ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTATION OF

SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE WITH

ADMIXTURE AND FIBRE

A Major Project
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of

Bachelor of Technology
In
Civil Engineerig
by
NAME…
(ROLL No. ………..)

Under the Guidance of

Mr. ……….
(Assistant Professor)
Ramanand Institute of Pharmacy Management

to the

FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

UTTARAKHAND TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY,
DEHRADUN

2023-24
 CERTIFICATE

Certified that NAME….. (ROLL No. 190240714003) has carried out the
research work presented in this thesis entitled “ANALYSIS AND
EXPERIMENTATION OF SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE WITH
ADMIXTURE AND FIBRE” for the award of Bachelor of Technology in Civil
Engineering from UTTARAKHAND TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN
under my supervision. The thesis embodies results of original work, and studies are
carried out by the student himself and the contents of the thesis do not form the basis
for the award of any other degree to the candidate or to anybody else from this or any
other University/Institution.

Signature Signature Signature

Mr. …….. [Link] Singh [Link] Rajput

(Project Guide) (Project coordinator) (Head of Department )

Department of Civil Engineering Department of Civil Engineering Engineering &Technology
(RIPM Haridwar) (RIPM Haridwar) (RIPM Haridwar)

Signature

(External Examiner)

Date -

ii
 ABSTRACT

SCC (Self-Compacting Concrete) is a type of special concrete that plays an

important part in today's construction industry. The major applications of using SCC
are, it can fill the formwork of densely reinforced structure without any vibration or
manual compaction. But SCC does not have globally accepted testing methods for their
fresh concrete properties and standard mix design procedures. This restrains the
development of SCC in construction field. SCC also requires more binder content and
fine aggregate content making the concrete costlier. Fibrous materials are used to
enhance the flexural properties. There are several limitations using steel fibres in
Normally Vibrated Concrete (NVC). One of the main drawbacks of using steel fibres in
NVC is, the density of steel fibres is higher among other composites present in the
concrete and this may lead to isolation of steel fibres from other composites during
improper vibration. The study has been classified into two phases of work. In phase-I
the mix proportion was arrived for M50 grade of concrete using proposed mix design
method. Later a statistical approach was used to optimize the derived mix proportions.
To explore the parameters influencing the rheological and mechanical properties of
SCC, the optimal mix proportion was utilised in phase-I work, with the partial
replacement of cement up to 40% with mineral admixture and variation of micro steel
fibres up to 0.75 percent. The experimentation work was realistically modelled and
evaluated in ABAQUS to gain a better knowledge of the impact of fibres on Reinforced
Concrete structures under bending. The alignment of micro steel fibres was examined in
phase II work. It was observed that using the rheological property of steel fibres in SCC
that may be aligned or oriented along the flow direction and perpendicular to the
loading direction produced tensile strength rather than using micro steel fibres that were
dispersed randomly provided tensile strength.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My deepest gratitude goes to the Almighty and my parents, who are indirectly
the main reason where I am here today. Then, I'd like to express my gratitude to Mr.
Ajay Singh, HOD Civil Engineering Department, and my supervisor, Mr……………
Assistant Professor RIPM Haridwar, for their invaluable guidance, unwavering support,
constant inspiration, and undivided attention provided throughout the thesis preparation
process. I'd want to thank them for providing me with the opportunity to present my
thesis, as well as for their support and assistance whenever it was needed. As a
supervisor, I'd want to thank her for her technical understanding and talents, which
enabled me to complete this task. Her vast knowledge and support inspired me to do
things that appeared tough at first, but as time passed and I began conducting my
research, this work was completed.

I want to thank everyone who is indirectly involved in this work. I'm especially
grateful to Google, Quora, YouTube, and the other millions of websites that provide a
wealth of study materials to students like us from the comfort of our own homes. I've
learned a lot, and these websites are there to help me 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I would like to thank all of the millions of people that publish educational content on the
internet to aid students like me whenever I need it, and I'd also like to thank all of the
amazing people who are mentioned in the reference section for their extraordinary
effort, results, and research on this topic.

