New Method Fo Proportioning Self-Conso Idating Concre e Based On Compressive Strength Requirements
New Method Fo Proportioning Self-Conso Idating Concre e Based On Compressive Strength Requirements
 This study aimed to develop a new method for proportioning self-                       RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
 consolidating concrete (SCC). This method is capable of proportioning      This research aimed to formulate a new straightforward
 SCC mixtures with specified compressive strength, contrary to           method for proportioning see, which can be used to design
 previous SCC proportioning methods that emphasized the fulfillment      concrete that achieves a particular compressive strength and
 offresh properties requirements more than strength requirements.
                                                                         simultaneously meets the fresh concrete requirements of
 In addition, no previous method considered the grading of aggregate
                                                                         see. This method covers thedesign~9(Se~ with compressive
 in SCC mixtures (fineness modulus affine aggregate and maximum
 size of coarse aggregate) as in conventional concrete (CC)              strength in the range of 15 to 75:MPa(2175 to 10,875 psi).
proportioning methods, making a needfor numerous trial mixtures          Also, for the first time, it considers the effect of gra,ding of
 to adjust the fresh and hardened properties of SCe. Two well-known      fine aggregate (fineness modulus) and coarse~.aggregate
 concrete mixture proportioning methods, the ACI 211.1 method for        (maximum size) in proportioning see              mixtures. No
 CC and the EFNARC methodfor SCe, were adopted to develop the            previous mixture proportioning method of see considered
 new method. The requirements of these methods were combined             these three design parameters in their procedures.
 with certain modifications and a new method was proposed. In this
 new method, the actual range of compressive strength of the ACI 211.1
 method was widened from 15 to 40 MPa (2145 to 5800 psi) to
                                                                                          EXISTING SCC MIXTURE
 cover a wider range of strength (/5 to 75 MPa (2I45 to 10,875 psi]),
                                                                                        PROPORTIONING METHODS
 thus covering both normal- and high-strength SCC mixtures.                 In reviewing literature on the methods for proportioning
 Thirty mixtures were tested to examine the validity of the proposed     see, numerous proposed methods exist, most of which give
 method; all these mixtures satisfied the fresh SCC requirements.        only general guidelines and ranges of quantities of materials
 Concrete strength results were in good agreement with the nominal       to be used in proportioning see. The emphasis of these
 design strength except for mixtures with a strength of 75 MPa           methods is on the properties of fresh concrete and how to get
 (10,875 psi); these mixtures required a slight adjustment in the        a mixture that possesses the character of being self-
 water-cement ratio (w/c). A modification on the proposed compressive    consolidating, not on concrete strength, as is the case in the
 strength and w/c relationship were introduced depending on data         design of ee mixtures.
from previous literature on SCe.
                                                                            In Table 1, 14 methods for proportioning see were
                                                                         reviewed.3-l6 All of these methods, except one, overlooked
                                                                         the compressive strength of concrete as long as it will satisfy
                                                                         the structural designer requirements, no matter how high the
                       INTRODUCTION
                                                                         actual strength of the see mixture will be. Some of these
   Self-consolidating concrete (SeC), a recent innovation in
                                                                         methods specify categories of strength; for example, the
concrete technology, has numerous advantages                over
                                                                         Lepe gives material proportions for concrete mixtures with
conventional concrete (eC). see, as the name indicates, is
                                                                         a strength of more than 30 MPa (4350 ps~. The only exception
a type of concrete that does not require external or internal
                                                                         was the method proposed by Su et al. ; they proposed the
compaction, because it becomes leveled and compacted
                                                                         following relationship to determine the cement content in
under its self-weight.l Although see has passed from the
                                                                         accordance to the compressive strength
research stage to field applications, there are no systematic
standar?s ?r sfecifications to be followed in its mixture
proportIOnmg.
