International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 37 Number 6 - July 2016

Optimum Mix Proportioning of High Strength

Self Compacting Concrete
D. Indu1, R.Elangovan2
1
PG Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Dr.Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi, Tamil
Nadu, India.
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Dr.Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology,
Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract-Self-compacting concrete (SCC) has under its own self weight and de-aerated almost
become more popular in building industry in completely while flowing in the formwork. It is
recent years, due to its superior performance over cohesive enough to fill the spaces of almost any
conventional concrete mix. The main drawback in size and shape without segregation or bleeding.
adopting self-compacting concrete is that there is This makes self-compacting concrete particularly
no proper design mix standard throughout world. useful wherever placing such as in heavily
The aim of this study is to find out an optimum reinforced concrete members or in complicated
mix proportioning of high strength self- noise and lead to innovative construction methods,
compacted concrete for different grades (30MPa – it has been used in Japan for the construction of
80MPa). Numerous trial mixes have to be adopted bridge girders, towers and piers, LNG tanks,
including mineral admixtures like Fly Ash. The culverts and building structures. Precast concrete
strength can be increased by reducing the water- plants are using self-compacting concrete in
Cement ration and adding sufficient quantity of manufacturing, where it eliminates the need for
mineral admixture. Also chemical admixtures are vibrating machines and their associated noise.
used to improve the workability and to minimize
segregation. Tests such as Slump flow test, L-box 1.2 History of SCC:
test V-funnel test, etc., will be conducted in fresh
state to estimate the quality of mix. After casting SCC was first introduced in the late 1980’s by
the specimens are tested for three basic strengths Japanese researchers and it is highly workable
such as Compressive strength, Split tensile concrete that can flow under its own weight
strength and Flexural strength at 1, 7, 14, 28, 56 through restricted sections without segregation and
and 90th days respectively. With the assumed mix bleeding. Such concrete should have a relatively
proportion and the tested results, empirical low yield value to ensure high flow ability, a
relationship shall be obtained using SYSTAT. moderate viscosity to resist segregation and
Hence for any assumed mix proportion, it is not bleeding and must maintain its homogeneity during
necessary to cast an SCC specimen, not necessary transportation, placing and curing to ensure
to wait until the curing period to determine the adequate structural performance and long term
strength parameter of the specimen by using the durability. The successful development of SCC
established relationships, the strength parameter must ensure a good balance between deformability
can be determined. The accuracy of the and stability. Researchers have set some guidelines
relationships may be in the order of about 90% to for mixture proportioning of SCC which include,
95% reducing the volume ratio of aggregate to
cementitious material. Increasing the paste volume
Keywords- self-compacting concrete, Fly ash, and water-cement ratio. Carefully controlling the
Super plasticizer, Viscosity Modifying Agent, maximum coarse aggregate particle size and total
development of self-compatibility of fresh volume and using viscosity enhancing admixtures.
concrete, mix design, tests methods for self-
compacting concrete, Slump flow test, L-Box test, For SCC, it is generally necessary to use super
V-Funnel test, U-Box test, SYSTAT. plasticizers in order to obtain workability and
Viscosity Modifying Agent for stability. Adding a
1. INTRODUCTION large volume of powdered material or viscosity
modifying admixture can eliminate segregation.
1.1 Definition: The mineral admixture that can be added are fly
ash, silica fume, lime stone powder, glass filler and
Self-compacting concrete, also referred to as self- quartzite filler to obtain high performance. Since
consolidating concrete can flow and consolidate self-compatibility is largely affected by the