I would also like to express my gratitude to each and every faculty member in
my civil engineering department for their knowledge, guidance, encouragement, and
abilities. I would like to express my gratitude to my classmates and friends for their
unwavering support and togetherness.

Signature
Name :-
roll. No. 190240714003
Date:-

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate ...................................................................................................... ii
Abstract.......................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgement .......................................................................................... iv
Table of Contents ........................................................................................... v
List of Tables ............................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ................................................................................................ ix
List of Symbols and Abbreviation .................................................................. x

1 INTRODUCTION 1-5
1.1 GENERAL .................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 FLY ASH....................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 MICRO SILICA ............................................................................................................ 3
1.4 STEEL FIBRES............................................................................................................. 3
1.5 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 5

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 6-9

2.1 GENERAL .................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ....................................................................................... 6
2.3 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 9

3 OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY 10-12

3.1 GENERAL .................................................................................................................. 10
3.2 OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................. 10
3.3 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 11
3.4 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 12

4 MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTATION STUDY 13-47

4.1 GENERAL .................................................................................................................. 13
4.1.1 Cement ............................................................................................. 13
4.1.2 Fly Ash ............................................................................................. 14

v
 4.1.3 Micro silica ....................................................................................... 15
4.1.4 Coarse aggregate ............................................................................... 16
4.1.5 Fine aggregate ................................................................................... 16
4.1.6 Water ................................................................................................ 17
4.1.7 Chemical admixture .......................................................................... 17
4.1.8 Micro steel fibres .............................................................................. 18
4.2 METHODOLOGY-PHASE I ...................................................................................... 18
4.2.1 Fresh concrete properties of SCC ...................................................... 20
4.2.2 Hardened properties of concrete ........................................................ 23
4.2.3 Split Tensile Test .............................................................................. 24
4.2.4 Compressive Strength Testing ........................................................... 25
4.2.5 Flexural Test ..................................................................................... 26
4.3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION-PHASE I.................................................................. 26
4.3.1 Slump flow test ................................................................................. 28
4.3.2 L-Box test ......................................................................................... 29
4.3.3 V-Funnel test .................................................................................... 30
4.3.4 Mechanical properties ....................................................................... 31
4.3.5 Compressive strength ........................................................................ 32
4.3.6 Flexural strength ............................................................................... 33
4.3.7 Split Tensile strength......................................................................... 34
4.4 EXPERIMENTAL AND TEST PROCEDURE FOR REINFORCED CONCRETE
BEAM ......................................................................................................................... 35
4.4.1 Test procedure .................................................................................. 36
4.4.2 Result and discussion ........................................................................ 36
4.5 STUDY ON ALIGNMENT OF MICRO STEEL FIBRES – PHASE II.................. 39
4.5.1 Procedure for aligning the fibres ....................................................... 39
4.5.2 Behavior of beam .............................................................................. 41
4.5.3 UPV testing ...................................................................................... 43
4.5.4 Regression Analysis .......................................................................... 45
4.5.5 Inference of phase – II study ............................................................. 47

vi
5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 48-50
5.1 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 48
5.2 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................ 49