   This study includes a proposal of a new mixture proportioning
method for see with a specified compressive strength in the
range of 15 to 75 MPa (2175 to 10,875 psi), in addition to                  Su et al.9 put limitations on the use of this relationship,
compliance with the fresh property requirements of see.                  stating that the minimum amount of cement to be used in an
The proposed method gives a clear and precise procedure to               see mixture is not to be less than 270 kg/m3 (455 lb/yd3).
obtain specific quantities of concrete ingredients and minimize          This means that all see mixtures with a strength below
the need for trial mixtures. This is contrary to previously              approximately 36 MPa (5220 psi) will require the same
proposed see mixture proportioning methods that give only                amount of cement. This condition was enforced by Su et al.9
general ranges and guidelines on quantities of concrete                  to ensure enough fine powder materials to obtain the self-
ingredients and depend largely on trial mixtures to correct              compacting ability of the mixture.
any deviations in the fresh or hardened concrete properties.
In addition, the proposed method took into consideration the               ACI Materials Journal, V. 107. No.5, September-October 2010.
grading of both fine and coarse aggregate in the design                    MS No. M-2009-229.R4 received October 27, 2009, and reviewed under Institute
                                                                         publication policies. Copyright © 2010, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved,
procedure-two      important factors that were not included in           including the making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright
                                                                         proprietors. Peninent discussion including authors' closure, if any, will be pUblished in
any of the existing proportioning methods of see.                        the July-August 2011 ACI Materials Journal if the discussion is received by April I, 2011.
Ghazi F. Kheder, is a Professor of civil engineering at the College of Engineering.
                                                                                                                                PROPOSED SCC MIXTURE
University of Mustansiriya. Baghdad. Iraq. His research interests include volume                                                PROPORTIONING METHOD
chnnge cracking of concrete,   sec,nondestructive testing of concrete, and the evaluation                           From the review of previous research on SCC,3-16 it was
and repair of concrete structures.                                                                               found that the EFNARC II method for proportioning SCC
Rand S. AI Jadiri is an Assistant Lecturer at the College of Engineering. She received
                                                                                                                 can be used in conjunction with the ACI 211.117 method
her ESe and MSc in civil engineering from the University of Muslansiriyo. Her                                    for proportioning CC, after certain modifications on the
research interests include see and building materials.                                                           latter to meet the requirements of EFNARC's proposal. By
                                                                                                                 these means, a new method is formulated to give a clear and
                                                                                                                 straightforward procedure for the design of SCC mixtures
   Referring again to Table 1, it can clearly be seen that none                                                  with specified compressive strength that fulfills the SCC
of the 14 methods reviewed took into consideration the                                                           fresh properties.
grading of fine aggregate (fineness modulus) or coarse
aggregate (maximum size) as in proportioning CC mixtures.                                                        EFNARC requirements 11
In addition, all these methods gave general outlines on how                                                        The EFNARC method gives the following guidelines for
to determine the quantity of concrete ingredients, and there                                                     proportioning SCe:
is no particular procedure to be followed that will yield to                                                         Absolute volume of coarse aggregate (V G) = 28 to 35%
specific quantities of concrete ingredients.                                                                         by volume of the concrete mixture;
                                                                                                                                                                                    .,.
Reference         Method                kg/m3                 kg/m3           kg/m3 or % kg/m3 or %       kg/m3 or %                        w/c            w/p                    ,'R:emarks
                                                                                                                                                                                    ,
                Rational                                                                                                                                                  The fina{ w/p is determined
               mixture by                                                                      40% of mortar            50% of solid                    0.9 to 1.0
     3                                  Rest of mixture volume                       -                                                       -                                      to ensure
              Okamura and                                                                         volume                  volume                        by volume
                                                                                                                                                                            self-consolidating ability
              Ozawa (1995)
                                                                                                                                               Water demand of
                                                                                                                                             binder combination
                                     Combination of binders was                                                                                                     Solid suspension model
                                                                                                                                           with high-range water-
                                        fixed based on previous                                                                                                   used to optimize binder and
               Sedran et at                                                                      Saturation level is determined              reducing admixture
     4                                knowledge to satisfy com-                     -                                                                             aggregate. Water content is
                  (1996)                                                                         and half of this amount is used               determined from
                                      pressive strength require-                                                                                                    minimized and arbitrary
                                                                                                                                           previous knowledge of
                                     ment and material availability                                                                                                  viscosity was chosen
                                                                                                                                             material and water-
                                                                                                                                               reduction effect
              Domone et at
      5
                 (1999)
                                                   450 to 600                  ISO to 200         710 to 900             750 to 920          -              -                             -
