Flow Characteristics of Macro-Synthetic Fiber-Reinforced Self-Consolidating Concrete

Abstract

This paper evaluated the flow characteristics of macro-synthetic fiber-reinforced self consolidating concrete (MSFRSCC). A total of 20 non-air entrainment self-consolidating concrete (SCC) mixtures with varying w/c ratios, macro-synthetic fiber lengths, and fiber dosages rates were evaluated.The flow characteristics of each mixture were evaluated using four typical SCC workability test methods: slump flow, filling capacity, L-box, and V-funnel tests. The plastic shrinkage cracking resistance, compressive strength and flexural strength of each mixture were also evaluated. The objective was to develop an understanding of the factors that influence the flow characteristics of MSFRSCC and determine if criteria set for conventional SCC can be applied to MSFRSCC. The testing results demonstrated that fiber lengths of 50 mm cause significant internal friction leading to mixture stability issues when attempting to increase the volume of high range water reducer to produce acceptable slump flow values without viscosity modifying admixtures. Reducing fiber length to 38mm led to reduction in the internal friction allowing satisfactory slump flow, filling capacity, and V-funnel flow time to be achieved with slight mixture modifications and no viscosity modifying admixtures were required. The addition of fibers did cause lower than acceptable L-Box test results where mixtures were made to change direction and flow between closely spaced bars. It was concluded that the slight increase in internal friction produced by the addition of fibers caused the low L-Box results and not any form of blockage. The plastic shrinkage test results showed that the addition of 0.40% fibers by volume led to as much as 70 % reduction in total crack area and up to 50% reduction in maximum crack width as compared to plain concrete. The results obtained from this research clearly shows that is it possible to develop highly crack resistant MSFRSCC mixtures for concrete structures.