REFERENCES ....................................................................................... 51-52

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

4.1 Physical properties of cement ...................................................................... 13

4.2 Chemical compositions of fly ash ................................................................ 14

4.3 Chemical compositions of micro silica ........................................................ 15

4.4 Physical properties of micro silica ............................................................... 15

4.5 Physical properties of coarse aggregates ...................................................... 16

4.6 Physical properties of fine aggregates .......................................................... 17

4.7 Physical properties of micro steel fibre ........................................................ 18

4.8 Binder Content Replacement and Mix Proportions Quantities...................... 19

4.9 Acceptance Criteria for SCC According EFNARC Guidelines.................... 21

4.10 Advantages of FR-SCC over FR-NVC ........................................................ 22

4.11 Course Plan for Phase-I Study .................................................................... 23

4.12 Rheological properties ..................................................................................31

4.13 Mechanical properties ................................................................................. 32

4.14 Mix ID and the mechanical properties ......................................................... 35

4.15 Flexural Behaviour of Beam Specimens ....................................................... 37

4.16 Mix Proportion for Alignment Study ........................................................... 39

4.17 Mechanical properties ................................................................................. 42

4.18 Velocity criterion for concrete quality grading............................................. 44

viii
 LIST OF FIGURES

1.1 Steel fibres with different aspect ratio .............................................................. 4

4.1 Fly ash........................................................................................................... 14
4.2 Instron tensile testing machine and tested specimens ..................................... 18
4.3 (a) Concrete mix............................................................................................. 27
4.3 (b) V-Funnel flow.......................................................................................... 27
4.3 (c) Flowability............................................................................................... 27
4.4 Slump flow test for different mixes................................................................ 28
4.5 Flowability of different mixes using L-Box test ............................................. 29
4.6 Flowability of different mixes using V-Funnel test......................................... 30
4.7 Compressive Strength at different curing periods ........................................... 32

4.8 Flexural Strength at different curing periods .................................................. 33

4.9 Split tensile strength at various days .............................................................. 34
4.10 Bending stress and C-shape bent bar ............................................................. 35
4.11 Specimen under UTM and filling of prism mould ......................................... 36
4.12 (a) Load Vs Deflection ................................................................................. 38
4.12 (b) Stress Vs Strain graph ............................................................................. 38
4.13 Beam mould and metal sheet ....................................................................... 40

4.14 Mould placed at minimum slope .................................................................. 40

4.15 (a) Randomly distributed micro steel fibres in concrete ................................. 41
4.15 (b) MS-FR-SCC flowing between arranged metal sheet ................................ 41
4.15 (c) Aligned MS-FR-SCC .............................................................................. 41
4.16 Flexural Strength at various curing periods .................................................. 42
4.17 Schematic representation of UPV testing machine ....................................... 43
4.18 Mix ID Vs Flexural Strength at various curing periods ................................. 44
4.19 Flexural strength and the velocity for 7 days ................................................. 45
4.20 Flexural strength and the velocity for 28 days ............................................... 46

ix
 LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

SCC - Self Compacting concrete

NVC - Normally Vibrator Concrete

GGBS - Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

FR- Fibre

SF - Silica Fume

FA - Fly Ash

RHA - Rice Husk Ash

MK - Metakaolin

VMA - Viscosity Modifying Agent

SP - Superplasticizer

EFNARC - European Federation of National Association Responsible for

Concrete

SFRC - Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

MS-FR-SCC - Micro-Steel Fibre Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete

MSF - Micro Silica Fume

FRC - Fiber Reinforced Concrete

LS - Lime Stone Powder

ERMCO - European Ready Mixed Concrete Organization

EFCA - European Federation of Concrete Admixtures Association

BIBM - European Federation for Precast Concrete

x
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL

Concrete is the second most popular or used material. Concrete exemplifies the
importance of in today's world. Cement (binding) compound, fine aggregate (sand),
coarse aggregate, admixtures, and water are the main components of conventional
concrete, which are mixed in various quantities using a vibrator. The increasing growth
of the building sector motivates scientists to produce unique concretes that are both
functional and environmentally friendly. Several studies are underway to improve the
efficiency of concrete, making it more durable, environmentally friendly, high-
strength, and cost-effective.

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) has surpassed Normally Vibrated Concrete

(NVC) as the new trending technique (NVC). The SCC presentation speaks to a notable
innovative propel, which prompts a superior nature of cement, resulting in a faster and
more efficient concrete development process. The SCC is used in the United Kingdom
and a few other parts of Europe. This resulted in a large European research project that
investigated the feasibility of using Self-compacting concrete in both structural design
and building structures, which contained a high amount of binder and superplasticizer
content to ensure satisfactory filling capacity and passing capacities and to avoid
isolation matrices materials.