                                                                                                                                                                            Water cement and filler
                Japanese                                                                        40% of mortar         35% of concrete
      6       method (1999)
                                                   60% of mortar volume
                                                                                                   volume                volume
                                                                                                                                             -              -                contents depend on
                                                                                                                                                                             previous experience
     7         Gibbs (1999)                    40% of volume of mixture                           40 to 50%              700 to 800        <0.50            -                             -
                                                                                                                                                                           Proportions for concrete
      8        LCPC (2000)                   430                SO                  170                 847                    825           -              -                 strength >30 MPa
                                                                              Maximum,                                                               To be determined
                 EFNARC                                                                                                  28 to 35%
     II                                            400 to 600                           Rest of mixture                                      -         using slump                  Air=2%
                  (2002)                                                      200 kg/m3                                  by volume
                                                                                                                                                     cone and V funnel
                                                                                                  >50% by                                                                 High-range water-reducing
                  Al Eriss                      400 to 500 and paste                                            <50% by weight
     12                                                                                         weight of total                              -              -                admixture = I to 3%
                  (2002)               approximately 38% of mixture volume                                      of total aggregate
                                                                                                  aggregate                                                                   per 100 kg cement
                                                                                          Balance volume
                                                                                            of mixture,
                 ERMCO                                                                    approximately                                                0.85 to 1.10
     13                                            380 to 600                  ISO to 210                               750 to 1000          -                                            -
                  (2005)                                                                   48 to 50% of                                                 by volume
                                                                                          total aggregate
                                                                                             by weight
                                                             Fly ash:
              Kasemchaisiri
                                                            164 to 192
     14       and Tangterm-           384 to 448                               158 to 172         880 to 650             875 to 815          -              -                             -
                                                           Bottom ash:
              sirikul (2006)
                                                             Oto 100
                Binu et aI.'                                                                                                                           0.31 to 0.34          Total powder content
                               250 to 583                   SO to 275                -            813 to 842             746 to 772          -
              (2007), Series A                                                                                                                                                     400 to 600
     IS
                Binu et aJ.*                                                                                                                                                 Total powder content
              (2007), Series B
                                       133 to 556           SOto 275                 -            813 to 842             746 to 772          -         0.31 to 0.34
                                                                                                                                                                                   400 to 600
              ACI Committee                    386 to 475                                       Mortar fraction                            0.32 to
     16
              237R-07 (2007)            Paste fraction 34 to 40%                     -
                                                                                                 68 to 72%
                                                                                                                          28 to 32%
                                                                                                                                            0.45
                                                                                                                                                            -                             -
'Mixture proportions (Series A and B) for various grades of             see   (30 to 70 MPa) were determined.         Series A obtained by using fly ash alone as mineral admixture and Series Busing
qu3lT)' dust as inert filler along with fly ash.
Note: I em   = 0.393   in.; 1 kg   = 2.204   lb; I kglm3   = 1.65 Ib/yd3;   I m   = 3.28   ft; 1 mm   = 0.0393   in.; I MPa   = 145 psi.
rc MP!:   15
25
          35
               M.~S 10 mm
                            200   15
25
                                  35
                                       ~t~12.5J..D_I!!
190 15
25
                                                           35
                                                                ~~~~Z!!':h.
180
65 65 65
          75                      75                       75
                                                                                    Table 2(b)-Modified maximum water
                                                                                    requirements for SCC
                                                                                                                  Maximum aggregate size (MAS), mm
Fig. i-Proposed    water quantities for different concrete                                                        9.5           12.5           19.0
strengths and maximum aggregate sizes.
                                                                                     Water content, kg/m3         200            190           180
                                                                                        Air content, %            3.0            2.5           2.0
      Absolute volume of total Rowder (Ve + V L) == 0.16 to
      0.24 m3 (0.209 to 0.314 yd3);
      VwlVe + VL volumetric ratio == 0.80 to 1.10;
      400 ~ We + WL ~ 600 kg/m3 (675 ~ We + WL ~                                    Table 3-wlc            versus SCe co'mpressive strength
      1011 lb/yd3);                                                                 relationship               .                      .;"
      Vw ~ 200 Um3, that is, Ww ~ 200 kg/m3 (337 lb/yd\ and
      Sand quantity is the rest of the mixture volume.                                wlc
                                                                                    Note: I MPa   = 145 psi.
