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An experimental program was carried out to determine the influence contributes to the resistance to shear stresses through aggre-
of concentration and nominal size of coarse aggregate on the develop- gate friction. Different series of concrete mixtures made with
ment of lateral and pore water pressures of self-consolidating concrete a water-cement ratio (w/c) of 0.5 and various aggregate
(SCC). Nine mixtures prepared with sand-total aggregate ratios contents and MSAs were evaluated. The mixtures had slump
(S/A) varying between 1.0 and 0.30 were evaluated. The mixture
made with an S/A value of 0.50 was repeated three times with different
values of 50 and 250 mm. The lateral pressure was deter-
coarse aggregate gradations of 10-5, 14-5, and 20-5 mm. An experi- mined using steel formwork measuring 1650 mm in height,
mental column measuring 2800 mm in height and 200 mm in 1350 mm in length, and 200 mm in width. Cement paste was
diameter was used to determine lateral pressure and pore water reported to develop full hydrostatic pressure initially. As the
pressure during the plastic stage of cement hydration. Rheological volume of coarse aggregate increases, however, hydrostatic
characteristics were assessed to determine the relationship between pressure was still obtained until the volumetric ratio of the
internal friction and lateral pressure development. paste-to-coarse aggregate approaches a value of one. Below
Test results show that lateral pressure is significantly influenced such value, the pressure diagram was reported to be bilinear
by the S/A value. Right after casting, mixtures with S/A values of in which the lateral pressure is hydrostatic from the free
1.0 and 0.75 developed initial lateral pressures of 99 and 96% of surface to a maximum value corresponding to 450 mm from
those corresponding to the hydrostatic pressure, respectively. With
the increase in coarse aggregate concentration (S/A of 0.50 to
the base of the formwork; thereafter, the pressure envelope
0.30), the initial relative lateral pressure decreased from 92 to deviates from hydrostatic.
77%, respectively, and the rate of drop in pressure was more Amziane and Baudeau2 reported that the use of discon-
pronounced. This can be related to the increased coarse aggregate tinuously graded aggregate with MSA of 30 mm can lead to
volume that reduces the mobility of the mixture and results in less higher lateral pressure compared with continuously graded
lateral pressure. Irrespective of the S/A value, the measured lateral aggregate with MSA of 7 mm. On the other hand, Gardner
pressure was found to correspond to the pore water pressure during and Ho3 found that the increase in MSA from 10 to 20 mm
the plastic stage.
had no significant influence on lateral pressure exerted by
The increase in nominal aggregate size from 10 to 14 mm
fresh concrete with a slump of 50 to 100 mm.
reduced the initial relative lateral pressure from 92 to 85% and
increased the rate of pressure drop with time. Further increase in Ritchie4 used the triaxial test approach to determine the
nominal aggregate size to 20 mm led to almost similar pressure as effect of coarse aggregate-to-cement mass ratio on the angle
that of the SCC with 14 mm nominal aggregate size. of internal friction of plastic concrete. Different mixtures
The lateral pressure developed by the plastic concrete is found having aggregate-cement ratios varying between 1:3 and 1:6
to be directly related to internal friction resulting from the coarse were evaluated. The corresponding w/c ranged between 0.45
aggregate concentration. The greater the degree of increase in and 0.81, and the consistency varied from low to high.
internal friction, which corresponds to mixtures made with relatively Undrained triaxial tests were performed on 100 x 200 mm
low S/A values, the lesser the magnitude of initial lateral pressure cylindrical samples. The angle of the tangent line determined
becomes and the faster the drop in pressure.
from Mohr circle diagrams was taken as the angle of internal
friction. For a given compacting factor, internal friction in
Keywords: aggregate; column; plastic; rheology.
plastic concrete was reported to increase with the aggregate-
cement ratio. Furthermore, a decrease in w/c was found to
INTRODUCTION reduce the level of lubrication of the paste layer among
The magnitude of lateral pressure developed on formwork coarse aggregate particles, hence increasing internal friction.
