MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is a new concept for fresh and
hardened concrete and refers to the ability of fi-esh mixtures to deform and
undergo change in shape and pass through obstacle under its own weight
without exhibiting segregation and to ensure proper filling of the formwork.
An experimental investigation was conducted to study the properties of
hardened self-compacting concrete (SCC) and its bond strength. In this study,
the hardened properties of (SCC) containing different sizes of coarse aggregate
(20, 14 and 10 mm) were experimentally investigated and compared with those
of conventional concrete. The effect of different dosage of viscosity 'enhanced
admixture (VEA) (0,0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2% of cement weight) on the properties of
hardened concrete are also discussed in this work. The mechanical properties of
hardened self-compacting concrete (SCC) were investigated in terms of
standard compressive strength and splitting tensile strength. Bond strengths
were also determined for reinforcing bars embedded in concrete according to
the Rilem test specification.
Results from these tests show that higher size of coarse aggregate was
found more suitable to ensure high compressive and tensile strength than
corcrete made by smaller size of aggregate. A significant increase in bond
strength was found when using higher size of coarse aggregate especially when
comparing (SCC) to ordinary concrete. Also, higher values of compressive,
tensile and bond strengths were obtained when using viscosity enhanced
admixture (VEA) with a ratio of 1.5% of the cement weigh