Dynamic stability of self-consolidating concrete : development of test methods and influencing parameters

Self-Consolidating concrete (SCC) is a new generation of concrete that can fill in the formwork under its own weight and without vibration. This modern technology has revolutionized the construction industry, but still needs lots of investigation before it reaches its most perfect level. Stability is a crucial property of SCC, namely self-consolidation cannot be achieved without it. Generally, stability falls into two categories: static stability which is important when concrete is at rest and before setting and is well studied up to this date; dynamic stability which plays a crucial role during transportation and casting of SCC and is one of the least investigated aspects of SCC. Hence, this M.Sc. project was defined with the purpose of developing a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic segregation phenomenon. An experimental approach was adopted, namely reliable test methods were proposed to evaluate the dynamic stability of SCC. Repeatability assessment and sensitivity analysis are established for the proposed tests. Once a reliable test has been developed, the test is used to evaluate the effect of different parameters that could affect dynamic segregation. The latter includes factors pertaining to both mix design and casting conditions. To capture the horizontal spread, Tilting-box was developed and was shown to have adequate repeatability and sensitivity. In order to make the test more practical, a new penetration technique was also proposed to help assess the segregation more easily and rapidly. Good agreement was observed between the results of wet-sieving and penetration. With respect to freefall, U-tube was designed and found to be promising to simulate the phenomena taking place during and shortly after freefall. Results of the parameter study carried out with T-box demonstrate that the larger the number of cycles (flow distance), the more dynamic segregation occurs while the rate of segregation decreases. When decreasing the duration of each cycle (increasing flow velocity), segregation first increases, but over a critical duration it starts to decrease. Considering the rheology of concrete (cement paste), it is shown that both yield stress and viscosity have significant effects on dynamic segregation. In addition, there is no interaction between the effects of each factor, and such influence is non-linear. The effect of paste volume on dynamic segregation is similar to that of velocity meaning that by increasing paste volume, segregation first increases and above a critical value, it commences to decrease. The outcome of the parameter study conducted with U-tube shows that in terms of rheology, though the results are analogous to the T-box, there are some inconsistencies which could be due to both errors and limitations. Hence, at this point no final conclusion is drawn on that. Considering the paste volume, the same tendency as that during flow was observed