Modification of ACI 211.117 method
   Preliminary tests were carried out to determine the
modifications to be enforced on the ACI 211.117 method to                           concrete compressive strength and the maximum size of
be used for proportioning SCe. The original range of strength                       coarse aggregate, not just the maximum size of coarse aggregate
of the ACI method is 15 to 40 MPa (2175 to 5800 psi). This                          as in CC mixtures. From Fig. 1, it can be seen that for a given
range was expanded to cover a wider spectrum of 15 to 75 MPa                        maximum aggregate size, the water quantity is assumed to
(2175 to 10,875 psi). Initially, more than 50 trial mixtures                        decrease linearly with the increase in SCC compressive
were tested (for both fresh and hardened concrete properties)                       strength. The upper limit of water content of 200 kg/m3
to set the suitable limitations for the water-cement ratio (w/c)                    (337Ib/yd3) must not be tolerated to be in line with the limita-
and the mixture ingredient contents, except the high-range                          tions of the EFNARC method and also to put restrictions on
water-reducing admixture dosage, which must be determined                           the maximum cement content to be used in high-strength SCC
experimentally depending on the type used in the mixture. The                       mixtures (maximum We ~ 557 kg/m3 [939 Ib/yd3] accordin§
modifications to the ACI 211.117 method were extracted from                         to ACI 36318). Finally, water content below 155 kg/m
the results obtained from the gradual modifications on the                          (261 Ib/yd3) was found to be difficult to work with in SCC
proportions of the 50 preliminary SCC mixtures to obtain                            mixtures and will require an uneconomical amount of high-
the required fresh and hardened SCC properties, without                             range water-reducing admixture.
tolerating the requirements of the EFNARC11 method.
                                                                                    Compressive strength and water-cementitious
Modified water requirements for SCC                                                 material ratio (wlcm) relationship
   Water requirements for 75 to lOOmm (3 t04 in.) slump ofCC                           The ACI 211.117 mixture design method limited the range
with certain reduction was adopted for design purposes (crushed                     of design compressive strength between 15 to 40 MPa
aggregate) because they were the closest values to the                              (2175 to 5800 psi). In this work, the range of compressive
requirements of the EFNARCII method. Table 2(a) gives the                           strength was wider than that of ACI 211.117; the new range
original water requirements as specified by ACI 211.117 for Ce.                     is 15 to 75 MPa (2175 to 10,875 psi). The new values for the
   Taking the EFNARC requirements into consideration-                               maximum w/c are given in Table 3.
maximum water content == 200 kg/m3 (337 Ib/yd3)-the                                    It is important here to highlight the difference in the use of
ACI 211.1 17 quantities were modified (reduced) by 25 to                            the weight ratio of water to cementitious materials (cementitious
28 kg/m3 (14.8 to l6.6Ib/yd3), as shown in Table 2(b). The                          materials: cement and reactive powder only), and the volumetric
effect of reduction in water content in the SCC mixtures will                       ratio of water to total powder (total powder: cement and any
be compensated by the compulsory use of a high-range                                reactive or nonreactive powder). The w/cm by weight is used
water-reducing admixture in the SCC mixtures.                                       to relate the contents of water and cementitious materials to
                                                                                    concrete compressive strength (Fig. I) to determine the total
Further correction of water quantity with                                           quantity of the cementitious material required to obtain the
compressive strength                                                                desired strength of SCe. On the other hand, the volumetric
  With the increase in compressive strength of the SCC                              water-to-powder ratio is used to ensure that there will be
mixtures, the water content must be decreased to keep the                           enough fine materials in the SCC mixture to ensure its self-
cementitious materials as low as possible; this reduction in                        compacting ability. For example, when inert powder such as
the mixture's water content must be accompanied by an                               limestone is used in SCC mixtures, the w/cm will simply be
increase of the high-range water-reducing admixture dosage                          the w/c. On the other hand, if a reactive powder (for example,
added to the mixture. It is also important to note that the                         silica fume) is used, then an equivalent quantity of cement to
water content in SCC mixtures must be related to both the                           this reactive powder must be found using the pozzolanic
activity index of this powder. Therefore, in this case, the wlcm        Table 4(a)-Bulk           volume of coarse aggregates per
will be the ratio of the water content of the mixture divided by        unit volume of      ee 17
the total amount of reactive materials (actual cement content
                                                                                                                FM
plus the cement content equivalent to the reactive powder).                                2.40
                                                                         MAS,mm                         2.60         2.80          3.00
                                                                            9.5            0.50         0.48         0.46          0.44
Modified volume of coarse aggregate for see
                                                                            12.5           0.59         0.57         0.55          0.53
   Table 4(a) gives the dry-rodded volume of coarse aggreiate
per unit volume of concrete as specified by ACI 21 I. II for                19.0           0.66         0.64         0.62          0.60
proportioning ce.
