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TESTING STATIC SEGREGATION OF SCC

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 TESTING STATIC SEGREGATION OF SCC
Lin Shen, Leslie Struble, David Lange
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

INTRODUCTION

The main functional requirements for self-consolidating concrete (SCC) during the fresh
state are filling ability, passing ability, and stability, both dynamic and static. Dynamic
stability refers to the resistance of concrete to separation of concrete constituents during
placement into the formwork. Static stability refers to the resistance of SCC to bleeding
and segregation after the SCC is cast until it is hardened.

Segregation resistance of SCC is normally achieved by reducing free water content and
adding finely powdered materials such as silica fume, fly ash, and limestone filler.
Viscosity-Modifying Admixture (VMA) is sometime used to control bleeding and
segregation by increasing the capacity to retain free water and the viscosity of the
suspended liquid phase (1).

To study the segregation of SCC, accurate and reliable test methods suitable for different
kinds of situations are essential. It is important to be able to characterize the segregation
resistance of SCC during both the fresh and hardened states. Currently, there is no formal
standard testing method for segregation resistance of SCC. The following common tests
are currently used for assessment of stability of SCC:

Visual Examination of Slump Flow - Segregation resistance is evaluated by observing the

periphery of the concrete after the slump flow test (2). When there is no border of water,
the concrete is regarded as having good dynamic segregation resistance. A Visual
Stability Index (VSI) ranging from 0 to 3 is used to rate the SCC. This method is going to
be part of ASTM standard for slump flow.

Column Segregation Test - In the column segregation method (3), fresh concrete is
poured in an 8 Х 26 in. PVC mold in one lift and allow the specimen to stand for 15 min.
Concrete from top and bottom portions of the PVC pipe are then collected and washed
over a 4.75 mm (No.4) sieve. Segregation Index (SI), is then calculated as:

Where, CAT is the mass of coarse aggregate in the top section, and CAB is the mass of
coarse aggregate in the bottom section.

Penetration Apparatus (PA) - Penetration apparatus was developed in Australia (4). The
penetration head made of plastic has a mass of 54 g. Two min. after pouring fresh
concrete in L-box, put the PA on the top of the vertical leg of the L-box, adjust the
penetration cylinder to just touch the top surface of the concrete, and allow the cylinder
to penetrate freely into the concrete. After 45 sec., the Penetration depth (Pd) of the
cylinder head is recorded from the scale. Concrete has satisfactory segregation resistance
if Pd < 8 mm, and concrete has poor segregation resistance if Pd > 8 mm.

V-funnel - V-funnel method was developed by Japan Society of Civil Engineers (5). The
test measures the variation of flow times following different periods of resting after
filling the SCC in the V-funnel. The segregation index is equal to Sf = (T5 -T0)/T0, where
T5 and T0 are flow times after 5 and 0 min. resting after filling the V-funnel.

GTM Segregation Test - This test was developed by the French contractor, GTM. It
consists of taking a sample of 10 liters (0.37 ft3) of concrete, allowing it to stand for a
period to allow any internal segregation to occur, then pouring half of it on to a 5mm
sieve of 350mm diameter, which stands on a sieve pan on a weigh scale. After two
minutes, the mortar passing through the sieve is weighed, and expressed as a percentage
of the weight of the original sample on the sieve.

Visual Examination of Hardened Cylinder - For hardened concrete, segregation was

reported to be examined by checking the cross section of SCC specimen and measuring
the distance between the top surface of specimen and the first coarse aggregate particle.

Electrical conductivity - This method monitors the difference in electrical conductivity

along a concrete or mortar sample as a function of time (6). The variation in conductivity
can then be related to interpret segregation and bleeding.

NEWLY DEVELOPED OR MODIFIED METHODS

Image analysis, visual stability rating of cylinder, segregation probe, and eddy current are
four methods newly developed or modified at the University of Illinois. The procedures
and applications of these methods are discussed below.

Image Analysis
Image analysis is used to determine the static segregation resistance of SCC by
examination of the hardened concrete. Image analysis software is used to calculate and
compare the percentages of coarse aggregate in different levels of cut concrete cylinders.