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 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 37 Number 6 - July 2016
characteristics of materials and the mix The property of SCC to flow through reinforcing
proportions, it becomes necessary to evolve a bars without segregation or blocking (Measured by
procedure for mix design of SCC. In this system, L-box test).
the coarse aggregate and fine aggregate contents
are fixed and self-compatibility is to be achieved by 1.6 Resistance to segregation:
adjusting the water / powder ratio and super The property of SCC to flow without segregation of
plasticizer dosage. The coarse aggregate content in the aggregates (Measured by V-funnel test).
concrete is generally fixed at 40% of the total solid
volume, the fine aggregate content is fixed at 60% 1.7 Constituents of SCC
of the mortar volume and the water / powder ratio
is assumed to be 0.9-1.0 by volume depending on  Water powder ratio by volume is to be 0.8
the properties of the powder and the super to 1.0
plasticizer dosage. The required water / powder  Total powder content to be 400-600 kg per
ratio is determined by conducting a number of m3
trials. One of the limitations of SCC is that there is  The sand content may be more than 38%
no established mix design procedure yet. of the mortar volume
 Coarse Aggregate content should normally
1.3 Workability requirement for fresh SCC be 28-35% by volume of the mix.
SCC should satisfy the following  Water Cement ratio is selected as 0.4
based on the strength. In case water
Table 1.1 Tests to determine the workability content should not exceed 2000 lit per m3
Property Test Method

Slump Flow, T50 cm slump

Filling Ability
flow, V-Funnel

Passing Ability L-Box, U-Box

Segregation Resistance V-Funnel at T5 min

1.4 Properties of SCC:

A concrete mix is called Self Compacting Concrete
if it fulfills the requirement of filling ability,
passing ability and resistance to segregation.

Table 1.2 Typical acceptance criteria for SCC

Permissible
range of values Fig 1.1 Mix Proportion for normal concrete
Test Method Property
Min Max and for SCC
650 800
Slump flow Filling Ability
mm mm 2. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
T50 cm
Filling Ability 2 sec 5 sec In the recent times, construction activity has
slump flow
increased several times in many parts of the world.
V-Funnel Filling Ability 8 sec 12 sec Fast growth in the construction industry relies on
the use of natural resources for infrastructure
Orimet Filling Ability 0 5 sec
development. Large-scale production of Portland
J-Ring Passing Ability 0 10 mm cement and the rapid exploitation of the
environment for aggregates in the last few decades,
L-Box Passing Ability 0.8 1 have a dramatic impact on the environment. This
leads to change in climatic conditions, depletion of
U-Box Passing Ability 0 30 ground water table and irregular rain fall pattern.

