CD07-002

MIX DESIGN OF STRUCTURAL SELF-COMPACTING

CONCRETE USING VOID-BULK DENSITY METHOD
N. Abdizadeh1, A.A. Zekavati2, H. Afshin3
M.Sc Student, Civil Eng. Faculty, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran
2
M.Sc Student, Civil Eng. Faculty, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran
3
Associated professor in Civil Eng. Faculty, Sahand University of technology, Tabriz, Iran
1

ABSTRACT
Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) was firstly developed in Japan in 1987.
(Alternative: Pioneering works on Self Compacting Concrete returns to 1980s in
Japan) In recent years, much research has been conducted in other to achieve a
reasonable and also suitable mix design method for controlling the compaction
experiment and determination of the compliance particular trait of SCC. But, just a
few researches have been done in to propose a mix design method that can have
both of highly fluid state and good viscosity, simultaneously. SCC is a special kind
of concrete that can flow through and fill the gaps of reinforcement and corners of
molds without any need for vibration and compaction during the placement
process. In this paper Void-Bulk Density mix design method for structural SCC is
investigated. In this method, firstly, the relationship between the void volume (or
density of combined aggregates) and coarse-to-total aggregate volume ratio is
established by packing different amounts of coarse and fine aggregates following
ASTM C 29/C 29M, using the void volume of the dry binary aggregate (fine and
coarse), is determined. Then, based on the optimum ratio that results from
minimum void of aggregate and minimum bulk density, mix design is
accomplished and finally in order to increase the flowability of the concrete have
been added, some excess paste via reducing ratio of volume aggregate in unit
volume concrete. Obtained results of the experiments on fresh concrete (Slump
flow, L-box, V-funnel) and hardened concrete (compressive strength, tensile
strength, elastic moduli and durability) show that this method is appropriate for
SCC. In this study nine different SCC mixtures having the volume of paste and the
ratio between sand and gravel as variables were compared with eight different
mixtures of conventionally vibrated concrete (CVC).
Keywords: Self-compacting concrete, compressive Strength, Durability, elastic
moduli, Mix design
1. INTRODUCTION
The development of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC), also referred to as SelfConsolidating Concrete and High-Performance Concrete, has recently been
one of the most important developments in the building industry. It is a kind of
concrete that can flow through and fill gaps of reinforcement and corners of

1000 / Mix Design of Structural Self-Compacting Concrete.

moulds without any need for vibration and compaction during the pouring process.
It can be used in pre-cast applications or for concrete placed on site. SCC results in
durable concrete structures, and saves labour and consolidation noise. Pioneering
work in the development of SCC was carried out by Okamura [1] and Okamura
and Ouchi [2], which will henceforth be referred to as Japanese Method. The
method suggests that the gravel content in the concrete mix corresponds to 50% of
its packed density, and that in the mortar the sand content corresponds to about
50% of its packed density (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Schematic Composition of SCC [5]

This independent consideration of gravel and sand, results in SCC that has a
relatively high content of paste. Many SCC mixes therefore attain a higher strength
than actually required [3,4]. In the Netherlands, and many other European
countries, the Japanese Method has been adopted and used as a starting point for
the development of SCC [5]. More recently, Su et al. [6] and Su and Miao [7]
developed an alternative method for composing SCC, henceforth referred to as
Chinese Method. The Chinese Method starts with the packing of all aggregates
(sand and gravel together), and later with the filling of the aggregate voids with
paste. The method is easier to carry out, and results in less paste. This saves the
most expensive constituents, namely cement and filler, and concrete of normal
strength is obtained. This will also favour the technical performance of the
concrete, as the largest possible volume of aggregate is advantageous in regard to
strength, stiffness, permeability, creep and drying shrinkage.
Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is a highly flowable, yet stable, concrete that
can spread readily into place, fill the formwork, and encapsulate the reinforcement,
if present, without any mechanical consolidation and without undergoing any
significant separation of material constituents. The introduction of the modern SCC
is associated with the drive towards better quality of concrete pursued in Japan in
late 1980s, where the lack of uniform and complete compaction had been identified
as the primary factor responsible for poor performance of concrete structures. SCC
has many advantages over conventional concrete such as:
Eliminating the need for vibration;
Decreasing the construction time and labor cost;