When compared to the suggested technique, the standard mix design method
necessitates a greater number of trial mixes to acquire the needed mix proportions for
the target strength; this results in time, energy, and cost losses, as well as the creation of
additional industrial wastes. Later, In 2002 EFNARC (European Federation National
Association Responsible for Concrete) published guidelines of fresh concrete that has

1
to satisfy minimum requirements for SCC but does not specify a perfect design to
obtain the mix proportion for fixed characteristic target strength.

Fibre in concrete

Concrete has excellent compression properties but poor tensile properties. The
use of fibres in concrete is not new; it has been practised since the ancient period around
the 19th century. The concept of composite materials dates back to the 1950s. Extensive
research is being conducted to improve the tensile properties of concrete by
incorporating various types of fibres in varying ratios. The addition of fibres aids in the
arrest of the initial internal micro cracks, which are a major cause of concrete failure, as
well as the reduction of shrinkage and the enhancement of impact resistance (Till,
2008).
The addition of fibres to self-compacting concrete makes it the most effective
and efficient concrete when compared to Normally Vibrated Concrete (NVC) with
nearly identical properties. Steel fibres help to enhance different mechanical properties,
imperviousness to fire, lessen the plastic and drying shrinkage of SCC in addition to
improve the sustainability of the SCC. Eventually, incorporation of Macro-Steel fibres
(length more than 30mm) affects the workability of fresh concrete, making the matrix
stiffer.

1.2 FLY ASH

The increased demand for raw materials in the construction industry has made materials
scarce, highlighting the critical need to protect nature from pollution. These factors have
emphasised the importance of developing new structure materials centred on industrial
waste spawned from coal-burned thermal power plants, which are causing
insurmountable disposal issues due to their potential to pollute the environment. Fly-ash
is a pozzolanic material that is produced as a byproduct of the combustion of coal in
thermal power plants. When mineral admixtures, particularly fly ash, are used in
concrete, they improve the strength and durability of the material. Fly ash can be used
as a mineral admixture or as a halfway replacement for cementitious material. It can

2
also be used as a partial replacement for fine aggregates. In some cases, fly ash is used
as a complete substitute for binder content and as a supplementary expansion to achieve
unique cement properties. Geopolymer concrete or green concrete are two terms for this
type of concrete.

Plain concrete with only cement as the binder content used in mass concrete
construction such as dams, high-rise buildings, and so on would result in high heat of
hydration, causing issues such as high drying shrinkage. The use of materials such as fly
ash or slag aids in lowering the temperature rise during the hydration process in
Portland cement (Mehta and Monteiro, 1997). Tests have shown that cement glues
containing 10%-30% fly ash cause critical pore refinement in the 28-90 day range.

1.3 MICRO SILICA

Micro Silica Fume is a fine, grey-colored, dust-like siliceous particle with pozzolanic
properties that is produced when high-quality quartz is reduced in ‘an electric arc
furnace heater' by the time of silicon or ferrosilicon combination production. When 25%
quartz is added during the production process, silica fume is generated. Micro silica
fume has a spherical form with a diameter of 50 nm-100 nm. The silica component
accounts for 85 percent of the overall composition of the MSF (SiO2). The actual
compositions of micro silica fume depending up on the recuperation approach, smelter,
etc. Since the size of the material is inversely proportional to the surface area, this Nano
size prompts to maximum surface area, upto 30000 m2/kg. Initially the silica fume was
directly exposed to environment; the minute Nano particle created several hazards to the
eco-system.

1.4 STEEL FIBRES

The Egyptians were the first to use fibres in a matrix as a composite material. In the
building, they utilised straws and creature hairs to reinforce their mud bricks (Wong,
2004). There are a plethora of different types of steel fibres with varied company names.