   No reduction in the quantity of coarse aggregate with a
maximum size of 9.5 mm (3/8 in.) is needed, because it's                Table 4(b)-Modified  bulk volume of coarse
absolute volume is already within the range of the                      aggregate per unit volume of see
EFNARCII method.
   For maximum size coarse aggregate of 12.5 mm (1/2 in.),                                                      FM
a reduction of 10 to 11% was implemented, whereas for the                MAS,mm            2.40         2.60         2.80          3.00
19.0 mm (3/4 in.) coarse aggregate, a higher reduction of                   9.5            0.50         0.48         0.46          0.44
15 to 17% was needed. The new dry rodded volumes of                         12.5           0.53         0.51         0.49          0.46
coarse aggregate in SCC are given in Table 4(b). This                       19.0           056         <0.54,        0.52          0.50
reduction was necessary to increase the amount of fine
ingredients in the SCC mixture to separate the larger size
coarse aggregate and provide for the required mobility. All
volumes of coarse aggregate given in Table 4(b) are within              Table 5-Proposed    water volume to·total.powder
                                                                        volume for different compressive strength of
the range specified by the EFNARCII method.
                                                                        see mixtures
                                                                                   f~, MPa                           VwlVC+VL
Fine powder quantity (LSP)
   According to EFNARC, 11 the volumetric ratio of water to                           15                                    1.10
total powder (cement plus fine powder) is Vw/Vc + VL =              .                 25                                    1.05
0.80 to 1.10, where 0.80 was adopted for /d = 75 MPa                                  35                                    1.00
(10,875 psi) and 1.10 for /d = 15 MPa (2175 psi).                                     45                                0.95
   The lower ratio was assigned to the high-strength concrete                         55                                0.90
category 75 MPa (10,875 psi), whereas the higher ratio was                            65                                0.85
assigned. to the low-strength concrete because the high-
                                                                                      75                                0.80
strength concrete usually contains a smaller quantity of
water and a large amount of cement. For low-strength
concrete mixtures, the situation is reversed.
   From the 50 trial mixtures investigated, a linear relationship          9. Calculate the weight of total powder content (We + WL)
was found to be applicable for relating the VwlV c + VL ratio           and total powder volume         \V      V
                                                                                                        c + L) and check with the
with concrete strength in the range of 15 to 75 MPa (2175 to            limitations of the EFNARC 1 method.