systems by plastic concrete has provoked considerable
interest and numerous theories. In 1958, ACI Committee 622 It should be noted that Ritchie4 assumed that the cement
analyzed existing literature and concluded that the significant paste of plastic concrete has a crystalline gel structure
parameters affecting lateral pressure mainly involve the rate without the need to determine pore water pressure. The
of placement, consistency of concrete, size and shape of the results are then considered in terms of total stress, and an
formwork, concrete temperature, placement and consolidation effective stress analysis cannot be carried out since pore
methods, type of cement, head of concrete, maximum-size water pressure is unknown. This assumption was contested
aggregate (MSA), and pore water pressure.1 by Alexandridis and Gardner5 who reported that the
undrained cohesion and coefficient of internal friction values
Several approaches have been adopted to assess the effect
of the granular phase on the development of lateral pressure.
Amziane and Baudeau2 considered that concrete is a two- ACI Materials Journal, V. 102, No. 3, May-June 2005.
MS No. 03-248 received July 1, 2003, and reviewed under Institute publication poli-
phase heterogeneous material composed of cement paste and cies. Copyright 2005, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved, including the
coarse aggregate. The paste possesses a rheological behavior making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright proprietors. Perti-
nent discussion including authors closure, if any, will be published in the March-April
that is exclusively viscous, whereas the granular phase 2006 ACI Materials Journal if the discussion is received by December 1, 2005.
Mixture proportions
As summarized in Table 2, all mixtures were prepared
with 450 kg/m3 of cement and 180 kg/m3 of water, or a
water-cementitious material ratio (w/cm) of 0.40. The effect
of aggregate concentration on lateral pressure was evaluated
by proportioning seven mixtures with different S/A, by
weight. The S/A values varied between 0.30 to 1.0 for the
mixtures made with 10 mm MSA. Such values correspond to
typical SCC found in commercial applications with high to
low density of reinforcement, with the SCC made without
any coarse aggregate (S/A of 1.0) considered as the reference
mixture. To determine the influence of aggregate fraction or Fig. 1Particle size distribution of sand and coarse aggregate.
MSA on lateral pressure variations, the mixture made with
an S/A of 0.50 was prepared three times with coarse aggregate
gradations of 10-5, 14-5, and 20-5 mm.
The dosage of the liquid-based VMA was set at 260 mL/ Table 1Chemical and physical properties of
100 kg of cement for all mixtures. The HRWRA and AEA Type 10 cement, Class F fly ash, and silica fume
were adjusted to secure initial slump flow and fresh air Cement Type 10 Fly ash Silica fume
content of 650 15 mm and 6 2%, respectively. SiO2, % 21.0 50.0 93.6
Al2O3, % 4.2 29.4 0.3
Instrumented column Fe2O3, % 3.1 13.5 0.5
An experimental polyvinyl chloride (PVC) column
CaO, % 62.0 1.7 0.3
measuring 2800 mm in height and 200 mm in diameter was
MgO, % 2.9 0.7 0.5
used to determine the lateral and pore water pressures
Na2O eq., % 0.74 0.4 1.4
exerted by fresh concrete. The form had a smooth inner face
to minimize friction. The lateral pressure was measured C3S, % 59.6
using five pressure sensors of 100 kPa capacity each C2S, % 14.5
mounted at 50, 250, 450, 850, and 1550 mm from the base. C3A, % 6.4
The pore water pressure of the fluid phase was measured C4AF, % 7.9
using three pressure sensors also placed along the 2800 mm 2
Blaine specific surface, m /kg 325 410
high column. A special filtering water device made of
Surface area B. E. T., m2/kg 20,250
compacted fiber was used to separate the cement paste from
Mean apparent diameter, m 17 13 0.1
the measurement system. These sensors also had a 100 kPa
Specific gravity 3.14 2.53 2.22
capacity each and were placed at 250, 450, and 850 mm from
Percent passing 45 m 92 90 100
the base. The lateral and pore water pressure sensors were
3 3150 2160 280
aligned with the inner surface of the formwork and properly Bulk unit weight, kg/m
calibrated using a free head of water prior to use. Loss on ignition, % 2.5 2.2 2.8
Fig. 11Variations of shear stress with respect to time for Fig. 13Variations of breakdown area for mixtures made with
0.46-SCC mixture determined during first time interval (0 to various coarse aggregate concentrations (MSA = 10 mm).
