SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE AND MORTAR

EFFECT OF INCLUSION OF NANO PARTICLES

By
A.JANSI LAKSHMI
111514
 Self Compacting Concrete
(SCC)
“ A highly flowable, yet stable concrete that can spread
readily into place and fill the formwork without
undergoing any consolidation and without undergoing
significant separation”
PROPERTIES OF SCC
 High workability- Able to deform and flow just by its
own weight
 High filling ability- Able to fill up confined spaces and
far-reaching corners
 High passing ability-Able to pass through small
clearances between closely spaced reinforcing bars
 High segregation stability- Able to remain
homogeneous after flowing, dropping and passing
through obstacles
SELF COMPACTABILITY
methods to achieve self- compact ability
•Limited aggregate content
• Low water-powder ratio
• Use of super plasticizer

The method for achieving self-compact ability

involves not only high deformability of paste
or mortar. But, also resistance to segregation
between coarse aggregate and mortar when
the concrete flows through the confined zone
of reinforcing bar.
 SLUMP FLOW TEST

The basic equipment used is the same as for the conventional Slump test. The test
method differs from the conventional one by the fact that the concrete sample
placed into the mold is not rodded and when the slump cone is removed the
sample collapses. The diameter of the spread of the sample is measured, i.e. a
horizontal distance is determined as opposed to the vertical distance in the
conventional Slump test. The Slump Flow test can give an indication as to the
consistency, filling ability and workability of SCC. The SCC is assumed of having a
good filling ability and consistency if the diameter of the spread reaches values
between 650mm to 800mm.
 V-Funnel Test

The flow ability of the fresh concrete can be tested with the V-funnel
test, whereby the flow time is measured. The funnel is filled with about
12litres of concrete and the time taken for it to flow through the
apparatus is measured. Shorter flow time indicate greater flow ability. T
5min
is also measured with V-funnel, which indicates the tendency for
segregation, wherein the funnel can be refilled with concrete and left for
5 minutes to settle. If the concrete shows segregation, the flow time will
increase significantly.
 U-box test

In this test, the degree of compactability can be indicated by the height that the
concrete reaches after flowing through obstacles. Concrete with the filling
height of over 300 mm can be judged as self-compacting. Some companies
consider the concrete self-compacting if the filling height is more than 85% of
the maximum height possible.
 L-BOX TEST

This method uses a test apparatus comprising of a vertical section and a

horizontal trough into which the concrete is allowed to flow on the release of a
trap door from the vertical section passing through reinforcing bars placed at the
intersection of the two areas of the apparatus The time that it takes the concrete
to flow a distance of 200mm (T-20) and 400mm (T-40) into the horizontal
section is measured, as is the height of the concrete at both ends of the apparatus
(H1 & H2). The L-Box test can give an indication as to the filling ability and
passing ability.
 J-ring test

The J-ring test simulates a flow through reinforcement in an unconfined condition.

The apparatus is composed of a ring with 16 or 18 vertical reinforcing rods, a slump
cone and a rigid plate When the cone is lifted, the concrete has to pass through the
reinforcing bars as it flows across the plate. The passing ability is expressed as the
average height difference between the concrete inside and outside the bars, called the
step height. The final spread diameter of the concrete in two perpendicular
directions is also measured. Segregation resistance can be visually evaluated by
observing the periphery after the concrete has stopped flowing.
 MIX DESIGN BY OKAMURA

His main idea was to conduct first the test on paste and mortar in order to examine
the properties and compatibility of superplasticizer (SP), cement, fine aggregates and
Pozzolanic materials, then followed by the trial mix of SCC.
The major advantage of this method is that it avoids
having to repeat the same kind of quality control test
on concrete, which consumes both time and labor.
However, the drawbacks of Okamura’s method are
that
 (1) it requires quality control of paste and mortar
prior to SCC mixing, while many ready-mixed concrete
producers do not have the necessary facilities for
conducting such tests and
 (2) the mix design method and procedures are too
complicated for practical implementation.
MIX DESIGN BY NANSU
The principal consideration of the proposed method is
to fill the paste of binders into voids of the aggregate
framework piled loosely. The strength of SCC is
provided by the aggregate binding by the paste at
hardened state, while the workability of SCC is
provided by the binding paste at fresh state. Therefore,
the contents of coarse and fine aggregates, binders,
mixing water and SP will be the main factors
influencing the properties of SCC.
The procedures of the proposed mix design method can be
summarized in the following steps.
Step 1: calculation of coarse and fine aggregate contents
Step 2: calculation of cement content
Step 3: calculation of mixing water content required by
cement
Step 4: calculation of fly ash (FA) and ground granulated
blast-furnace slag (GGBS) contents
Step 5: calculation of mixing water content needed in SCC
Step 6: calculation of SP dosage
Step 7: adjustment of mixing water content needed in SCC
Step 8: trial mixes and tests on SCC properties
Step 9: adjustment of mix proportion
APPLICATIONS OVER THE WORLD
Ritto Bridge, Japan
Kaiga Project, India
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Kobe