3
Fundamentally, steel fibres are distinguished by the process by which they are
produced. Melt and mill extract, cold drawn cut wire, slit sheet, and so on may all be
categorised based on ‘shape and cross section’. Steel fibres with round shapes are made
by cutting or chopping continuous wire into isolated fibres with diameters ranging from
0.25 mm to 0.75 mm. Steel fibres with flat cross sections and thicknesses varying from
0.15mm to 0.40mm and widths ranging from 0.25mm to 0.90 mm are created by
shearing sheets or straightening continuous strands; the various types of steel fibres are
depicted in Fig. 1.1. However, advancements in Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC)
composites have provided a specialised foundation to overcome the shortcomings of
concrete.

The Steel fibres are the most widely used fibres, and they are further classified as
hook end steel fibre, crimped or corrugated steel fibre, and straight steel fibre. These
steel fibres are available in a variety of cross sections and lengths on the market. There
are numerous advantages and disadvantages of utilising steel fibres in the concrete
matrix. Finally, the inclusion of macro-steel fibres (length more than 30 mm) influences
the rheological characteristics of fresh concrete by stiffening the matrix.

Fig. 1.1 Steel Fibres with Different Aspect Ratio

As a result, steel fibres can be added to the mix to produce “Micro-Steel Fibre
Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete (MSFRSCC) with a more uniform fibre
dispersion in a highly workable mixture” by utilising the good rheological properties of
SCC at fresh state that fills the formwork without vibration.

4
1.5 SUMMARY

The basic introduction on each and every component that was considered in the
study was discussed in brief the introductory chapter. Here in this works carried out
were categorized into totally five chapters. First chapter consists of introductions that
lead to the research work. Second Chapter is about the literature review that consists of
the detailed survey of work that was executed in related to the research topic. Chapter
three explains about the objective and methodology of the research work. Chapter four
gives the detailed descriptions about the materials that are consider during the
experiment study. The final chapter consists of conclusion with the categorized
summary of each phases of study.

5
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 GENERAL

This chapter summaries the effect of fly ash as a partial or complete replacement, micro
silica as a minimum replacement for binder content, and the effect of incorporating steel
fibres in conventional concrete using vibrators as well as self-compacting done by
various researchers around the world.

2.2 EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

1. Bicer (2018)

This study examines the experimental approach of incorporating fly ash into concrete in
order to analyse the various mechanical characteristics. According to the findings of the
study, the density of concrete composites rises linearly with an increase in fly ash
percentage of up to 50%. The density rose by 16.12 percent due to the decrease in
diameter of the fly ash. The fly ash particles had packed in the gaps of the concrete
mixture due to their fineness and spherical form. The ASTM C-350 requirements were
met by the fly ash.

2. Ghanooni-Bagha (2016)

The influence of mineral admixture on the mechanical behaviour of SCC was studied in
this work. Metakaolin (MK), fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), lime stone powder (LS),
and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) were utilised as mineral admixtures in
the study to substitute cement. Total binder content: 660 kg/m 3, cement (C): 400 kg/m3,

6
FA: 12 percent, LS: 27 percent, SF: 12 percent, and FA+SF: 24 percent were the mix
proportions employed in the study. The mixture containing 12 percent fly ash performed
better in terms of rheological properties.

3. Hai-Thong et al. (2016)

The research focused on reducing the amount of water required, which has an impact on
the rheological characteristics of self-compacting concrete. It has been determined that
the mixing time of SCC, including water, has an impact on its performance. The binder
content was 420 kg/m3, the water/binder ratio was 0.6, the superplasticizer was 6 to 7
kg/m3, and the viscosity modifying agent was 1 kg/m3. The presence of a viscosity
modifying agent in SCC was discovered to increase mixing time and energy
consumption.

4. Leung et al. (2016)

The study discovered that binary mineral admixtures such fly ash and silica fume may
be used to improve the mechanical characteristics of different materials (Self
Compacting Concrete). Concrete's water absorption and sorptivity were shown to be
decreased when fly ash and silica fume were used effectively. SCC with only fly ash
and mixtures of fly ash and silica fume have different mechanical characteristics. The
results showed that the combination of fly ash and silica fume up to 40% (SF 15% + FA
25%) had superior sorptivity, while the mix with 35% (SF 10% + FA 25%) had the best
compressive strength of all the mixtures.

