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In the rst lecture we saw how material science is dened as:



The study of how composi:on AND processing aect microstructure and how
microstructure aects proper:es

In the case of civil engineering materials and in par:cular concrete, the proper:es of
interest can be divided in
- SoG State: This denes the workability of the material, its
placability (does it need to be vibrated? Can it Self-consolidate)
- Hard State: Structural proper:es as compressive or tensile strength
- Durability: The capacity of the material to maintain its structural func:on
in a dened environment

Concrete is a complex material and predic:ng its proper:es, par:cularly on the long
term is a dicult task. This is in fact a general feature of most materials as
accelerated tes:ng most oGen changes the exposure condi:ons. There is therefore a
risk that gaining :me means loosing representa:veness.

For prac:cal purposes, one therefore aRempts to set guidelines for formula:on and
use that include as best possible exis:ng experience together with conceptual
understanding. In this lecture, it is aRempted to explain some of the basics that
govern concrete proper:es.

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In the lecture on cemen:tous materials, we had seen how cemen::ous materials go
from being a pasty material to one that can bear load, by increasing the volume
frac:on of solids in the system.

This takes place by chemical reac:on between anhydrous phases and water to
produce hydrates that chemically bound water in their structure

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We also saw that there is a rela:vely well dened amount of water that can react
with cement. This is around a value of 0.28. Above this, the excess water ends up as
pores.
There are dierent types of pores and the most cri:cal ones are the capillary pores as
water transport in them is much faster.
Capillary pores are obtained once W/C is above about 0.4.

All water added above this leads to increasing capillary porosity.

The exercises should have convinced you on how the increase in water content
inuences the amount of porosity and how this in turn aects mechanical proper:es
as the elas:c modulus.

Moreover, you should have seen how the reac:vity of C2S, being lower than that of
C3S leads in an ini:al phase, to higher porosi:es.
On the long term, C2S consumes more water, so it can lead to higher ul:mate
strength. However, for that it must be given enough :me and prac:ce does not oer
that.

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The European Norm EN 197-1 defines different types of cements. These are
noted Cem n with n from I to V and followed by some letters that give
additional addition.
Cem I is ordinary Portland cement. It can contain up to 5 % secondary
material are allowed, which is typically used to include add limestone.
Cem II are still given the tem Portland cement. They contain however a
supplementary cementious material in limited amounts.
For most cases the second letter A means that the replacement level is
between 6 and 20%, while the letter B means that it is between 21 and 35%.
For silica fume amounts do not excess 10%. Different letters then used to
indicate the nature of the SCM
S = Slag (Schlacke)
D = Silca fume (Slicastaub)
L= Limestone (Kalkstein)
LL = Limestone (Kalikstein) (with a slightly larger organic residue)
Cem III are slag cements there, there is only one letter and it indicates that the
level of cement replacement (see table above)
Cem IV are pozzoloanic cements.
These are produced in regions that have volcanic ashes or minerals
Cem V is a composite cement that contains slag and pozzolans.

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The outline for this lecture is that we will have four parts

1) In the rst part we will nish cement hydra:on, looking at factors that aect it
In par:cular we we look at SCMs.
These can be added either at the cement or the concrete produc:on stage or both.
This varies from country to country.

2) In part two we will examine some main aspects of concrete mix design
Aggregates and their grading will be considered as well as the role of water

3) Hardened state proper:es are part three
Here we will examine the role of water and aggregates on dierent proper:es

4) We will nish with fresh state proper:es
We will build upon what was presented about rheology in a previous lecture
and examine how these proper:es can be modied.

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Fly-ash (Flugasche)
Fly-ash is a waste product from coal burning power plant and is recuperated in
the electrofilters of the chimneys.

Fly-ash particles are mostly round and contain silica that can react with CH
through a pozzolanic reaction to form C-S-H. This reaction is however slow, so
that clinker replacement by fly-ash reduces the rate of strength development.

This is the major limitation to high levels of clinker replacement by fly-ash. The
reduced rate of heat release is however interesting in massive objects where
one want to limit thermal cracking due to excessive self-heating.

Fly-ash is also added in concrete production.