V-Funnel at Segregation The availability of natural resources is reducing,

0 3 sec slowing down the growth in construction activity.
T5 min Ability
In day to day life, several types of byproducts and
waste materials are generated through commercial,
1.4.1 Filling ability: industrial activities. These waste materials need to
The property of SCC to fill all corners of a be effectively recycled or safely disposed. The
formwork under its own weight is known as filling utilization of such materials in concrete not only
ability. (Measured by slump test) makes it economical but also helps in reducing
disposal problems [13]. Hence a suitable
1.5 Passing ability: technology is needed to know their optimum use in
concrete. Utilizing these waste materials for the
 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 37 Number 6 - July 2016
manufacture of SCC, makes SCC economical, suitable for drinking was used for casting as well
reduces disposal problems and eliminates our curing. A polycarboxylic ether based
dependence on new raw materials for the Superplasticiser – Glenium B233 and Viscosity
manufacture of SCC. Modifying agent – Glenium Stream II were used to
improve the workability.
The objective of their study is the mixture
proportion of SCC to find the properties of self- 3.1.1 Cement:
compacting concrete experimentally. Portland
cement was replaced with fly ash, granulated blast Ordinary Portland cement OPC – 53 grade with the
furnace slag, limestone powder, basalt powder and following properties.
marble powder in various proportioning rates. The
influence of mineral admixtures on the workability,  Fineness (wt. of residue) 7%
compressive strength and sulphate resistance of  Specific Gravity 3.09
SCC was investigated. The test results showed that  Initial setting time 35 min
among the mineral admixtures used, FA and GBFS  Final setting time 10 hours
significantly increased the workability and
 Soundness 3.6 mm
compressive strength of SCC mixtures. Replacing
 Compressive Strength of 31.5 MPa on 3rd
25% of PC with FA resulted in strength of more
day, 46 MPa on 7th day, 58 MPa on 28th day.
than 105Mpa at 400 days. Moreover, the presence
of mineral admixtures had a beneficial effect on the
3.1.2 Fine Aggregate:
strength loss due to sodium and magnesium
sulphate attack. On the other hand, the best The Fine aggregate to be used in the SCC
resistance to sodium and magnesium sulphate has the following properties.
attacks was obtained from a combination of 40%
GBFS with 60% PC.  Natural river sand
Several investigators reported that how to develop  Specific Gravity 2.78
high and ultra-high performance of SCC with and  Fineness Modulus 2.65
without fiber. For the self-compacting concrete  water absorption 1.05%
mixes without steel fibers the fulfillment of flow  Density 2.3 gm/cm3
and cohesiveness criteria are sufficient for the mix  Dry rodded Bulk Density 1610 kg/m3
design. However, for the design of self-compacting  Loose Bulk Density 1430 kg/m3
concrete mixes with steel fibers it is found as
expected, that they must additionally meet the 3.1.3Coarse Aggregate:
passing ability criterion. The plastic viscosity of the
mixes with and without steel fibers has been The Coarse aggregate to be used in the
estimated from the known plastic viscosity of the SCC has the following properties.
cement paste using simple micromechanical
relations.  Crushed blue granite
 12.5 mm size
This study aims to develop an economical
procedure for to produce HSSCC and its optimum  Angular shape
dosage.  Specific Gravity 2.61
 Fineness modulus 5.9
3. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM  Dry rodded bulk density 1480 kg/m3
 Loose bulk density 1290 kg/m3
In the present investigation, a self-compacting
concrete mix, proportioned for a characteristic
strength of 50 MPa had been studied with 3.1.4Fly ash:
different proportions. Super plasticizer and
viscosity modifying agent were used to obtain the The Coarse aggregate to be used in the
SCC characters at fresh state. Compressive, SCC has the following properties.
tensile, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity
of the SCC mix were investigated to determine the  Specific Gravity 2.20
optimum proportion of HSSCC.  Passing through 75 micron sieve
 Fineness 290 kg /m2
3.1 Materials:  Light grey in color
Ordinary Portland cement OPC – 53 grade,
confirming to ASTM C150 / C150M – 12[34] was 3.1.5Water:
used for casting the specimen. Locally available
Potable water as per ASTM C1602 /
river sand with a maximum size of 4.75 mm,
C1602M – 12[39] specifications.
confirming to ASTM C33 / C33M – 13[31] was
used as fine aggregate. Crushed blue granite, 12.5 3.1.6Super Plasticizer:
mm size, angular shape confirming to ASTM C33 /
C33M – 13 was used as coarse aggregate. Potable The Super Plasticizer to be used in the
water as per ASTM C1602 / C1602M – 12[39], SCC has the following properties.

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 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 37 Number 6 - July 2016
Light brown Color with Specific Gravity 1.2 After mixing, tests were conducted to determine the
properties of fresh concrete as per EFNARC
 Relative Density at 25C is 1.09 ± 0.0 Guidelines. Slump flow test, L – Box test, U – Box
 Chloride iron content < 0.2% test, V funnel test were used to evaluate the fresh
 pH > 6. concrete properties of SSC.

3.1.7 Viscosity Modifying Agent: 3.3.1 Slump flow test:

The Viscosity Modifying Agent to be It is the most commonly used test and gives a good
used in the SCC has the following properties. assessment of filling ability. The slump cone is
held down firmly. The cone is then filled with
 Colorless free flowing liquid with Specific concrete. No tamping is done. Any surplus concrete
Gravity 1.2 is removed from around the base of the concrete.
 Relative Density at 25C is 1.01 ± 0.0 After this, the cone is raised vertically and the
 Chloride iron content < 0.2% concrete is allowed to flow out freely. The diameter
 pH > 6 of the Concrete in two perpendicular directions is
measured. The average of the two measured
3.2 Mix Proportioning: diameters is calculated.

