validating the proposed mix proportioning method. Therefore, this method reduces considerably the extent of laboratory work, the testing time and the materials used. The second part addressed the other important properties of hardened SCC: specific fracture energy