This can pose problems in terms of robustness with respect to blended
cements. On the other hand it has a cost-advantage.
In concrete the presence of fly-ash generally improves the workability of the
mix.
Class F fly-ash => (CaO + Fe2O3 + Al2O3) >= 70%
Class C fly-ash => (CaO + Fe2O3 + Al2O3) >= 50%

Class F fly-ash is mainly pozzolanic, while class C is both pozzolanic and

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Silica fume (Silikastaub)

Silica fume, also known as micro-silica, is (used to be) a by-product from


silicon production in an electric arc furnace (Lichtbogenofen). As the process has
improved and the demand increased the cost for silica fume has gone up and it is also
directly produced in as primary material.

It is almost exclusively composed of amorphous silica that can react with CH


in a pozzoloanic reaction. This is favored kinetically but the high specific
surface of this material.
This high specific surface in turn comes form silica fume being made of very
fine primary particles. These fine particles are at best difficult to disperse
(separate and keep separated one from the other). In the worse cases there
are solid necks among these particles.

The high silica content and high specific surface means that over a long period
of time a very high degree of reaction can be obtained. This property is
specifically exploited in high or ultra high performance concrete. Strength is
not the only property to benefit from the reactivity of silica fume. Durability is
also much enhanced as the final microstructure is substantially more refined.
This means for example that chloride ingress is much slower.

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Slag (Schlake)
Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is a residue from steel produc:on in
blast furnaces (blast furnace slag = Hochofenschlacke)
The molten slag is rapidly cooled to confer a glassy structure that is more reac:on.
The material must then be ground to a neness at least comparable to that of
cement.
Its reac:vity substan:ally increases with neness, but this comes at the expense of
raising grinding costs.

Slag has similar chemical composi:on to cement (CaO, SiO2, Al2O3, MgO) but with a
lower CaO content. It is also largely amorphous and the crystalline phases it contains
are not characteris:c of cement

LeG alone with water slag reacts only very liRle or extremely slowly. This changes in
alkaline medium, so that Portland cement greatly ac:vates slag reac:vity. This gives
the term latent hydraulic. Further addi:ons of hydroxides and/or sulfates can also
be benecial.
Despite this, the strength development is substan:ally delayed when clinker is
par:ally replaced by slag. This is par:cularly true at low temperatures.
As for y-ash, slag has mainly long term benets in terms of strength and durability.
Moreover the lower ini:al reac:vity can be useful in massive objects.
Slag can also be added directly at the cement plant, a prac:ce rather seldom in
Europe, but much more spread North America.

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The impact of SCMs on cement are many fold.

First of all it is important to dis:nguish if one is speaking about replacement of
cement (some cement is replaced by SCMs, generally by mass) or addi:ons (same
amount of cement and one adds SCMs). For blended cements it is the rst situa:on
that is of concern and the one we will most be discussing.

The replacement of cement by SCMs generally means that one reduces the amount
of highly reac:ve material by a less reac:ve one. This means that in an ini:al phases
there is a strong reduc:on in strength. It does not necessarily mean that the cement
remaining is reac:ng slower.

This lower amount of cement also means that the self hea:ng and risk of thermally
induced cracking is reduced.

The SCMs that produce hydra:on will over the long term compensate and in some
cases surpass the Ordinary Portland cement in terms of strength or durability. This
depends both on changes in the pore structure and chemistry.

The reac:vity of cement can be changed ini:ally in some cases. This can happen due
to a change in the aluminate-silicate-sulfate referred to in the lecture on cement.

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The dierence between SCMs can be examined on a ternary diagram. For this it is
rst necessary to explain how to read such a diagram.

At each corner of the triangle is located a pure component.

Along a side line the composi:on varies linearly from one to another.

The amount of one component in such a graph is determined as follows
1) Draw a line parallel to the side opposite the corner of the component you are
examining. For SiO2, these would be horizontal lines parallel to the blue lines.
2) The amount is then read on either of the edges that link to that component. In
the above examples, the line linking SiO2 to CaO as well as the one linking SiO2 to
Al2O3.
3) Repeat this for the other components. You then have the frac:ons of the three
components in your mix.

Such plots are oGen combined with isoclines, that can represent proper:es as
mel:ng temperatures.

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Following the explana:ons on the previous slide, the point marked above is
determined to contain

25% Al2O3
25% SiO2
50% CaO

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The above graphs shows the ranges of SCMs, as well as Portland cement and CSH.

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The reac:vity of SCMs can be largely divided between pozzolanic (reacts with CaO)
and hydraulic. As a reminder one speaks of latent hydraulic when a binder can react
alone, but needs to be ac:vated to do so at a reasonable rate.

