Evaluation of the robustness of SCC

Abstract

Self-compacting concrete is generally less tolerant to changes in the characteristics and dosages of its constituents. The present work analyzes the robustness of a typical SCC, in terms of the fresh properties and strength, when changes are made in the dosages of the constituents within the tolerances that could occur in ready mix concrete plants. The results indicate that the most critical changes that can render an SCC unacceptable are excess cement, excess fly ash, less fly ash, less water, excess superplasticizer, excess sand and excess gravel. It was also observed that the most sensitive tests for robustness evaluation are the slump flow and the J-ring tests. The incorporation of a viscosity modifying admixture improved the robustness of the SCC significantly