 3rd International Conference on Concrete & Development / 1001

2. MIXTURE DESIGN PROCEDURES FOR SCC

Several design procedures based on scientific theories or empirical experiences
have been proposed for SCC [7-8]. In general, these procedures fall into the
following two categories: 1) combination of high-range water-reducing admixture
and high content of mineral powders, and 2) combination of high-range waterreducing admixture and viscosity-modifying admixture (VMA) with or without
defoaming agent. Figure 2 illustrates the general principles for the design of SCC,
as considered from the excess paste theory. The conventional concrete design
method begins with the determination of the amounts of water and cement, and
ends with the calculation of the amount of aggregates. Because aggregates are
much less expensive and more stable than cement pastes, a quality concrete should
contain as much aggregate and less cement paste as possible. Thus, the most
reasonable approach to determine the amounts of cement pastes for the concrete
should be based on the characteristics of the aggregates used and of the concrete
designed. In this paper, a procedure has been developed to design SCC using a
combination of the least void volume for a binary aggregate mixture, excess paste
theory [9-10] and ACI 211.2,Standard Practice for Selecting Proportions for
Structural Concrete [11].
Figure 2(a) shows compacted aggregate particles. In order to obtain a concrete
mixture with proper workability, it is necessary to have not only sufficient amount
of cement paste to fill the voids among aggregate particles, but also enough paste
to form a thin layer of coating on the surface of aggregates to overcome some
frictions between aggregate particles, as shown in Figure 2(b). Without a film of
cement paste around aggregates as a lubricant, the movement between aggregates
would be difficult. To further increase the workability of the concrete mixture to
become a self-consolidating concrete, it is necessary to increase the volume of
excess paste or the distance between aggregate particles, as shown in Figure 2(c).
The required volume of excess paste is dependent on gradation, shape, and surface
texture of the aggregates used, and can be determined through laboratory
experiments for concrete mixtures with desired properties.
To determine the volume of filled paste and excess paste, the void volume of the
dry binary aggregate (fine and coarse) mixtures should be determined first. The
relationship between void volume or density of combined aggregates and coarseto-fine aggregate volume ratio can be established by packing different amounts of
coarse and fine aggregates following ASTM C 29/C 29M,19 as shown in Figure 3.
It can be seen from Figure 3 that the lowest void volume for the combined coarse
and fine aggregates used in this project is around 280 L/m3 when the coarse-to-fine
aggregate volume ratio is 0.4.
The target compressive strength fc of the designed SLC was 28 MPa (4000 psi) at
28 days using ASTM Type I Portland cement. Because no statistical strength data
are available for this concrete, ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for
Structural Concrete requires that an average strength of the tested concrete at 28
days be fc + 8 MPa (1200 psi), or 36 MPa (5200 psi). ACI 211.2 provides
guidelines on relationships between compressive strength and cement content, and
relationship between compressive strength and water cement ratio (w/c). Based on

1002 / Mix Design of Structural Self-Compacting Concrete.

the strength requirement and ACI 211.2, a cement content of 420 kg/m3 and a w/c
of 0.48 were used in this study. The volume of excess paste was determined by
experiments.
Void

Aggregate

)a(

Add paste
Filled paste

)b(

Aggregate

Excess paste

Add more paste

Filled paste

Aggregate
Thickness of excess paste

)c(

Excess paste

Figure 2. Scheme of compacted aggregate and concrete mixtures.

Figure 3. Effect of coarse-to-total aggregate volume ratio on bulk density and void
volume of binary aggregate mixture consisting of coarse lightweight aggregate and
fine natural siliceous sand

 3rd International Conference on Concrete & Development / 1003

Different volumes of combined aggregates were replaced by cement paste with the
same property. It was found that a replacement of 20% aggregate (by volume) by
excess paste would give the concrete the required flowability and segregation
resistance. The workability of the concrete mixture was adjusted by using a highrange water-reducing admixture. During the mixture proportioning, the cement
content was fixed at 420 kg/m3; the rest of the paste was made from powders, such
as Limestone and Silica fume.
Bulk Density (Unit Weight) and Voids in Aggregate
Bulk Density-calculate the bulk density for the rodding, jigging, or shoveling
procedure as follows:
M = (G T ) / V

Or

M = (G T ) F

Where:
M = bulk density of the aggregate, (kg m 3 ) ,
G = mass of the aggregate plus the measure, kg ,
T = mass of the measure, kg ,
V = volume of the measure, m 3 , and
F = factor for measure, m 3 .

Figure 4. Cylindrical metal measure with Tamping Rod and piece of plate glass

Void Content-Calculate the void content in the aggregate using the bulk density
determined by either the rodding, jigging, or shoveling procedure, as follows:
%Void =

100 [( S W ) ( M )]
S W

Where:
M = bulk density of the aggregate, (kg m 3 ) ,
S = bulk specific gravity (dry basis) as determined in accordance with Test Method
C 127 or Test Method C 128, and
W = density of water, 998 (kg m 3 ) .