The chart above shows in a schema:c way the balance between pozzolanic and
hydraulic reac:vity of SCMs and cement.

Note that Slag is the most hydraulic of all SCMs and Silica fume the least.

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Cement can hydrate even if not exposed to liquid water. Humidity from the
atmosphere will indeed be consumed by the anhydrous cement phases. This happens
to dierent extents as shown above.

The most reac:ve phase, C3A, reacts with humidity down to rela:ve humidi:es as
low as ~65%. For C3S the limit is ~85% and C2S ~95%.

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Temperature has a major eect on hydra:on kine:cs.

The above graphs show typical changes in the rate of heat release for C3S (leG) and
cement hydra:on (right).

An increase in temperature means that heat is release earlier and that the maximum
rate of heat release is higher.

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As a thermally ac:vated chemical reac:on the hydra:on of cement can be roughly t
with an Arrhenius law that gives the rate constant as a func:on of an ac:va:on
energy and of the absolute temperature

The above plot give the cumulated heat released as a func:on of :me and for
dierent temperatures.

As compressive strength roughly correlates with the degree of hydra:on, such a plot
can be used to determine the :me needed at a dierent temperature to reach the
strength of a reference sample at a reference temperature

20
Temperature however also aects the density of C-S-H. C-S-H formed at higher
temperatures mobilizes less water, lls less space and this in a durable way (does not
change once the temperature is changed).

As a consequence, equivalent degrees of hydra:on will give higher strength fore
samples hydrated at lower temperatures.

The dierences are clear but not enormous.

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The following video shows a concrete block of 30x30x60 cm adn weighing 140 kgs.

Two holes have been drilled in it.

The holes were then lled with a uid material, based on modied mineral binder
chemistry

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For those doing something else or bored at this :me, its :me to:
-Time to wake up
- Stop reading 20 Minuten
- LiG up your eyes from TV on internet

And look !

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There are many reasons for adding sand and aggregates to make concrete rather
than using just cement paste.

First of all there is the ques:on of cost as sand and aggregates are much cheaper
than cement.

Second, is the fact that large samples of cement paste crack.
Although concrete also cracks, the sand and aggregates lead to an increase in the
number of cracks, but the length of these is reduced. One speaks of micro-cracking.
This is much less problema:c on engineering and durability of the material than the
few larger cracks in cement paste.

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A useful way of thinking about concrete is to consider that the cement paste is the
glue between the sand and aggregates.

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As men:oned on the previous slide, there are many reasons for wishing to increase
the amount of aggregates in concrete. However, one must insure that there remains
enough cement paste to ll the gaps between them. This brings us to exposing some
basic no:ons of par:cle packing.

As seen in metals, the maximum packing of spheres of same size is 74% in a
(hexagonal close pack).

Even if aggregates were spherical and of the same size, one would never reach this,
unless placing them by hand.

A limit that this more realis:c for processing is the so-called random close pack,
which is of 64%. For all types of par:cle shape and size distribu:on, one can keep the
concept that there exists some packing limit, probably consistent with random close
packing. In prac:ce, it would barely be possible to prepare mixes with a higher
content of aggregates. Moreover, the ow proper:es would become increasingly
worse as the volume frac:on of aggregates approaches that limit.

Blow this limit, the system becomes possible to process.

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To understand how ow proper:es vary depending on the amount of par:cles in the
system, it is convenient to use the empirical rela:on proposed by Krieger and
Dougerthy.

This gives the ra:o of the suspension viscosity divided by the viscosity of the
con:nuous phase. For example we could take the viscosity of concrete divided by the
one of cement paste.

It then expresses that normalized viscosity as a func:on of the volume frac:on, of
the maximum packing frac:on and an intrinsic viscosity of the par:cles.

The later is 2.5 for spheres. It changes for other shapes.

The maximum packing can be thought of as a random close packing but is in eect
determined empirically.

The most important feature of this equa:on is that the viscosity diverges as the
volume frac:on of par:cles approaches their maximum packing.

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The graph above represents the Krieger Dougerthy equa:on for spheres, using
volume frac:ons of 054, 0.64 and 0.74.

Note the divergences.

Note also that at low volume frac:on the three curves are equal.

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On this slide, we show what dierent maximum packing means in terms of viscosity.

We start with a volume frac:on of 0.51 (51% of the space is occupied by aggregates).

