SELF COMPACTING

CONCRETE
By the early 1990's, Japan has developed and used SCC.

Self compacted concrete is highly engineered concrete

with much higher fluidity without segregation and is
capable of filling every corner of formwork under its self
weight .

 Thus SCC eliminates the vibration for the compaction of

concrete without affecting its engineering properties.

As of the year 2000, SCC used for prefabricated

products (precast members) and ready mixed concrete
(cast-in-situ) in JAPAN, USA and later on INDIA etc.
 CONSTITUENTS OF SCC
With regard to its composition, SCC consists of the
same components as conventionally vibrated
concrete, which are
 Cement
 Aggregates
 Water
 Chemical Admixtures i.e. Super plasticizers and
Viscosity Modifying Agents
 Mineral Admixtures i.e., Fly ash, Silica
Fume, GGBFS etc.
 TYPICAL MIX PROPORTION
VALUES
Constituent Typical range by
volume(liter/m3)
Powder 160-240

Water 150-210

Coarse aggregate 270-360

water to powder ratio 0.80-1.10

Fine aggregate 48-55% of total aggregate weight

 PROPERTIES OF SCC
IN FRESH STATE, SCC HAVE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES-
Filling ability (excellent deformability) - flows
easily at suitable speed into formwork

Passing ability (ability to pass reinforcement

without blocking) -passes through reinforcements
without blocking

High resistance to segregation- 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
 MEASUREMENT OF SCC FLOW
PROPERTIES
IN FRESH STATE
 Slump Flow & T50 test:
 Slump flow test is used to find the filling ability of
the SCC.

 The SCC sample is poured in to the slump cone then

the slump flow diameter is measured.

 The flow time is measured & that is know as T50

slump time.

 The higher the slump flow value, the greater its

ability to fill formwork under its own weight.
APPARATUS
Test Procedure:
ACCEPTABILITY OF SLUMP FLOW:
 L-BOX TEST
The L-Box test is used to find the passing
ability of SCC.

The SCC sample is poured in to the L-Box

apparatus, now the plate is removed to allow
flow.

 The L-box ratio is calculated as H2/ H1.

According to EFNARC , when the ratio of

h2 to h1 is larger than 0.8, self compacting
concrete has good passing ability.
APPARATUS
Test Procedure
 V-FUNNEL TEST AND V-FUNNEL
TEST AT T5MINUTES:
The V-Funnel test is used to find the Segregation
Resistance of SCC.

The SCC sample is poured in to the V-Funnel apparatus, now

its allowed to flow by its weight.

 The emptying time of V-Funnel is noted.

This test measured the ease of flow of the concrete,

shorter flow times indicate greater flow ability. After 5
minutes of setting, segregation of concrete will show a less
continuous flow with an increase in flow time.
TEST APPARATUS
TEST PROCEDURE
 TESTS ON HARDENED CONCRETE
 Compressive Strength Test
 Split Tensile Strength Test
 Split cylinder test
 Standard Beam test
 Flexural Strength Test
Preparation of SCC specimens:

 All the materials are placed in the mixer & mixed well

 The sample is taken out and poured in to the moulds.

 The moulds are socked in water & allowed for curing .

 ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR SCC IN FREE STATE
Test Results on Fresh Concrete and Acceptance Criteria for SCC

Water/Cement Ratio EFNARC[3]

S. No Method Unit Remarks
0.23 0.24 0.25 0.26 0.27 Specification
SF1: 550-650
Slump
1 Flow mm 655 660 665 680 700 SF2: 660-750 SF2
Test
SF3: 760-850
VS1: T500 ≤ 2
2 T500 sec 3.94 3.88 3.82 3.32 2.50 VS2
VS2: T500 > 2