KAIGA PROJECT
 Nano particles
Three main objectives are considered:
A very high-strength concrete for specific applications
can be obtained with the use of nano materials.
Reduce the amount of cement needed in concrete in
order to obtain similar strengths
Decreasing the cost and the environmental impact of
construction materials.,
By means of the addition of several types of
Nanomaterials a high-strength concrete can be obtained
at shorter times, reducing the construction periods.
Since all materials are composed of grains, which in turn comprise many atoms , it can be
said that concrete which is an indispensable building material is also composed of
structures in nano scale. The scaling from molecular size to experimental sample size is as
shown

C-S-H gels which are nano sized and responsible for the mechanical and physical
properties of cement pastes including shrinkage, creep, porosity, permeability and elasticity
make difficult to understand the relation of structure-properties of concrete, since its
quantitative analysis is very difficult. Therefore, many researchers have started to
investigate the structure and composition of C-S-H gels in nano scale.
 Mineral additive Nano Silica

Portland Cement Components

From the above fig, it can be said that since nano powders have smaller size, thus
larger surface area, than the mineral additives they fill the voids out of cement
constituents and, therefore, the concretes with more compact, less penetrable,
higher strength, and more durable can be produced.
SELF COMPACTING MORTAR
Due to the lower content of coarse aggregate in SCC,
mortar exerts more effects on the fresh properties of SCC
than conventional concrete (CC).
Mortar not only provides lubrication by wrapping coarse
aggregates, it also predominantly influences the fresh
properties of SCC with a low yield stress and adequate
viscosity so as to ensure the required filling and passing
ability without blocking and segregation.
Mortar is, thus an integral part of SCC mix design Hence,
Self-compacting mortar (SCM) is a precondition of the
successful production of SCC.
Tests on fresh mortar
EFNARC 2002 (European Federation of National Trade
Associations) is the only available standard which is dedicated to
special construction chemicals and concrete systems.
They are mini slump cone test to measure the relative slump of the
mortar as well as spread of the mortar and mini V-funnel test to
measure the rate of flow or viscosity of the mortar.
Instead of mini V-funnel test, T20 from the mini slump cone test
can be used as an indication of rate of flow or viscosity of the
mortar spread as conducted by Shekarchi.
As T20 indicates the intended viscosity of mortar during this test,
it is concluded that it is the best replacement of mini V-funnel test.
Practically, it is very much feasible to have a single test apparatus to
measure both spread and viscosity of mortar so that rigorous
mortar tests can be reduced.
Mini slump cone and graduated glass plate

With this test apparatus, both viscosity and spread of the mortar can be measured from
a single test. The following can be obtained from this test
1.Determination of spread
2.Determination of
3. Determination of consistence retention
Li et al. found that both the 7-day and 28-day
compressive and flexural strengths of cement mortars
mixed with nano-Fe2O3 and nano-SiO2 were higher
than those of a plain cement mortar, and the
mechanism suggested by the scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) study was that the nanoparticles
filled up the pores and reduced Ca(OH)2 compound
among the hydrates.
Properties of nano :

Diameter/nm Surface volume ratio/(m²/g) Density/(g/cm³) Purity/%

15±5 163±20 <0.10 >99.9

Properties of nano
:
Diameter/nm Surface volume ratio/(m²/g) Density/(g/cm³) Purity/%
15±2 159±18 <0.15 >99.9
Nano
the influences of nano-Al2O3 on workability and compressive
strength of binary blended concrete has been investigated. The
reason for using Al2O3 as a partial replacement by cement is the
C-A-H (lime alumina- calcium sulfate) gel formation in concrete.
The major constituent of a pozzolana is the alumina that can be
amorphous or glassy.
This component reacts with calcium hydroxide produced from
the hydration of calcium aluminates. The rate of the pozzolanic
reaction is proportional to the amount of surface area available
for reaction. Therefore, it is possible to add nano-Al2O3 of a high
purity (99.9%) and a high Blaine fineness value (60 m2/g) in
order to improve the characteristics of cement mortars
Effects of nano
and nano :
The addition of nano of high purity improves the
characteristics of concretes, in terms of higher split
tensile strength and flexural strength. The use of these
particles up to maximum replacement level of 2.0%
produces concrete with improved strength. However,
the ultimate strength of concrete
was gained at 1.0 wt% of cement replacement.
Conclusion
The incorporation of nanoparticles (Fe2 O3, Al2O3,
TiO2, and SiO2) results in the increased compressive
and flexural strengths of concrete as well as mortar.
Hence further study of the effects of nano particles
which probably could improve the mechanical and
physical properties of cementitious composites is
inherent.
The direction of development should be done towards
the possibility of increasing the durability of concrete
using nano materials.
 O U
K Y
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