A concrete cylinder is cut lengthwise in two, the surface is wetted slightly to enhance
contrast between paste and aggregate, and a digital photo is taken of one cut surface. No
polish on the cut surface is needed. Figure 1 shows images at different stages of the
image analysis procedure. Concrete sample is made of Type I cement and limestone
gravel. ImageJ software, developed by National Institutes of Health, is used to transfer
color picture (Figure 1(a)) to a gray scale. Gray scale is then transferred to a binary
(black-white) scale (Figure 1 (b)) by grey-level thresholding. In the binary picture there
are occasionally holes in the aggregate particles which need to be filled in before the
calculation. Algorithms in the software are used to fill the small holes in the coarse
aggregate particles and to erode small sand particles (Figure 1 (c)). Lastly, the
percentages of coarse aggregates in four different levels of the cut surface are measured.
Figure 2 shows the coarse aggregate percentages at four different levels in a concrete
cylinder.

Because the image analysis method needs a considerable amount of work to prepare and
analyze the sample, it is mainly suitable for quantitive assessment of segregation in
hardened concrete for the purpose of laboratory research.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1 Images in different phases of image analysis method: (a) original color picture; (b)
binary picture; (c) final picture after hole filling and eroding

(d1) (d2) (d3) (d4)

Figure 2 coarse aggregate percentages at different levels of concrete cylinder

Visual Stability Rating

Visual stability rating of hardened concrete cylinder can be used to determine the stability
of SCC both in the laboratory and in the field. The visual assessment uses a Hardened
Visual Stability Index (HVSI). The method can be applied to cast cylinders or cores and
provides a measure of the static segregation resistance of the SCC. This method is a fast
quality control method and has been adopted by Illinois Department of Transportation as
a standard (Illinois Test Procedure SCC-6).

A 6 Х 12 in. cylinder is cut lengthwise down the center completely through its diameter.
No polish on the surface is needed. The cutting surface is then wetted slightly to enhance
contrast. A minimum of two cylinders obtained from a single sample of SCC is required
to assess the HVSI rating using the criteria in Table 1.
 Table 1 Visual Stability Index of Hardened Specimens (HVSI) Rating Criteria (Illinois Test
Procedure SCC-6)

Segregation Probe
The segregation probe, inspired by the Penetration Apparatus method [4], is a fast and
effective method to measure the thickness of mortar/paste at the top of fresh SCC. A
thicker layer of mortar/paste at the surface corresponds to a lower static stability. The
results of the segregation probe method and the measured thickness of the mortar/paste
layer in hardened concrete were found to be quite similar.

As shown in Figure 3, the segregation probe is a 5 in. diameter ring connected with a 6 in.
high rod marked with scale. The whole probe is made of 1/16 in. diameter steel wire. The
total weight of the probe is about 18 gram. Before the test, fresh concrete is cast into a 6 Х
12 in. cylinder with one lift. The concrete is allowed to rest for 2 min. before the test,
during which excessive disturbance is avoided. The segregation probe is then placed
gently on the concrete surface allowed to settle for 1 min. The penetration depth marked
on the rod is used to determine the stability rating according to Table 2.

The segregation probe test is simple and rapid and thus is suitable for quality control and
other applications such as robustness measurement. Due to its high flowability, SCC is
much more susceptible to stability problem than normal concrete. Small changes in
moisture content of aggregates or dosage of admixtures may affect the fresh properties
significantly. It is thus important to examine the robustness of SCC to ensure it is within
the capabilities of the concrete producer.

Figure 4 shows an example in which the segregation probe was used to determine
robustness of SCC mixtures to moisture content. The VMA mix has a lower slope of the
curve and a larger margin between target w/cm and Max. penetration depth and thus is
more robust to moisture content than the other two mixes.

Table 2 Stability Rating for Segregation Probe Method

Penetration Corresponding Rating
Depth Rating in HVSI of Cut
(mm) Cylinder
<4 0 Stable 0 stable
4~<7 1 Stable 1 stable
7 ~ 25 2 Unstable 2 unstable
Figure 3 Segregation Probe made of steel >25 3 Unstable 3 unstable
wire
 Figure 4 Using Segregation Probe to Compare Robustness of SCC Mixes to Water
Content