1004 / Mix Design of Structural Self-Compacting Concrete.

Relative Density (Specific Gravity) (OD)Calculate the relative density (specific

gravity) on the basis of oven-dry aggregate as follows:
Relative density (specific gravity) (OD) = A /( B C )
Where:
A = mass of oven-dry test sample in air, g,
B = mass of saturated-surface-dry test sample in air, g, and
C = apparent mass of saturated test sample in water, g.
Powder Volume-Calculate the powder volume as follows:
V P = VW + V C V EXP Void

Where:
V P = Powder Volume (lit )
VW = Water Volume (lit )
VC = Cement Volume (lit )
V EXP = Excess Paste Volume (lit )
Void = Void Volume (lit )
3. MIX DESIGN OF STRUCTURAL SCC USING VOID-BULK DENSITY
METHOD
Nine batches of concrete were designed using the same mixture proportions, as
shown in Table 1.
Concrete mixtures were mixed in a high-speed shear mixer. The properties of
freshly mixed concretes were determined as described in the following. For each
batch, two 100x200mm cylinders were cast for splitting strength testing and six
100x100x100mm cube were cast for compressive and elastic moduli testing. The
specimens were cast in one layer without any compaction or vibration. After
casting, all the molded specimens were taken to a fog room at 232C. The curing
and testing of these specimens for measurement of different properties are
described in the following.

Mixture
No.
SCC1
SCC2
SCC3
SCC4
SCC5
SCC6
SCC7
SCC8
SCC9

Table 1: Mixture proportions of SCC

Coarse
Sand Water Cement silicafume
ggregate
684
884
191
458
46
686
886
190
459
48
699
907
169
429
36
709
918
165
443
71
711
924
180
444
63
712
925
188
455
134
705
917
186
451
87
917
190
397
92
683
692
900
205
439
116

limestone

sp

149
149
165
83
107
0
61
110
33

6.8
7.15
7.01
10.10
9.8
10.40
9.47
9.38
10.10

 3rd International Conference on Concrete & Development / 1005

3.1. Slump Flow Test

The slump flow test measures the horizontal free flow of SCC by using a regular
slump cone. It was first developed in Japan for use in assessment of flowability of
underwater concrete. This is a simple, rapid test procedure and is suitable for
construction site use. The slump cone was filled with concrete mixtures without
rodding, and then lifted up vertically. The diameters of spread mixtures in four
directions after unconfined lateral spread were measured, and the average of the
four measurements was used as the flowability of the concrete mixture. The slump
flow of the mixtures was measured at 30, 60, and 90 min after the addition of
mixing water to examine how the flowability of SCLC mixtures changed with
time. Between measurements, the SCC mixtures were stored in a bucket covered
with a damp cloth to avoid moisture loss.

3.2. V-funnel test

A V-funnel, as shown in Figure 5, was used to determine the flowability of the
concrete. The funnel was filled with a concrete mixture without rodding or
tamping, then the trap door at the bottom was opened to allow concrete to flow out
under gravity. The time from opening the trap door until complete discharge of the
concrete mixture was recorded as an indication of the flowability of the concrete.

Figure 5. Schematic illustration of V-funnel

3.3. L-box test

L-box tests assess the filling and passing ability of SCC. Serious lack of stability
(segregation) can also be observed easily during the testing. The testing apparatus
is shown in Figure 6. The vertical section was filled with a concrete sample without
rodding or tamping, and then the sliding door was lifted. The time for concrete
mixture to flow to the end of the horizontal section was recorded, and the distance
H1 and H2 were measured. The flow time can give an indication of flowability.
The ratio H2/H1 is called the blocking ratio. Obvious blocking of coarse
aggregates behind the reinforcing bars can be visually observed easily.

1006 / Mix Design of Structural Self-Compacting Concrete.

Figure 6. Schematic illustration of L-box

Table 2: Properties of freshly mixed SCLC mixtures
Mixture
no

Slump
flow (mm)

Slump
flow (s)

V-funnel
(s)

L-Box
H2/H1,%

L-Box
flow t1 (s)

Segration
resistance

Density
kg/m3

SCC1

615.0

2.75

7.10

0.900

0.73

GOOD

2416.67

SCC2

625.0

2.65

6.70

0.910

0.54

GOOD

2425.00

SCC3

610.0

3.31

12.42

0.785

1.01

GOOD

2412.50

SCC4

655.0

4.05

9.25

0.875

0.68

GOOD

2400.00

SCC5

710.0

1.18

6.12

0.895

0.51

GOOD

2439.38

SCC6

585.0

2.25

6.45

0.805

0.74

GOOD

2424.38

SCC7

690.0

1.29

6.02

0.835

0.46

GOOD

2416.67

SCC8

670.0

1.28

5.88

0.885

0.43

GOOD

2397.78

SCC9

600.0

1.19

5.94

0.825

0.45

GOOD

2400.00

Table 3: Mixture proportions of CVC

Mixture
no.

