Behaviour of Fresh Concrete

CE 342 Concrete Technology

Prof. Ravindra Gettu
IIT Madras
 Requirements in the Fresh State

• Ease of mixing and transportation

• Uniformity within a batch and between
batches
• Ability to fill the form completely
• Ability to be placed and compacted fully
without a high energy requirement
• Absence of segregation during placing and
consolidation
• Capable of being finished properly
 Testing of Fresh Concrete
Slump test

• Developed in the USA around 1910.

• The apparatus is called the Abrams'
cone.
• Measures the difference in height of a
fresh sample moulded in a truncated
cone, after the mould is removed.
• Most widely used test on fresh
concrete.
• Very useful for rapid and continuous
checking of the uniformity of concrete
supply.
• Susceptible to operator error.
 Testing of Fresh Concrete
Slump test
Types of slump Additional check
(a) True slump The slumped concrete is lightly tapped
(b) Shear slump (lack of with the rod. This leads to collapse in a
cohesion, harsh mix) harsh mix (above) and increase in slump in
(c) Collapse slump (lean or wet a cohesive mix (below). Both concretes
mix) have the same slump!

Mindess & Young

Testing of Fresh Concrete
Vebe test

• Developed in Sweden in the 1940s.

• Measures the time taken to remould a
fresh sample, cast in the shape of a
truncated cone, into a cylindrical
container, under vibration and pressure
(from transparent disk placed on top).
• Test is applicable to low workability,
stiff, dry mixes.
• Results reflect the amount of energy
required to remould and compact a
given amount of concrete.
• Difficult to pick end of test since the
wetting of the disk may not be uniform.
Vebe Consistometer
 Testing of Fresh Concrete

Flow/spread table test

• Developed in Germany in the 1930s.

• The test is known as the DIN flow table test.
• Measures the spread of a fresh sample moulded in a
truncated cone and allowed to slump when the mould is
removed, after the table has been jolted in a controlled
manner.
• Useful for concretes with high workability.
• Clearly susceptible to operator error.
• For properly done tests, the standard deviation is
around 2 cm. However, testing errors can lead to
differences of upto 10 cm in spread measurements.
 Testing of Fresh Concrete
Relation between Flow table test and Slump test results
 Factors that Affect Workability

• Water content
• Increase in water content increases workability
• Excess water causes segregation
• Cement content
• Increase in cement content increases workability
• Excess cement can lead to over cohesive and sticky mix
• Use of finer or more angular-shaped aggregates will lead to
a higher water content for the same workability
• Mineral admixtures tend to increase the cohesiveness of the
concrete
• Chemical admixtures affect workability positively or
negatively, depending on the type and dosage
 Factors that Affect Workability:
Aggregate type

Water demand of concrete

Slump (mm) 0 – 10 10 – 30 30 – 60 60 - 180
VeBe (s) >12 6 – 12 3–6 0-3
Dmax Aggregate
(mm) type
Crushed 180 205 230 250
10
Rounded 150 180 205 225
Crushed 170 190 210 225
20
Rounded 135 160 180 195
Crushed 155 175 190 205
40
Rounded 115 140 160 175
Giaccio & Zerbino
 Effect of Time and Temperature on
Workability
• Slump loss with time
• Concrete stiffens with time due to the absorption of water
by the aggregates, evaporation and initial hydration
reactions.
• Higher the initial workability, the greater the slump loss.
• Rate of slump loss is higher in richer mixes.
• Effect of temperature
• Slump decreases with increase in temperature
• Slump loss is higher at higher temperatures
 Bleeding of Placed Concrete
• The settling of the aggregates during consolidation of the concrete
normally forces excess water and some cement to rise.

• This leads to weaker zones at the top surface (laitence), and below
reinforcing bars and coarse aggregates due to the accumulation of
water.

Young et al.
 Rheological Behaviour
Rheometer or Viscometer

Principle
 vmax

dv/dy = tan y ≈ ˙
˙ = velocity gradient
(or shear strain rate)

 = shear stress

Bartos et al.
 Rheological Behaviour
(5)
 (4) m
(3)
(2)
(1) (1)
(2)
m
(3) (4)
0
˙ ˙
• Newtonian liquid (1): -˙ curve is linear;
viscosity m is a constant {≠f()}
˙
• Non-Newtonian liquids: m=f() ˙

– Shear-thinning or pseudoplastic (2)

– Shear thickening or dilatant (3)
– Yielding + shear-thinning (4): shear-thinning with
yield stress 0
– Yielding + linear (Bingham) (5): =0+mp ˙
 Rheological Behaviour

Hysterisis loop

˙

• Shear thinning liquids exhibit hysterisis loops

• When consequent loops are similar to the first, the
material is said to be thixotropic
 Rheological Behaviour
Results from Tattersall rheometer

• Cement paste, mortar and

concrete exhibit Bingham type
behaviour in the fresh state.
 = 0+mp ˙

0 is the yield shear stress

mp is the plastic viscosity

• Cement-based materials are

also thixotropic.

Young et al.
 Rheological Behaviour
Effect of water on the rheological parameters (Bingham model)

0 Increase in water content

decreases 0 and mp
reference

+ water

mp
 Rheological Behaviour
Effect of admixtures on the Bingham parameters

0 • Increase in water content

decreases 0 and mp

+ Air entraining reference • Increase in air entraining agent

mainly causes a decrease in mp
agent

• Increase in water reducer or

+ water superplasticizer mainly causes a
decrease in 0
+ superplasticizer
+ water
reducer

mp
 Rheological Behaviour
Effect of binder composition on the Bingham parameters
400
0 cement
20% 300 • Increase in silica fume leads to
200 kg/m3 higher 0, except at low
dosages
10%

reference

Data for concretes with the denoted

4% Silica fume
substitution dosage of silica fume,
mp for different cement contents.
 Rheological Behaviour
Effect of time on the Bingham parameters

0 90 min. After mixing, the value of 0

increases with time (age)

60 min.

30 min.

10 min. Data for concretes with same slump

0% 0.8%
1.6% value. For higher superplasticizer
2.4% SP
dosage, there is a lower water
mp
content, and the concrete is more
viscous.
 References
• Workability and Rheology of Fresh Concrete:
Compendium of tests, Eds. P.J.M. Bartos et al., RILEM
Publ., Bagneux, France, 2002
• Concrete, S. Mindess and J.F. Young, Prentice-Hall, USA,
1981
• Properties of Concrete, A.M. Neville, Pearson Education,
Delhi, 2004
• The Science and Technology of Civil Engineering
Materials, J.F. Young, S. Mindess, R.J. Gray and
A. Bentur, Prentice Hall, 1998
• Concrete: Microstructure, properties and materials,
P.K. Mehta and P.J.M. Monteiro, Indian Concrete Institute,
Chennai, 1999