For phi_max=0.54, the rela:ve viscosity is 50, while for phi_max = 0.64 it is 13 and for
phi_max = 0.74 it is 9.

If we take a volume frac:on of 58%. It is physically impossible to get than large
amount of par:cles in the system for phi_max=0.54.

For phi_max = 0.64, the viscosity is now 50, while for phi_max = 0.74 it is only 18.

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For a given par:cle shape, the maximum packing can be changed by varying the
par:cle size distribu:on.

The easiest way to understand this is that one can start lling the system with the
largest par:cles (leG gure, blue circles).

Then, all the gaps that are large enough are lled by the next largest group of
par:cles (center gure, black par:cles).

This is repeated a certain number of :mes. The right gure shows the third itera:on
of this (red circles).


The rst step of the process is analogue to the inclusion of inters::al atoms in
metals, except that here we are not dealing with a crystalline structure.

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There are dierent models to determined the op:mal par:cle size distribu:on to use
in concrete. Some are completely empirical others theore:cal.

On the conceptual level it is useful to understand the dierent situa:ons.

Above leG is a case where large grains dominate. The space is rst lled with large
aggregates and then some amount of small ones are added in the gaps.

On the right, small grains dominate. The space is rst lled by small par:cles. Then
enough of the small grains are removed to include the number of large grain at hand.

We talk here of binary mixtures without interac:on. This means that one can place
the par:cles regardless of the presence of the others. The sizes are very dierent
one from the other.

33
In contrast a system with complete interac:on, means that the best packing of any
mix is obtained by a complete segrega:on of the components.

These would have very similar sizes but dierent shapes.

34
The intermediate situa:on is one where there is a par:al interac:on. This can be
divided into two parts

1) Loosening.

This takes place when the small par:cles are too large to perfectly t in a gap among
large par:cles. The later are then someone displaced from their ini:al posi:on. The
overall size of the system is increased and the maximum packing is decreased (with
respect to a system without interac:on).


2) Wall eect.
Here the small par:cles in large amounts are too large to pack ideally around the
large grains. The leave gap. The overall system size increases and the maximum
packing decreases (with respect to a system without interac:on).

35
On this graph a schema:c representa:on is given of how the maximum packing
changes when the propor:on of large and small par:cles are changed.

In this specic example, the large par:cles are considered to pack beRer in the rst
place, but this is not necessarily the case.

The total interac:on case, gives a monotonic varia:on from one packing level to the
other.

In contrast, the system without interac:on or with par:al interac:on shows a
maximum at intermediate packing.
In the wide majority of cases, the maximum is closer to the large par:cles than to the
small ones, which is easy to understand intui:vely.

36
The above graph shows a ternary packing for three par:cle sizes. The colored zones
show areas of equal packing.

In this case, the maximum packing is obtained with only few of the intermediate
class.

With real aggregates the later result is explained by the fact that each size has its
own size distribu:on and that the par:cle sizes are not large enough from one class
to another so as to avoid interac:ons.

37
Aggregates can be obtained by crushing rock or by removal from river or sea bed. In
the later case aggregates are rounded while as in the rst case they are angular.

This dierence, together with varia:on in aspect ra:o (ra:o of length to width) has a
big eect on the maximum packing. In turn this eects important proper:es for
prac:ce as Water demand and workability, pumpability. In reality these are
dierent aspects of the same problem.

Indeed, an increase in water demand, means that to obtain the same rheological
proper:es (ow), one needs to add more water. Adding water means that one has
less aggregates per unit volume. One also reduces the viscosity of the con:nuous
phase. Aggregates that pack less well lead to a higher viscosity. To counter this, one
can be tempted to add more water. This is the origin of the term water demand.

Conversely, if the amount of water is xed, an aggregate that packs less well will lead
to a higher viscosity, because the divergence on the Krieger Dougethy curve comes
earlier.

It is important to understand that behind proper:es commonly referred to in
prac:ce, as water demand and workability, there is a basic physical phenomena
of par:cle packing.

38
Various approaches exist to propose idealized grading curves. They are aimed at
reducing the work of a person preparing concrete, making it easier for him to
produce a granular skeleton with a high packing degree.

An old formula:on is due to Fuller and is a square root rela:on.

In this approach, each aggregate frac:on at hand must be sieved to determine the
size frac:on within each of them. One then aRempts to t as best as possible the
idealized curve by varying the propor:on of the dierent sands and aggregates
available.

