Self Consolidating Concrete

Leslie Struble Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Illinois

CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

Scope of talk
What is SCC? How is SCC made? How is SCC tested? SCC research at UIUC The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

Definition

What is SCC?

A high-performance concrete that flows under its own weight to fill completely the formwork without vibration or mechanical consolidation. place in highly congested formwork place without vibration self-leveling, less need to screed faster construction

Benefits

Flowing into double T beam forms
ACI 237 ETS Report

CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

How is SCC made?

High-range water reducer (polycarboxylate) High paste content Viscosity Modifying Admixture (VMA) Smaller aggregate and optimized gradation

CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

Typical SCC mixtures

Precast Beam Graded Aggregate Mineral Filler VMA Strong Wall

SG Cement (Type I) Fly Ash (Class C) Coarse Aggregate, 3/4" (20mm) Coarse Aggregate, 3/8" (10mm) Fine Aggregate (FM = 2.57) Water Superplasticizer (CAE) Viscosity Modifying Admixture (VMA) Slump flow (standard slump for OPC) Paste content by Volume FA/CA ratio w/cm
3.15 2.65 2.70 2.70 2.64 1.00 1.06 1.00

UNIT
lb/yd3 lb/yd3 lb/yd3 lb/yd3 lb/yd3 lb/yd3 fl oz/yd3 fl oz/yd3 in % --

OPC 1 726 0 1853 0 1192 290 22 5 32 0.64 0.40

SCC 1 661 157 367 1075 1403 311 63 30 37 0.97 0.38

SCC 2 SCC 3 601 325 1365 0 1336 301 29 28 40 0.98 0.33 685 0 1627 0 1389 278 49 22 26 33 0.85 0.41

SCC 4 679 151 579 1018 1389 267 36 27 34 0.87 0.32

CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

Review of SCC mixes shows departure from normal concrete

2.5 2.0
SCC Database Mixtures studied

1.5
SCC1 SCC2 SCC3

1.0
Typical non-SCC materials, according to ACI mixture proportioning method OPC1

SCC4

0.5

Higher FA/CA ratio Higher paste content

100

FA/CA RATIO

0.0
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95

AGGREGATE CONTENT (%)

CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

 Properties SCC Strategies flowability high paste content stability VMA (thickeners) shrinkage and smaller aggregate & creep controlled gradation Performance HRWR (CAE) segregation mineral fillers & additives strength and stiffness early age cracking deformation prestress Loss long term durability
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How do SCC strategies affect properties and performance?

Fresh SCC properties

Flowability: flows easily at suitable speed into formwork Passing ability: passes through reinforcements without blocking Segregation resistance: the distribution of aggregate particles remains homogeneous in both vertical and horizontal directions
Static segregation due to gravity, vertical direction Dynamic segregation due to flow, horizontal direction
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Flowability
Slump flow (C1611), also tests dynamic segregation

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Passing ability
L-box test

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Passing ability
J-ring test (C1621)

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Segregation
Column segregation test (C1610)

SI = 100(CAB - CAT) / [0.5 (CAB + CAT)]

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SCC Research at UIUC

Rheology Segregation Formwork pressure Creep and shrinkage SCC research group: Prof. D. Lange, myself, Matt DAmbrosia, Ben Birch, Fernando Tejeda, Lin Shen Funded by IDOT
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Rheology
Torque (N.m)

14.00 y = 1.8014x + 0.2719 12.00 10.00 8.00 y = 1.7941x + 0.3206 6.00 4.00 2.00 0.00 0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

Rotational speed (rad/sec) test 1 test 2 Linear (test 2) Linear (test 1)

Concrete rheometer measures yield stress and viscosity

Yield stress: <100 Pa for SCC, >500 for normal concrete Plastic Viscosity: ~50 Pa.s for SCC, same as normal concrete
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Segregation

Static segregation

Dynamic segregation

Static segregation mainly controlled by gravity Dynamic segregation depends on flow rate and friction (formwork, floor, etc) Segregation affects strength and stiffness, creep and shrinkage
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New ways to measure static segregation

Visual examination of hardened concrete (visual index) Segregation probe (developed at UIUC)

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Visual examination
Hardened Visual Stability Index (VSI) rating criteria for concrete cylinder specimens

0: Stable
No paste or mortar layer visible at top of cylinder, no apparent difference in the size and area percentage of coarse aggregate through depth