The SCC mix had been proportioned for a

characteristic strength of 50 MPa. The mix
proportioning of SCC was obtained by changing
the paste volume (i.e. powder and water content)
with a constant volume of coarse and fine
aggregate.

The four-stage mix design method for SCC has

been developed as follows.
This is the slump flow in mm, the higher the slump
 Determination of optimum super `under its own weight. The range is from 600 mm
plasticizing dosage to 800 mm.
 Determination of filler dosage
 Determination of the aggregate skeleton 3.3.2 L Box test:
 Determination of paste cement based on
It assesses filling and passing ability of SCC. The
the requisites at self-compaction and strength.
vertical section is filled with concrete, and then
The mix proportion was arrived based on the gate lifted to let the concrete flow into the
EFNARC guidelines. The coarse aggregate horizontal section. When the flow has stopped, the
contains 8~10 mm and 12.5 mm in the ratio 9:6. heights ‘HI’ and ‘H2’ are measured. Closer to unit
The total powder content has been fixed in between
400-600 Kg/m3. Water content generally does not

Cem Fly
Grade FA CA H2 O SP VMA
ent Ash
M30 225 223 892 860 180 1.4 0.4
M35 245 228 886 862 178 1.4 0.4
M40 271 233 887 863 178 1.6 0.4
M45 291 236 868 864 178. 1.7 0.5
M50 315 240 851 868 176 1.8 0.5
M55 331 241 856 873 176 1.9 0.5 value of ratio ‘H2/ H1’ indicates better flow of
concrete.
M60 352 250 819 875 176 2.1 0.6
M65 384 250 824 875 176 2.3 0.6 3.3.3 V-Funnel test:
M70 412 254 820 880 175 2.4 0.7
The test measures flow ability and segregation
M75 432 260 803 881 175 2.6 0.7 resistance of concrete. The test assembly is set
M80 468 261 780 889 175 2.8 0.8 firmly on the ground and the inside surfaces are
moistened. The trap door is closed and a bucket is
exceed 200 lt/m3. The mix design details of self-
placed underneath. Then the apparatus is
compacting concrete are given in Table 3.1
completely filled with concrete without
Table 3.1 Mix Proportioning of SCC compacting. After filling the concrete, the trap door
is opened and the time for the discharge is
recorded. This V-funnel determines the filling
ability of concrete. This is taken to be when light is
3.3 Tests on fresh concrete seen from above through the funnel. To measure
 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 37 Number 6 - July 2016
the flow time at T 5minutes, the trap door is closed 3.5 Curing the specimen:
and V-funnel is refilled immediately. The trap door
is opened after 5 Minutes and the time for the After casting, the specimens were given a smooth
discharge is recorded. This is the flow time at T 5 finish with a steel trowel. The specimens were
minutes. Shorter flow time indicates greater flow stored in room temperature approximately 26C for
ability. V- Funnel at T 5mm indicates the resistance 24 hours. After hardening, the specimens were
to segregation. It should be 0-3 sec. if concrete demoulded, placed in potable water for curing.
segregates, time increases. After necessary curing, specimens were taken out
from the curing tank, allowed to dry and tested.

Fig 3.1 curing the specimen

3.3.4 U-Box test:
4. TESTS RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This method used for evaluating Self-
Compatibility, the U-type test proposed by the 4.1 Fresh Concrete:
Taisei group is the most appropriate, due to the
small amount of concrete used, compared to others. Test methods used to study the characteristics of
In this test, the degree of compatibility can be fresh concrete include slump test, U – tube, V –
indicated by the height that the concrete reaches funnel and L – Box. These tests had been
after flowing through obstacles. conducted to determine the filling ability, passing
ability and resistance to segregation of the SCC
mix.

Table 4.1 Test results of fresh concrete propertiesof

SCC

Concrete with the filling height of over 300mm can

be judged as Self-Compacting. Some companies
consider the concrete Self-Compacting if the filling
height is more than 85% of the maximum height
possible.