This sieve analysis must be done regularly as a way of checking for any variability of
the material received. Adjustments may then be needed depending on the result.

39
In the slide above two binary mixes are shown as examples.
They dier by the size of the largest aggregates. Form this example it can see that
this changes means that a change in the frac:on of both components is needed.
Remember that this is however an empirical rela:on.

The second table gives the example of a ternary blend, of which the frac:ons are also
calculated from the Fuller equa:on.

40
The Fuller equa:on assumes that the sizes start at innitely small values. It is
temp:ng to re-write the equa:on in a way that includes a nite minimum size.

This is shown to the right. Remember this example is just for fun and for the next
slide

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The modied equa:on using a minimum size of 1.7 meters, ts extremely well the
size distribu:ons of the football team of Barceleona as men:oned before just for
fun

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44
In what follows, we will examine how various concrete proper:es vary when the
amount of aggregates is changed.

Here it is essen:al to stress that the examples show all keep the SAME water to
cement ra:o. They have the same Paste Quality or in other words the same Glue
between the aggregates. What is changed is just the number of those aggregates.

45
The above graph shows a collec:on of data on compressive strength when the
volume of paste with xed W/C is changed.

Here, we are not looking at the absolute values of each series, but at how each series
varies with the paste volume. Because of this it is convenient to normalize all these
data series as explained on the next slide.

46
For each series, we take a representa:ve value dened as the strength at 300 L/m3.
Each series is divided by that value. For all series, the normalized value at 300 L/m3
(paste) is therefor unity.

We therefore bring all data together in a way much easier to compare.

Underlying this is the assump:on that the strength of concrete is a product between
paste strength and a func:on of the aggregates (amount, shape, size distribu:on,
etc). If this is the case, we expect all data to collapse on a master curve.

47
The above graph shows indeed that all these series of compressive strength, once
normalized collapse of a given master curve.

This makes it easier also to see the general trend of how strength changes with the
volume frac:on of aggregates. When the paste volume is reduced, the compressive
strength increases.

However, this increase is not very important. Indeed, the paste volumes typically
found in SCC (Self Compac:ng Concrete), Ordinary Concrete (OC) and Roller
Compacted Concrete (RCC) are shown. If one wants to stay within systems that can
be processed in a similar way, the varia:on in paste volume is rather small and the
resul:ng change in strength is essen:ally negligible.

It can be noted that there is a large scaRer at high paste volumes, but this is not
important range for prac:cal purposes.

48
The fact that the volume of paste does not aect strength contrasts radically with the
eect of W/C on it.

The eect of W/C on strength has been known for ages. Some of the rst data on this
subject are shown above.

49
The above graph shows the varia:on of normalized elas:c modulus with respect to
paste volume.

Here again, the elas:c modulus increases when the paste volume is reduced, but the
varia:on is not very important.

50
The above graph shows the varia:on of normalized direct tensile strength with
respect to paste volume. Here again, the elas:c modulus increases when the paste
volume is reduced, but the varia:on is not very important within ranges of prac:cal
interest.

51
In the above graph the normalized depth of abrasion is shown. A low value of the
abrasion depth means that the sample has a high abrasion resistance.

Here the varia:ons are more important than before.

52
Drying shrinkage is posi:vely aected by a reduc:on in the paste volume. Here again
the data is ploRed in a normalized form.

53
Creep varies very strongly with the paste content.

However, in the region of prac:cal interest, the above graph lacks in resolu:on to
indicate really how important the eect is.

54
A change in the volume of paste can also aect durability proper:es.
Here we consider the depth of carbona:on. This is the depth at which ingress of CO2
has produce a pH drop of the paste aGer a given :me.

Before looking at the eect of paste volume, we however rst consider here the role
of WATER TO CEMENT ra:o.

The above graph shows that there is a HUGE varia:on with W/C.

Note that the same y-scale will be used on the next graph.

55
The above graph shows a radical contrast with the previous one.

While W/C cause immense varia:ons in the depth of carbona:on, a change in the
paste volume is virtually without eect.

Changes in paste volume are do therefore not pose a problem in situa:on where the
concern for durability comes from carbona:on.

56
In summary, while W/C radically changes most proper:es of concrete, the amount of
aggregates most oGen only has a limited eect.

The property that is most aected by a change in the amount of aggregates is
however the rheology.
This is an important issue as in prac:ce, inadequate rheology is oGen countered by
changing the water content. This can happen despite specica:ons.
Therefore it is important to control the rheology, because otherwise, the pragma:c
solu:on to that is to add water, which in turn messes up all main proper:es of
concrete (engineering and durability).