Eddy Current
We also explored the use of eddy current as a rapid, non-destructive test of static
segregation in fresh concrete. As shown in Figure 5, the eddy current method uses a
device called concrete covermeter1 to monitor the position of a metallic aggregate in the
fresh concrete. A concrete covermeter is normally used to detect the depth or diameter of
embedded concrete reinforcement. The covermeter generates a magnetic field that can
induce an eddy current in a nearby electrical conductor. The generated eddy current can
then induce a secondary magnetic field in coils of the covermeter. By moving the
covermeter up and down the outer surface of the container, the position of the metallic
aggregate may be detected. The distance between the covermeter and the metallic
aggregate must be within 4 in. to provide a suitable signal strength. The average deviation
in position of the metallic aggregate is found to be less than ¼ in. A ¾ Х ¾ in. aluminum
cylinder is used as the target metallic aggregate due to its similar size and density to
normal coarse aggregate. The eddy current method is mainly suitable for laboratory
research because it requires a complicated instrument and only allows the position of a
single metallic aggregate to be monitored. Figure 6 shows an example of using eddy
current method to monitor the position of aluminum aggregate in a segregated SCC.

Figure 5 Eddy Current Method Figure 6 Using Eddy current to monitor position of
Al aggregate in 6 Х 12 in. cylinder

1
Protovale CM52, by Protovale Oxford LTD
COMPARISION OF SEGREGATION METHODS

All the segregation methods discussed in last section measure the static segregation of
SCC. Image analysis method and visual stability rating method are based on examination
of the distribution of coarse aggregates on cut surface of the concrete cylinder. The image
analysis is the most accurate method but it needs considerable time and experience. Thus
it is more suitable for research use and can be a good reference method. Although the
result of visual stability rating of hardened concrete is only available 24 hours after
casting, it is very easy to employ and is suitable for quality control purpose in the field. It
is also the only available method for fast examination of the segregation of SCC during
the hardened state.

The segregation probe and eddy current measure segregation in fresh concrete. The
segregation probe measures thickness of mortar/paste layer on top of the fresh concrete.
Because it requires little work and can be finished within 3 minutes, this method can be
used to monitor small and continuous changes in the stability of SCC such as robustness
and is suitable as a field technique. The eddy current can only measure the position of a
single metallic aggregate and requires instrumentation that is not readily available. The
unique advantage of this method is it can monitor the settling process in most kinds of
suspensions, cement paste, mortar, and concrete, and may help us understand the
segregation mechanism.

CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions were reached from the discussion above:

• image analysis is a quantitative and accurate method for measuring segregation in
hardened concrete. It is suitable for research use and can be used as reference
method,
• visual stability rating is a qualitative and rapid method for measuring segregation
in hardened concrete suitable for use in the field and the lab
• segregation probe is a rapid method to measure segregation in fresh concrete
suitable for quality control and other applications such as robustness measurement
• eddy current is a rapid method to measure segregation in fresh concrete mainly
suitable for laboratory research.

ACKNOWLAGEMENT

The research reported in this document was sponsored by the Illinois Department of
Transportation. The comments from Andrew Brinks, Matthew D'Ambrosia, Julissa
Hidalgo, and Fernando Tejeda were appreciated.
 REFERENCES

1. Khayat, K. H., "Workability, Testing, and Performance of Self-Consolidating

Concrete," ACI Material Journal, V.96, No. 3, May-June 1999, pp. 346-353.
2. Standard Test Method for Slump Flow and Stability of Hydraulic-Cement Self-
Consolidating Concrete, Illinois Test Procedure SCC-2, July 1, 2004
3. Standard Test Method for Static Segregation of Hydraulic-Cement Self-
Consolidating Concrete Using the Column Technique, Illinois Test Procedure SCC-
5, July 1, 2004
4. Bui, V.K., Montgomery D., Hinczak I., Turner K., “Rapid testing method for
segregation resistance of self-compacting concrete”, Cement and Concrete
Research 32, 2002, pp.1489–1496
5. Japan Society of Civil Engineers, Recommendation for Self-Consolidating
Concrete, T. Omoto and K. Ozawa, eds., JSCE Concrete Engineering Series 31,
1999, pp.77
6. Jolicoeur, C., Khayat, K. H., Pavate, T. V., and Page, M., “Evaluation of Effect of
Chemical Admixture and Supplementary Materials on Stability of Concrete-Based
Materials Using In-Situ Conductivity Method,” Superlasticizers and other
Chemical Admixtures on Concrete, Proceedings of the Sixth CANMET/ACI
International Conference, SP-195, V. M. Malhotra, ed., American Concrete
Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich., 2000, pp.461-483.

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