3.4 Preparing and Casting the test specimens:

To prepare the concrete mix, coarse aggregate was

placed inside the concrete mixer followed by fine
aggregate. Then 20% of the total quantity of water
was added. The concrete mixer was allowed to
rotate a few times after which fly ash and cement
were added. Approximately 40% of the total
quantity of water was poured into the concrete
mixer and the materials were mixed for 1 minute.
Superplasticiser and VMA were added to the
remaining quantity of water and added to the
mixer. Mixing was continued for another 2
minutes.
 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 37 Number 6 - July 2016
4.2 Hardened concrete

4.2.1 Compressive strength

Each measuring 150 x 150 x 150 mm cubes had

been tested for each mix to determine the
compressive strength on 3, 7, 14, 28 56 and 90
days.

Fig 4.1 Compressive Testing Machine

Fig 4.2 Compressive Testing Machine
Table 4.2 Test results for Compressive Strength
Table 4.3 Test results for Split Tensile Strength

Fig 4.2 Chart for

Compressive Strength
Fig 4.4 Chart for Split Tensile Strength
4.1.2 Split Tensile Strength:

Each measuring 150 mm diameter and 300 mm

height cylinders had been tested for each mix to
determine the compressive strength on 3, 7, 14, 28,
56 and 90 days.
 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 37 Number 6 - July 2016
4.1.3 Flexural Strength: increases the analytical power with more statistics
by delivering extensive list of algorithms. All the
Each measuring 150 x 150 x 150 mm cubes had variables at the intermediate level (0) constitute the
been tested for each mix to determine the highest (+2) level with other three variables at the
compressive strength on 3, 7, 14, 28, 56 and 90 intermediate levels constituting the start point.
days. Thus the 31 experimental run allowed the
estimation of the linear, quadratic and two-way
interactive effect of the process parameters.

5.2 Recording of response

The ingredients for the various mixes were

weighed and mixing was carried out using pan type
concrete mixer. Precautions were taken to ensure
uniform mixing of ingredients. The specimen were
cast in steel mould and compacted on a table
vibrator. 100 mm cube specimens were cast for the
determination of compressive strength at 28 days.
100x100x500 mm beam specimens and 100mm
diameter x 200mm long cylinder specimens were
cast for the determination of flexural and split
tensile strength at 28 days respectively. Curing of
specimen was started as soon as the top surface of
Fig 4.5 Flexural Loading Device the concrete in the mould was stiff (hard) enough.
Spreading wet gunny bag over the mould was
carried out for the initial curing. 24 hours after the
Table 4.4 Test results for Flexural Strength casting, the specimen were demoulded and placed
immediately in water tank for further curing.
Compaction factor

5.3 Development of mathematical model

Process control parameters

i) B = Binder content
ii) W/B = Water - Binder ratio
iii) F = Fly ash
iv) S = Superplasticiser
The values of the coefficients were calculated by
regression analysis using SYSTAT 10.2 software.