5. Mohamed (2011)

The experiment was conducted between binder contents of 450kg/m 3 and 550kg/m3 to
investigate the influence of varied percentages of fly ash and silica fume together and
individually with different curing conditions in self-compacting concrete. The total
binder content in this research was 450kg/m 3 and 550kg/m3, fine aggregate 1109kg/m3,
and coarse aggregate 612kg/m3. The mineral additive (fly ash and silica fume) was
substituted with regular Portland cement up to 50% of the time, with a water/binder

7
ratio of 0.42. The study found that a mix proportion with a binder concentration of
550kg/m3 had superior flowability and filling ability than a mix with a binder level of
450kg/m3. Out of all the mix containing 15% of silica fume exhibited higher
compressive strength and mix containing fly ash upto 30% had shown the linear
increase in compressive strength with respective to curing periods.

6. Mertol, et al. (2015)

This paper discusses a study of the flexural performance of Steel Reinforced Fibre
Concrete (SFRC) prisms. The research is made up of twenty reinforced concrete beams
with dimensions of 180 x 250 x 3500 mm. Ten beams with longitudinal reinforcement
ratios ranging from 0.2 percent to 2.5 percent were constructed to cover under
reinforced to over reinforced beams. For each longitudinal reinforcement ratio, two
beams were constructed, one with conventional control concrete (CC) and the other
with SFRC (Steel Reinforced Fibre Concrete).

7. Aleksandra et al. (2016)

Aleksandra created Design Of Experiments (DOE) to create a high performance self-

compacting concrete by taking into account the factors that influence in the composition
of rheological properties represented by a statistical model. The developed statistical
model emphasises the relative roles of the proposed mix design elements. As a result, it
was determined that the cement paste content and w/b ratio were the only two
significant rheological properties parameters.

8. Sonebi et al. (2015)

Experiments were conducted to investigate the medium strength in (SCC) self-

compacting concrete using a statistical model (MS-SCC). Cement, packing factor,
pulverised fuel ash (PFA), water-to-powder (cement + PFA) ratio (W/P), and SP dosage
were the key parameters used. As a filler material, PFA was used. Five key parameters
influencing the "filling ability, segregation, passing, flowing abilities, and mechanical
properties of concrete" were considered. At 7, 28, and 90 days, responses were obtained

8
for ten parameters: Orimet time, fluidity loss, slump flow, V-funnel time, segregation, J-
Ring combined to the Orimet, rheological parameters, L-box, and compressive strength.

2.3 SUMMARY

Literature review is very important in order to carry out quality work. Literature review
helped in identifying the upto date work performed in the field of SCC, RFSCC, etc. It
also played vital role in identifying the research gap and areas that can be optimized in
the field of SCC. Based on the literature review the aim and objective of the works were
drawn which is explained in detail in the following chapter.

9
 CHAPTER 3

OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 GENERAL

The primary goal of this research is to gain a thorough understanding of self-

compacting concrete (SCC) and to identify research gaps in the field of self-compacting
concrete containing admixtures.

3.2 OBJECTIVE

The study's objectives are as follows:

 Using the proposed method of mix design, create a mix design with a fixed
target strength and optimise the proportions using a statistical model for future
SCC development in this field.
 To achieve economic concrete by incorporating industrial by-products, which
reduces the cost of processing industrial waste as well as the cost of procuring
raw materials for concrete preparation.
 To emphasise the benefits of using hazardous byproducts such as fly ash and
micro silica in concrete.
 To investigate the alignment properties of hooked end micro steel fibres, as
well as to analyse them using non-destructive testing (NDT) methods and
mechanical properties.
 To investigate the flexural behaviour of reinforced self-compacting concrete
containing micro steel fibres.
 To develop regression equations in all phases of experimental work carried out
in this study for future research in this specific area, as well as for better
understanding and application.

10