10,875 psi). Table 5 gives the proposed values for VwlV c+ VL              10. Calculate the fine aggregate content by absolute
for mixture proportioning of SCC with concrete strength level.          volume method
                                                                           1 m3 = Ww/l x 1000 + Wc13.15 x 1000 + WJSGL x 1000
                PROCEDURE FOR MIXTURE                                   + W/SGS x 1000 + W/SGG x 1000 + a%
                 PROPORTIONING OF see
    The steps to be followed for proportioning SCC according                        EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF
to the proposed method are as follows:                                                    PROPOSED METHOD
    1. From Table 2(b), the maximum weight of water and air                This study focuses on producing SCC with specific
content (a) in the mixture is obtained according to maximum             compressive strengths using the proposed mixture design
 coarse aggregate size (MAS).                                           procedure and an inert powder (limestone powder). In many
    2. Obtain the weight of water (Ww) from Fig.!. From                 papers or reports reviewed in the literature, the SCC
Table 3, the wlc is obtained according to the required                  compressive strength was divided into two categories of
 compressive strength of SCe.                                           concrete-housing    or civil engineering-with  characteristic
    3. Calculate the cement content (We> and calculate the              strengths in the neighborhood of 30 or 60 MPa (4350 of
 volume of cement (V c), where                                          8700 psi), respectively.II,19 As mentioned previously, most
    We = Wwlw/c, Vc = WclSGC x 1000.                                    previous proportioning methods did not consider building
    4. From Table 4(b), the dry-rodded volume of gravel (V G)           mixture proportioning on a specific concrete strength. Also,
 is obtained.                                                           no previous proportioning method took into consideration
    5. Calculate the dry weight of gravel (W GD) by multiplying         the grading of the fine and coarse aggregate used in
 (V G) by the dry-rodded unit weight of gravel.                         producing SCC (fineness modulus of fine aggregate and
    6. Calculate the saturated surface dry (SSD) weight of              coarse aggregate maximum size [refer to Table 1]).
 gravel: WG = WGD x ( 1 + &'100)                                           The experimental program consisted of testing SCC
    7. From Table 5, determine VwlW c + VL ratio for a known            mixtures for both fresh and hardened concrete properties.
/d and maximum aggregate size, then calculate the volume                The following three different variables were investigated:
.ofpowder (VL).                                                            1. Five nominal concrete compressive strengths of 15, 30,
    8. Calculate the powder weight: WL = VL x SGL                       45,60, and 75 MPa (2175, 4350, 6525, 8700, and 10,875 psi).
Table 6-Cumulative           percent passing of fine                                      TESTING OF CONCRETE
aggregate                                                                Testing of fresh SCC mixtures
                                          FM                                Two tests for determining the fresh properties of see
   Sieve, nun          2.40              2.70              3.00          were implemented: the slump flow test and L-box test.11
       9.5             100%             100%              100%           These tests were chosen for their simple use on construction
                                                                         sites and for their good results and representation of see
      4.75             99%              97.8%             96.5%
                                                                         fresh properties.
      2.36             96%              91.1%             86.2%
                                                                            The slump flow and T50 time were tests to assess the
       1.18            78%              69.3%             60.3%
                                                                         flowing ability and flow rate of see in the absence of
      0.60             53%              44.4%             35.9%          obstructions. The slump test can also be used to indicate
      0.30             26%              21.1%             16.2%                   . reSIstance
                                                                         segregatIOn      .       0 f see to an expenence
                                                                                                                     .    d user.' I II , 13
      0.15              9%              6.5%              4.9%           From Table 8, the ranges for the slump flow and T50 for the
      0.075             0%               0%                0%            30 mixtures ranged between 651 to 788 mm (25.6 to 31.0 in.)
                                                                         and 2.0 to 6.9 seconds, respectively. These values were
                                                                         within the ranges specified for Sec.II,13 No segregation was
                                                                         observed on any of the 30 mixtures tested.
                                                                            On the other hand, the L-box test was used to assess the
  2. Two MAS = 9.5 and 19.0 mm (3/8 and 314 in.).                        flowing ability and passing.ability' of see when flowing
  3. Three fine aggregate grading with a fineness modulus                through tight openings. between reinforcing bars and other
(FM) = 2.4, 2.7, and 3.0 similar to the range specified by               obstructions without segregation or biocking.ll,13 ,\able 8
AeI 211.117 (2.4 to 3.0).                                                also shows the results of the L-box tests on the see
  Thirty mixtures in two groups (Group A with an MAS of                  mixtures. From this table, it can be seen that ~ihe L-box
9.5 rum [3/8 in.] and Group B with an MAS of 19.0 rum [3/4 in.])         results of the 30 mixtures were also within the requirements
were designed according to the proposed method; these two                of the Sec.II,13 All mixtures had H IIH2 ratios in the range
groups were tested for their fresh properties as well as                 of 0.80 to 1.0 and T20 and T40 times between 1.2 to 4.5
compressive strength.                                                    seconds and 1.5 to 6.5 seconds, respectively.