Coarse
aggregate

Sand

Water

Cement

silicafume

limestone

sp

CVC1

691

895

176

393

81

180

5.86

CVC2

1062

806

159

413

36

6.88

CVC3

1042

877

148

385

38

7.16

CVC4

1041

914

138

352

39

7.45

CVC5

1001

849

165

447

23

7.9

CVC6

1038

886

146

426

22

8.80

CVC7

1040

823

167

437

22

7.05

CVC8

1071

884

156

372

20

7.16

 3rd International Conference on Concrete & Development / 1007

ine different SCC mixtures, using the volume of paste and the relative amount of
sand and gravel as variables, and four different mixtures of CVC were made
(Tables 1 and 3). Natural sand and gravel with a high percentage of well rounded
particles was used with a maximum grain diameter of 12.5 mm for SCC and 19.5
mm for CVC.
4. RESULT
The compressive strengths of SCC and CVC showed similar values for an identical
w/b ratio (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Compressive Strength at 28 days versus w/b ratio

The average E-modulus of SCC was about 8% lower than that of CVC for an
identical compressive strength (Figure 8).

Figure 8. E-modulus versus Compressive Strength, both at 28 days

1008 / Mix Design of Structural Self-Compacting Concrete.

There was no significant difference in the relation between compressive and

splitting tensile strength of SCC in comparison with CVC although the values for
SCC showed a relatively high standard deviation (Figure 9).

Figure 9. Splitting tensile strength versus Compressive Strength at 28 days

5. CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of this study, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. SCLC can be designed using a combination of the least void volume for a
binary aggregate mixture, excessive paste theory, and ACI standard practice
for selecting proportions for structural concrete. Both ground Limestone
powder and Silicafume can be used satisfactorily as powder for making up the
excessive paste for SCC.
2. Differences in the properties of SCC and CVC used in this study were mainly
caused by their relative volume of paste:
3. The E-modulus of SCC was about 8% smaller than that of CVC for an
identical compressive strength.
4. At the age of 28 days SCC and CVC displayed the same compressive and
splitting tensile strength with a constant w/b ratio.
REFERENCES
1. H. Okamura, Self-compacting High-Performance Concrete, Concrete
International 19 (7) (1997) 50-54.
2. H. Okamura, M. Ouchi, Self-Compacting Concrete-development, present, and
future, RILEM, Proc. 1st International RILEM Symposium on SelfCompacting Concrete, 1999, pp. 3-14.
3. H. Ter Welle, Betoncentrale Twenthe, Hengelo, The Netherlands, Personal
communications (2003).
4. B. Bos, BAS, Venray, The Netherlands, Personal communications (2003).

 3rd International Conference on Concrete & Development / 1009

5. F.M.L. Ernst, Onderzoek zelfverdichtend beton. MSc Thesis TUE/CCO/00-09,

Eindhoven University of Technology, Faculteit Bouwkunde, Capaciteitsgroep
Constructief Ontwerpen, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 2000 (in Dutch).
6. N. Su, K.C. Hsu, H.W. Chai, A simple mix design method for SelfCompacting Concrete, Cement and Concrete Research 31 (2001) 1799-1807.
7. Okamura, H., and Ozawa, K., Mix Design for Self-Compacting Concrete,
Concrete Library of Japan Society of Civil Engineers, No. 25, June 1995, pp.
107-120.
8. Hwang, C. L., and Chen, Y. Y., The Property of Self-Consolidating Concrete
Designed by Densified Mixture Design Algorithm, Proceedings of the 1st
North American Conference on the Design and Use of Self Consolidating
Concrete, Nov. 2002, pp. 121-132.
9. Kennedy, C. T., The Design of Concrete Mixes, ACI JOURNAL,
Proceedings V. 36, Feb. 1940, pp. 373-400.
10. Oh, S. G.; Noguchi, T.; and Tomosawa, F., Toward Mix Design for Rheology
of Self-Compacting Concrete, Proceedings of the first RILEM International
Symposium, . Skarendahl and . Petersson, eds., Stockholm RILEM
Publications, France, Sept. 1999, pp. 361-372.
11. ACI Committee 211, Standard Practice for Selecting Proportions for
Structural Lightweight Concrete (ACI 211.2-98), American Concrete
Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich., 1998, 20 pp.