In the net sec:on we turn to examining important aspects of concrete rheology.

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58
As explained in a previous lecture, concrete is oGen described as a Yield stress uid.
This means that a given stress must be applied for it to start owing.
Once it has started to ow, the stress must be increased to increase the rate of ow.
If this increase is linear, one speaks of a Bingham uid.
If not, (and in general) one speaks of a Herschel Buckley uid.
Rheological measurements are oGen reported as Flow Curves in which the x-axi is
the shear rate and the y-axis the shear stress.
Another representa:on is the Apparent viscosity, which is the ra:o of shear stress
to shear rate (right gure).

The important point is that a yield stress uid has an innite viscosity at zero shear
rate.
A Bingham uid has tends towards a plateau viscosity at innite shear rate.

Processing of concrete takes place at rather low shear rates, so that viscosity is
largely dominated by the yield stress.
In par:cular form lling is determined when the ow is just stopping. This means
that the shear rate is very low.
Consequently the ability of a given concrete to ll a given formwork is largely
determined by its yield stress.

Yield stress is therefore essen:al to concrete processing.

59
Happily enough some very simple tests are directly related to yield stress. This is the
case of Slump or slump ow.

As a reminder, slump is the height drop of a conical sample placed on a horizontal
surface aGer the mold is removed. Slump ow is the diameter of the base aGer the
ow has stopped.

Slump is used for s: concrete and slump ow for uid concrete.

At the beginning of the slump ow the system is conned in the cone and at rest.

60
As soon as the cone is removed the system is no more conned and the sample is
deformed by its own weight. The gravity load is at its highest and the sample starts to
ow rela:vely rapidly.

The above graph represents this by showing the system to be at a high shear rate.

61
As the sample spreads, the stress due to gravity reduces (less height, less pressure).

The stress level is lower and so is the shear rate (the system ows slower).

62
The system is geung even slower

63
Eventually the system stops owing once the stress due to gravity is balanced by the
yield stress (cohesion) of the material.

64
In most cases concrete can be described as a Bingham uid. This means that above
the yield stress, the shear stress increases linearly with the shear rate.

It also means that the rheological behavior can be described by two parameters: yield
stress and plas:c viscosity.

65
Yield stress and plas:c viscosity vary depending on the mix propor:ons of concrete.
Moreover, there varia:on can be described by other terminologies.

A wet concrete typically can mean that the yield stress and/or the plas:c viscosity are
reduced.

A s: concrete, most oGen means that It has a high yield stress. It will not show
much slump.

A viscous concrete, means that although the concrete shows a high slump, it takes a
long :me to reach that condi:on.

66
The yield stress of concrete comes from the existence of a network of aRrac:ve
forces among the ne par:cles in the system which in addi:on to cement can
include slag, y-ash, slag, silica fume, limestone ller, etc.

The aRrac:ve forces give the system a cohesion. Under the eect of shear a
certain number of these bonds can be broken. Once enough of these bonds
are broken the system is capable of ow. Ini:ally, there are groups of
par:cles that can s:ll be s:cking together without preven:ng the system from
owing.

Schema:cally, this describes a transi:on from a solid state to a liquid state.

67
Addi:on of water reduces both the yield stress (intercept) and the plas:c viscosity
(slope)

Addi:on of superplas:cizer only aect the yield stress.

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The eect of air inclusion of air is represented here very schema:cally.
It has liRle eect on yield stress but reduces the plas:c viscosity.

One way of understanding this is that at low shear rate, air bubbles do not deform
much so they behave mainly as solid inclusions that do not contribute to the network
of par:cles s:cking one to the other.

Under ow, the shear forces can poten:ally deform the air bubbles, which is
favorable and leads to a reduc:on of plas:c viscosity.

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Understanding the rheology of concrete is not a trivial task because of the dierent
length scales involved.
One way of looking at the problem is the so-called homogeniza:on approach.
In this, one considers a rst con:nuous phase (matrix) to which par:cles are added
(cement).
This leads to the forma:on of a new matrix at a larger scale of which the proper:es
are obtained by homogeniza:on.
Larger par:cles (sand) are then added to this matrix to produce a material with larger
scale inclusions.
Once again the proper:es of this new matrix are obtained by homogeniza:on.