                                                                            These results prove that the proposed method gives accurate
Materials                                                                material proportioning that satisfies the see fresh property
   Cement-Ordinary       portland cement, Type I, complying              requirements.
with ASTM e150 was used in this study.
   Fine aggregate-Natural       siliceous sand complying with            Testing of hardened SCC mixtures
ASTM e33 was used. Its specific gravity and absorption                      see cylinder specimens 152 x 304 rom (6 x 12 in.) were
were 2.66 and 1.7%, respectively.                                        cast without vibration. The molds were covered with plastic
   Three fine aggregate grading with a fineness modulus of               sheets for a period of 24 hours. On the second day, the molds
2.4, 2.7, and 3.0 were investigated. These grading were                  were stripped and the cylinders were placed in water. The
obtained by sieving the original sand to break it into its extractable   cylinders were then tested according to ASTM e39 to
sizes, and then remixed in certain amounts in accordance with            determine their 28-day compressive strength.
Table 6 to obtain required FM.                                              From Table 9, it can be seen that all the designed mixtures
   Coarse aggregate-Two          gradings of crushed gravel-             yielded 28-day compressive strengths in the neighborhood
4.75 to 9.5 mm (3/16 to 3/8 in.) and 4.75 to 19.0 mm (3/16 to            of their nominal design strength, except concrete mixtures
3/4 in.)-were    used. Their specific gravities and absorptions          with a nominal strength of 75 MPa (10,875 psi). These
were 2.65 and 0.57%, respectively. The grading of these                  mjxtures failed to reach the required design strength level by
aggregate were within the limits of ASTM e33 requirements.               approximately 8%. This may be attributed to the intrinsic
   Limestone powder (LSP)- LSP has been used as filler for               properties of the cement used in this work (ordinary portland
concrete production for many years. It has been found to                 cement, Type I, Grade 32.5 MPa).
increase workability and early strength and reduce the                      To adjust this problem, a modification was introduced for
required compaction energy.20 A fine LSP of sedimentary                  the "i: versus w!c" relationship pr0:.f-0sedin Table 3. Data
origin was used to produce see with a surface area of                    from several literature researches2 -24 (Table 10) (using
3100 cm2/g. LSP was chosen because of its availability in                cement from different sources and LSP as filler material) in
most construction markets and for its cheap price. According             addition to the data of this work were used to construct a
to EFNARe, II the particle size of powder must be less than              more reliable relationship between concrete compressive
0.125 mm (0.005 in.) to be of most benefit. The specific                 strength and wlc. Figure 2 plots this data and provides a
gravity of the LSP was 2.7.                                              modified ''I: wlc" relationship. This relationship is given in
   High-range water-reducing admixture-To            produce see,        Eq. (2) as follows
the use of a high-range water-reducing admixture is essential.
The high-range water-reducing admixture used is based on
polycarboxylic ether.21
              DESIGN OF SCC MIXTURES                                        Using this relationship, the first proposed wlc for different
  Thirty see mixtures were designed according to the                     concrete strengths will be modified. The modification
proposed method. These mixtures were divided into Groups A               needed was found to be for see mixtures with compressive
and B, and they were tested to determine their fresh properties          strengths of 55 MPa (7975 psi) or higher; lower-strength
and compressive strength. Table 7 gives the mixture proportions          mixtures did not need this modification, and the first
of these 30 see mixtures.                                                proposed values for wlc were kept unchanged. Table 11
     Mixture         Cement, kg/m3           LSP, kg/m3        Total powder, kg/m3       Sand, kg/m3         Gravel, kg/m3         Water, Um3              SP: Um3              SP:%        w/p
     15A2.4'               250.0               277.0                  527.0                  725.0                     833            200                            5.30         1.0      0.38
     30A2.4                346.0               204.0                  550.0                  743.0                     833            190                            6.60         1.2      0.35
     45A2.4                474.0               105.3                  579.3                  758.4                     833            180                            8.10         1.4      0.31
     60A2.4                515.2               82.00                  597.2                  773.1                     833            170                            14.9         2.5      0.29
     75A2.4                535.0               64.00                  599.0                   814.0                    833            155                            18.0         3.0      0.26
     15A2.7                225.0               249.0                  474.0                  753.0                     933            180                            4.70         1.0      0.38
     30A2.7                318.2               189.0                  507.2                  747.1                     933            175                            6.10         1.2      0.35
     45A2.7                447.4               100.0                  547.4                  739.0                     933            170                            7.70         1.4      0.31
     60A2.7                500.0               80.00                  580.0                  727.6                     933            165                            14.5         2.5      0.28
     75A2.7                535.0               64.00                  599.0                  740.4                     933            155                            16.8         2.8      0.26
     15A3.0                250.0               277.0                  527.0                  774.3                 784                200                            5.30         1.0      0.38
     30A3.0                346.0               204.0                  550.0                  792.0                     784            190                            6.60         1.2      0.35
     45A3.0                474.0               105.3                  579.3                   807.4                    784            180                            8.10         1.4      0.31
     60A3.0                515.2               82.00                  597.2                   822.1                    784            170                 .'         14.9         2.5      0.29
                                                                                                                                                    ,'.        '.