1: Stable
No paste or mortar layer visible at top of cylinder, slight difference in the size and area percentage of coarse aggregate through depth

2: Unstable
Slight paste or mortar layer visible (<1), slight difference in coarse aggregate through depth

3: Unstable
Significant paste or mortar layer visible (>1), obvious difference in the size and area percentage of coarse aggregate through depth

CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

Segregation probe
Quick and easy Set on top of concrete and measure settlement Correlates well with HVSI
Segregation Probe results HVSI

1/8 0

2 3

2 3

2 3

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Robustness
Robust mix resists segregation due to small changes in w/cm Segregation probe allows us to characterize robustness Robustness measured as margin in w/cm between target and maximum allowable penetration
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Dynamic segregation
Flowing SCC may segregate during placement May be sufficient to impact hardened concrete performance - shrinkage, elastic modulus, creep

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UIUC strong wall

Cast 2004 Used SCC to achieve consolidation with congested formwork

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Dynamic segregation in strong wall Pump location

A
80%

B
20

C
29

FG
53 56
63.6%

Total Aggregate
60% Aggregate Content

366 44 - estimate

40%

Coarse Aggregate
33.7%

20%

0% 0 10 20 30 Distance Traveled (ft) 40 50 60

GF

4436 56 53 6

CB D 20 E
29

A
0

In strong wall, segregation occurred abruptly at 45 of flow Static segregation tests did not predict dynamic segregation
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Measuring dynamic segregation

Visual inspection of slump flow Loss of aggregate during flow in trough (developed at UIUC)

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Modeling dynamic segregation

Dynamic segregation depends on flow velocity and aggregate properties Model using forces on aggregate: drag from paste (depends on paste velocity, rheology), friction from formwork (depends on aggregate size, density)
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Evaluating creep and shrinkage

Restrained stress test machine Sealed for 24 h, then dried at 50% RH, 23oC Companion specimen tested for free shrinkage
3 in (76 mm)

LVDT Extensometer Load cell

3 in (76 mm)

Actuator Feedback CEAT Control Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

Creep and shrinkage results

400

Early age tensile stress was greater in SCC than in most previous concretes tested If aggregate content low, SCC, w/cm = 0.34, 36% paste creep and shrinkage high Low w/cm also produces autogeneous shrinkage High paste and low w/c a dangerous combination
350 300 250 200 150 100 Shrinkage Stress (psi) 50 0 0 1 2 3 4 Age (days) 5 6

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Microcracking
1.0 0.9 0.8 Stress-Strength Ratio 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4
OPC1, w/c = 0.40

0.6

0.5 Specific Creep (x10 m/m/psi)

0.4

-6

0.3

0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 2 4 Age (d) 6

0.2
OPC1, w/c = 0.40 SCC1, w/c = 0.39

SCC1, w/c = 0.39 SCC2, w/c = 0.33 SCC3, w/c = 0.41 SCC4, w/c = 0.34

0.1

SCC2, w/c = 0.33 SCC3, w/c = 0.41 SCC4, w/c = 0.34

0.0

10

4 Age (days)

10

Occurs one or two days after drying Induced by high stress-strength ratio Intensified by lack of creep relaxation
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Cracking
Surface cracks in UIUC strong wall due to early age shrinkage, probably caused by segregation
0.016 (0.4 mm)

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Evaluating formwork pressure

Using pressure transducers to study formwork pressure

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2 1.8 bucket truck pumper

Formwork pressure results

1.6 FW pressure/HS pressure 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 20 40 60 time (min) 80

100

120

Pressure decreases as cement flocculates and hydrates Concrete stays at full hydrostatic pressure only during rapid placement or with continuous shearing
CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good: high flowability The Bad: segregation, high formwork pressure The Ugly: shrinkage cracking
Presentation by D. Lange

CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07

Summary
SCC is an exciting new concrete technology Recommendations for SCC mix proportioning:
Design to prevent static segregation Set limits on flow length to prevent dynamic segregation Set limits on paste contents to avoid shrinkage Avoid low w/cm ratios to reduce shrinkage Set limits on placement to reduce formwork pressure

Challenges remain:
New tests to measure properties New models to predict performance New strategies to control segregation, cracking, formwork pressure
CEAT Brown Bag Seminar, 4/07