In terms of rheology, this approach suers from the fact that cement par:cles have a
tendency to s:ck together.
This can give rise to the forma:on of agglomerates (group of par:cles stuck one to
another) of which the size is similar to the gap between sand par:cles, or even
similar to the sand par:cles themselves.
These agglomerates are broken down by shear. Their forma:on can be prevented by
including superplas:cizers.
Overall the system behavior is not easy to predict, but the homogeniza:on approach
remains useful on the conceptual level.

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Par:cles in concrete are subject to various forces the balance of which determines
the system behavior. These forces depend on the par:cle size but not in the same
way. They have typically power law dependences, but not the same power law
exponent.

It results from this the forces that are important for aggregates can be negligible for
silica fume and vice versa.

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The two graphs above illustrate how forces ac:ng on par:cles depend on their size.
All values are indica:ve. They depend on various parameters of which average values
have been taken to give a general sense of how the various forces compare.
By colloidal it is means the forces that cause the par:cles to s:ck together.

The y-axis are forces normalized by the gravity force and given in log-scale.
A value larger than one means that the force in ques:on is more important than
gravity and a value lower than one means that it is less important than gravity.

To the leG is the situa:on in which par:cles are allowed to s:ck together they can
come very close together). To the right is the opposite.

The important features in this graph are to see how from the nest par:cles (silica
fume) to the largest (coarse aggregates) the rela:ve importance of forces changes.

No in par:cular that gravity force is less important for silica fume than colloidal
forces. A consequence of this is that suspensions of silica fume do not tend to
segregate.
For cement, we are in a situa:on where various forces are in the same range:
colloidal, gravity and viscous. Depending on the details, one or another may
dominate.
For comple:on it should be noted that these forces depend also on the volume
frac:on of solids, which is not taken into account here.

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The four cartoons above illustrate some important aspects of concrete stability.

The rst one shows the total volume that will be considered, separa:ng a paste
volume of occulated cement from an aggregate volume where the aggregates are
taking as square of two dierent sizes.

Mixing everything, brakes down the occulated structure to the extend that the
remaining agglomerates (or ocs) are space lling between the aggregates as
shown in Fig. 2. The inten:on here is to indicate that there is a con:nuous network of
par:cles which is self-suppor:ng. Despite their large size, aggregates do not
segregate due to gravity.
This would represent an ordinary concrete. One that would need to be vibrated to be
put into place. The vibra:on brakes down the ocs, making it possible for concrete to
ow. The deocculated system is represented in Fig. 3.

In ordinary concrete, the structure rebuilds very fast and does not allow for
segrega:on. If superplas:cizers are used in such a concrete, there is however a risk
to have a problem of segrega:on. This can be solved as shown in Fig. 4, by replacing
some of the water by addi:onal cement.
If one wants to move to self compac:ng concrete, then one would addi:onally
replace part of the aggregates by paste, to make it possible for the aggregates to

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All the secrets of concrete formula:on good and bad explained with fondue

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More of the same

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Superplas:cizers are organic polymers that are water soluble.
When added to concrete they are rst in the aqueous phase.
From there, they will tend to adsorb onto the surface of par:cles.
In amounts, adsorp:on is most important on the ner par:cles, because they oer
the largest surface for adsorp:on.

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By adsorbing onto the ne par:cles, superplas:cizers can reduce or
eliminate the aRrac:ve interpar:cle forces.

The easiest way to understand this is to think about a magnet. The
aRrac:ve force between a magnet and a metallic surface increases as the
separa:on distance between the magnet and the metal is reduced. The
highest adhesion force is when both are in contact. The same is true for the
colloidal forces responsible for agglomera:on of cement par:cles.

If we now s:ck a thin cardboard layer on the magnet, there will s:ll be an
aRrac:on between the magnet and the metal. However, its magnitude will
be lower. It will be easier to separate both. A thicker cardboard layer would
further reduce the force.

In rst approxima:on, superplas:cizers can be thought of as being this
cardboard layer. Once adsorbed on the cement par:cles, they prevent
other cement par:cles from making close contact. The result is a reduced
cohesion force, which in turn means par:cles can more easily move
independently one from the other. The system can begin to ow.
A last comment is about dimension. The superplasicizer layer is on the
order of 4nm, while the radius of cement par:cle is on the order of 4
microns. So there is about a factor 1000. This is more or less the ra:o
between a human head (20cm?) and the diameter of hair (~20micorns)

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The superplas:cizers most used today are referred to as comb-copolymers.