  Mixture       Slump flow,           Tso.         L-box,             T20,         T40•               Mixture      Slump flow,         Tso,                    L-box,           T20,       T40,
  symbol            rom             seconds        H/H2             seconds      seconds              symbol           rom           seconds                   H/H2           seconds    seconds
   15A2.4            788              2.0               1.00           1.3          1.5               15B2.4                 768        2.3                         0.99         1.5        1.9
   30A2.4            751              2.6              0.96           1.8            3.5              30B2.4                 746       3.4                          0.96        2.0        3.3
   45A2.4            710              4.0              0.92           2.1            3.9              45B2.4                 709       4.9                          0.91        2.4        4.3
   6OA2.4            695              4.8              0.85           3.2            5.9              60B2.4                 671       5.6                          0.85        3.3        5.2
   75A2.4            655              5.8              0.81           4.1            6.2              75B2.4                 654       6.6                          0.81        4.3        5.5
   15A2.7            770              2.2              0.99           1.5            1.7              15B2.7                 784       2.1                          1.00        1.2        1.5
   30A2.7            745              2.9              0.97           1.9            3.7              30B2.7                 738       2.7                          0.97        1.7        3.6
   45A2.7            698              4.2              0.93           2.3            4.2              45B2.7                 711       4.5                          0.93        2.0        4.0
   60A2.7            665              4.9              0.83           3.4            5.1              6OB2.7                 687       5.6                          0.88        3.1        5.3
   75A2.7            651               5.9             0.80           4.3            6.5              75B2.7                 660       6.5                          0.83        4.2        6.2
   15A3.0            781              2.1               1.00          1.4            1.6              15B3.0                 766       2.4                          0.99        1.4        1.6
   30A3.0            756              2.5              0.97           1.9            3.5              30B3.0                 734       3.1                          0.96        1.8        3.7
   45A3.0            720              4.1              0.93           2.2            4.0              45B3.0                 692       4.8                          0.92        2.3        4.1
   60A3.0            670               5.5             0.86           3.5            5.1              6OB3.0                 664       5.7                          0.86        3.5        4.5
   75A3.0            658               6.1             0.82           4.5            6.3              75B3.0                 653       6.9                          0.81        4.4        5.6
                                                              MAS =9.5 mm                                                                                              MAS=           19mm
    Nominal
    f~, MPa            Mixture         f~, MPa            Mixture            f~, MPa           Mixture           f~ ,MPa          Mixture          f~,MPa           Mixture               f~ ,MPa         Mixture     f~, MPa
       15              15A2.4               13.9          15A2.7                  18.9             15A3.0          16.3           1582.4             19.2            1582.7                 15.4          1583.0         18.4
       30              30A2.4               29.1          30A2.7                  32.8          30A3.0             32.5           3082.4             32.7           3082.7                  33.3          3083.0        32.6
       45              45A2.4               48.5          45A2.7                  49.8          45A3.0             46.3           4582.4             45.2           4582.7                  44.4          4583.0        44.6
       60              60A2.4               58.2          60A2.7                  58.1          60A3.0             59.7           6082.4             57.3           6082.7                  58.3          6083.0        59.3
       75              75A2.4               63.7          75A2.7                  62.5          75A3.0             64.5           7582.4             62.3           7582.7                  61.5          7583.0        63.5