5.4 Final mathematical model

The values of the regression coefficient give an

idea as to what extent the control variables affect
the responses quantitatively. In significance
coefficient using student t-test can be dropped
along with responses to which they are associated
without affecting much of the accuracy of the
model. As per this test, when the calculated value
of t corresponding to a coefficient exceeds the
standard tabulated value for the desired level of
confidence (say 95%) the coefficient becomes
significant. The significant regression coefficient
was recalculated and the final models were
Fig 4.6: Graph of split tensile strength
developed using only these significant coefficients:
5. MATHEMATICAL MODEL The final models for the various responses as
determined by the above analysis are represented
5.1 Developing the design matrix below:
C=73.421+3.148-2.850(W/B) +1.572F+1.2+1.734S2
The design matrix was developed using the
software called SYSTAT10.2. This software +1.046B X (W/B)-1.023(W/B) X F
 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 37 Number 6 - July 2016
[7] B. H. Venkataram Pai, Maitreyee Nandy, A.
T=6.480+1.050B-0.418(W/B) +0.346F+0.183B2 Krishnamoorthy, Pradip Kumar Sarkar,C. Pramukh
Ganapathy, Philip George, “Development of self
+0.40+0.401S X (W/B)-0.437FS compacting concrete with various mineral admixtures”,
American Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 3, May
30, 2014.
F=10.271+0.178B-0.427(W/B)+0.413F+0.317B2
[8] P. Dinakar, S.N. Manu “Concrete mix design for high
2 2 2 strength self-compacting concrete using metakolin”,
+0.23(W/B) +0.483F +0.493SW Materials and Design 60 (2014) 661 - 668
[9] Mallikarjuna Reddy V, Seshagiri Rao M V, Srilakshmi P
and SateeshKumar B, “Effect of W/C Ratio on
Workability and Mechanical Properties of High Strength
6. CONCLUSIONS Self Compacting Concrete (M70 Grade)” International
Journal of Engineering Research and Development, Vol. 7,
Based on the experimental investigation, the No 1, May 2013, PP. 06-13.
following conclusions are drawn within the [10] EFNARC, “Specification and guidelines for Self
Compacting concrete”, UK (2002), pp.(1-32).
limitations of the test results. [11] Erdogan Ozbay, Ahmet Oztas, Adil Baykasoglu, Hakan
Ozbebek “Investigating mix proportions of high strength
 The test results of fresh concrete are within the self-compacting concrete by using Taguchi method”
limits of SCC i.e., flow ability, passing ability Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 694 - 702
[12] Ramin Vafaei Pour Sorkhabi, Alireza Naseri “Studying the
and resistance against segregation. Strength of Self-compacting Concrete according to the
 In Experimental Investigation, the concrete ratio of Plasticizers and Slump Flow using Experimental
have been casted for M30 to M80 in order to Method” Life Science Journal 2310; 10 (6s)
check the Compressive strength, Split tensile [13] Assie, S., Escadeillas, G. and Waller, V. “Estimates of
self-compacting Concrete ‘potential’ durability”,
strength and Flexural strength Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 21, No.10, pp.
 Statistical experimental design can be used to 1909 - 17, 2007.
systematically investigate the selected range of
combination of ingredients for the desired
characteristics.
 The mathematical models furnished in this
investigation can be used to predict the
proportions of various constituents of concrete,
by substituting the value, in coded form, of
respective factors.
 The five level factorial techniques can be
employed easily for developing mathematical
model for predicting the strength and
workability within the workable region of
control parameters for required characteristics.
 Optimum binder composition concrete
mixtures for the designed strength can be
identified from the proposed models.
 RSM can be used effectively in analyzing the
cause and effect of the process parameters on
response.

7. REFERENCES

[1] Aravinth S. N – “Development of High Strength Self

Compacting Concrete using Mineral and Chemical
Admixture” – Journal of Civil Engineering and
Environmental Technology, Vol. 1, Number 4, August
2014, pp. 8 – 13
[2] Prajapati Krishnapal, Yadav R.K., Chandak Rajeev -
“Strength Characteristics of Self Compacting Concrete
containing Fly ash” –– Research Journal of Engineering
Sciences, Vol.2(6), pp.1 - 5, June 2013.
[3] Youjun Xie, Baoju Liu, Jian Yin, Shiqiong Zhou –
“Optimum mix parameters of High-strength Self-
compacting concrete with ultra-pulverized fly ash”-
Journal of Cement and Concrete Research32 (2002) 477 -
480.
[4] Vilas V. Karjinni, Shrishail B. Anadinni, “Mixture
Proportion Procedure for SCC” Indian Concrete Journal
June 2009 pp 35-41.
[5] EFNARC. “Specification and Guidelines for Self-
compacting Concrete, European Federation of Producers
and Applicators of Specialist Products for Structures”,
2002.www.efnarc.org.
[6] Nan Su, Kung-Chung Hsu, His-Wen Chai “ A simple mix
design method for self-compacting concrete” Journal of
Cement and Concrete Research 31 (2001) 1799 - 1807

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