There structure is essen:ally that of a comb.
They have a backbone that interacts with the surface, It is responsible for adsorp:on.

The teeth of this comb are called side-chains. They do not interact with the surface
and are said to be non-adsorbing.
These side chains tend to coil, The coiled dimension of the side chains largely
determines the thickness of the adsorbed layer. Referring to before that would be
the cardboard layer thickness.
This adsorbed polymer layer is however extremely porous. It does not prevent water
from being in contact with the surface.
Rather the side chains prevent approach by shacking around.

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This picture reemphasizes the role of the adsorbed layer in keeping the enemy at a
fair distance.

However, polymers are not sta:c. You should rather thick of this brave Brit
shacking is weapon around at a very high speed and dening an excluded volume in
which the aggressor cannot penetrate durably.

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Slump = Setzmass
Slump ow = Setsiesmass
Slump ow test = Setzieversuch

As explained in the rst lecture very simple tests are used to evaluate the rheological
proper:es of concrete.
The slump and slump ow are the most used are are represented above.
The two tables give classes according to EU norm 206-1

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Flow table spread = Ausbreitmass

Flow table spread is another widely used test. It is for concrete too s: for slump
ow measurements.

AGer the cone has been removed, the base table on which the test is done is liGed
slightly (couple cm) and dropped 15 :mes.

At the end of these 15 shocks the base diameter of the sample is measured and
reported as ow table spread (FTS)

The table above gives classes of workability from the FTS measurement according to
the European Norm EN 197-1

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Setziemaprfung mit Blockierring (Ring = 300 mm, Stbe: 16 mit 18 mm, h =
125 mm), smb = 700 mm
Slump ow test with J-ring (ring = 300 mm, 16 rods - 18 mm, h = 125 mm), smb =
700 mm
In the J-ring test, a slump ow test is done with a ring on which rebars are mounted
at selected spacing.
This is meant to give an indica:on on how easily the concrete can ow through
rebars

AuslauKrichter fr SVB zur BesMmmung der Trichterauslaufzeit T
Flow funnel for SCC for determining the V-funnel ow Gme T
The V-Funnel is used to measure the :me needed by a self compac:ng concrete to
ow through a sec:on of square sec:on. This :me is mostly related to the plas:c
viscosity of concrete.

The L-box consists in a ver:cal sec:on at the boRom of which there is a trap. The
trap communicates to an open horizontal sec:on at the beginning of which some
rebars can be placed.
AGer opening the trap, the material ows through the rebar. What is then measured
is he height dierence from one side to the other of the horizontal sec:on. There are
various fundamental cri:cisms that can be made about this test, but it is nevertheless
very much used in prac:ce.

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The capacity of concrete to ow through rebars depends:

- Con:nuum proper:es
Yield stress has a big impact.
The capacity to self-level in a formwork is linked to the dimension of the
formwork and the yield stress
In a reinforced structure, the rebars can be seen as reducing the characteris:c
size of the system,

- Finite size eects
Finite size eects occur if the size of the aggregates are too large with respect
to the gap.
Here the role of par:cle size distribu:on has also an important role.
However, as a rule of thumb, one states in general that the largest aggregates
should be at least 1/5 of the smallest gap in the reinforcement. The 1/5 rule is
more use for object dimensions, for rebar spacing, one speaks of 1/3 of the sp

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The design of reinforcement should therefore be preferably by taking nite size eect
of concrete.

In any case the mix design of concrete should not be done overlooking the spacing of
rebars in the structure to be cast.

It is a present area of research to develop design tools that can assist in beRer
compa:bility between rebars structure and concrete mix design

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The formula:on of concrete can lead to very dierent performances. The slide above
shows cross sec:ons of beams having equivalent load baring capacity, along with
their weight per unit length.

It can be seen that from normal reinforced concrete to prestressed concrete there is
a reduc:on in weight.
The dierence to the high performance ber reinforced concrete of brand name
Ducatal (produced by Lafarge) is tremendous.
This material relies heavily on packing op:miza:on of all the granular frac:ons as
well as on reduc:on of the water to cement ra:o and on the inclusion of metallic
bers.
Metallic bers greatly increase the tensile strength of concrete. Here this translates
by a much reduced need for rebars.
The weight of Ductal per unit length is in the same range as a pure steel beam.

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