3 V-Funnel sec 8.50 8.35 8.10 7.95 6.89 VF1: ≤ 8

VF2
4 T5min sec 11.89 10.92 10.66 10.23 9.95 VF2: 9-25
PA1: > 0.8
(2 rebars)
5 L-Box h2/h1 0.950 0.959 0.969 0.975 0.980 PA2
PA2: > 0.8
(3 rebars)
6 U-Box mm 9 7 6 5 4 0-30 [23] OK
ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR SCC IN HARDENED STATE
Test Results on Hardened Concrete
Compressive Split tensile Flexural
Concrete Strength Strength Strength
Mix (N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2)
7days 28days 7days 28days 7days 28days
M1
(W/C=0.23) 61.64 82.22 3.72 4.09 5.92 6.76

M2
(W/C=0.24) 59.73 82.07 3.63 4.08 5.84 6.52

M3
(W/C=0.25) 53.11 81.62 3.43 4.05 5.72 6.20

M4
(W/C=0.26) 52.53 81.29 3.40 3.99 5.46 5.86

M5
(W/C=0.27) 52.48 80.53 3.37 3.89 5.18 5.69
 DISCUSSION ON TEST RESULTS
Based on the above experimental results, the observations are as follows:

 Slump flow increases with the increase of water/cement ratio.

 T500 time, V-funnel time, T5 time and U-box values are decreases with
the increase of w/c ratio.

 L-box value increases with the w/c ratio and Compressive strength,
tensile strength and flexural strengths are decreasing as the w/c ratio
increases.

 Marginal increase in the compressive strength at 28 days of concrete as

the w/c ratio decreases.

 Compressive strength and split tensile strength decreases at higher

rate for 7 days strength when compared to 28 days strength, whereas
it is also observed that flexural strength value decreases at higher rate
for 28 days strength when compared to 7 days strength.
 ADVANTAGES OF SCC
 Elimination of problems associated with vibration.
 Faster construction
 Improves working conditions and productivity in
construction industry.
 Greater freedom in design.
 Less noise from vibrators and reduced danger from
hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
 Ease of placement results in cost savings through
reduced equipment and labour requirement.
 Improves the quality, durability, and reliability of
concrete structures due to better compaction and
homogeneity of concrete.
 Reduced wear and tear on forms from vibration.
 Reduced permeability.
 DISADVANTAGES OF SCC

 More precise measurement and monitoring

of the constituent materials.
Requires more trial batches at laboratory
as well as at ready-mixed concrete plants.
Costlier than conventional concrete based
on concrete material cost (exception to
placement cost).
Lack of globally accepted test standards
and mix designs
More stringent requirements on the
selection of materials .
 CONCLUSION
SCC has high potential for greater acceptance and wider applications in highway
bridge construction in the all over world. An NCHRP Research Project has been
initiated to develop design and construction specifications to supplement the
AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design and Construction Specifications.
Based on above results and discussions the following
conclusions are drawn-

Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) technology can save time,

cost, enhance quality, durability and Moreover it is a green
concept.
Since the concrete is capable of self-consolidating and
reaching the difficult areas in moulds, manual variables in
terms of placing and compacting concrete is nil. This factor
ultimately yields defect less, better-quality concrete
structures.
Cast-in-place concrete construction in tight space and
congested reinforcement, such as, drilled shafts, columns and
earth retaining systems, can be accelerated by using SCC.
 REFERENCES
1. Brain Paulson. EFNARC, Secretary General, „Specifications and Guidelines for
Self-Compacting Concrete”, February 2002.

2. Nan Su, K.C. Hsu, H.W. Chai. A Simple mix design method for self-compacting
concrete, cement and concrete Research 2001.

3. 3.Okamura.H.„Self-Compacting High Performance Concrete‟, Concrete

International, Vol. 19, No.7, pp. 50-54, July 1997

4. 4. M.S. Shetty. “Concrete technology (theory and practice), S. Chand & Company
LTD. 2002

5. IS 456-2000 Code of practice for plain and reinforced concrete (3rd revision)

6. 16. IS 516-1959 Method of test for strength of concrete

7. SK Singh “Self Compacting Concrete - A Paradigm Shift”, Journal of New Building

Materials & Construction World, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp 164-180,September , 2009.