30 min).
Table 5Magnitude of breakdown area 250 min for the later mixture that had a higher degree of
determined during three time intervals internal friction. Therefore, lateral pressure exerted by fresh
Breakdown area Ab, J/m3s concrete is directly affected by the magnitude of internal
friction. Such friction reduces the mobility of concrete and
T1 = 0 to 30 min. T2 = 60 to 90 min T3 = 120 to 150 min
increases the rate of shear strength development, hence reducing
1.0-SCC 132 168 201 the transformation of vertical stresses into lateral pressure.
0.75-SCC 193 232 255
0.50-10-SCC 281 324 363 CONCLUSIONS
0.46-SCC 339 377 412 The results presented in this paper are part of a compre-
0.40-SCC 386 432 480 hensive study undertaken to evaluate key factors affecting
0.36-SCC 442 485 524 the variations of lateral pressure of SCC. Based on the results
0.30-SCC 549 590 636 of the experimental program, the following conclusions can
be drawn:
1. Lateral pressure of SCC having a 650 15 mm slump
flow is significantly influenced by the coarse aggregate
concentration. The greater the aggregate volume, the lesser
the initial maximum pressure and the faster it can decrease
with time after casting. The maximum initial lateral pressure
is shown to decrease from 99 to 77% of hydrostatic pressure
when the S/A decreases from 1.0 to 0.30, respectively;
2. The time required for reducing lateral pressure by 10%
of the hydrostatic is found to decrease approximately five-
fold with the reduction in the S/A value from 1.0 to 0.30
(410 to 80 min);
3. The MSA affects the development of formwork pressure.
For example, the initial lateral pressure decreases from 92 to
85% of hydrostatic pressure, and the rate of pressure drop
becomes more pronounced with the use of 14 mm MSA
having a higher packing density as compared with those
Fig. 14Relationship between breakdown area and relative resulting from SCC made with 10 mm MSA. Further
lateral pressure measured at three time intervals. increase of MSA to 20 mm has a limited effect on pressure
drop compared with the SCC with 14 mm MSA;
increase in aggregate concentration due to a greater degree of 4. The pore water pressure is shown to affect the development
internal friction. For example, such an increase was from of lateral pressure of SCC. Regardless of the relative coarse
132 to 339 J/m3s and then to 549 J/m3s during the first aggregate concentration or MSA, the lateral pressure is
series of measurements when the S/A value decreased from entirely due to the pore water pressure during the period
1.0 to 0.46 and then to 0.30, respectively. where the concrete is still in the plastic stage; and
Relationship between breakdown area and lateral pressure 5. The lateral pressure of SCC is directly affected by the
The relationship between Ab evaluated during the first 30-min degree of internal friction that reduces the mobility of the
interval of rheological measurements and the corresponding concrete. The greater the degree of increase in internal friction
residual pressure P(maximum)/P(hydrostatic) determined that corresponds to mixtures made with relatively lower S/A
right after filling the formwork is illustrated in Fig. 14. This values, the lesser the magnitude of initial lateral pressure
figure also illustrates the relationship between the Ab values becomes and the faster the drop in pressure.
evaluated during the 60 to 90-min and 120 to 150-min time
intervals and the P(maximum)/P(hydrostatic) calculated at
REFERENCES
100 and 250 min after casting, respectively. For the three 1. ACI Committee 622, Pressures on Formwork, ACI JOURNAL,
correlations, the P(maximum)/P(hydrostatic) ratio decreases Proceedings V. 55, No. 2, Aug. 1958, pp. 173-190.
for the mixtures having greater Ab values. Such a decrease 2. Amziane, S., and Baudeau, P., Effects of Aggregate Concentration
becomes more accentuated with time as indicated by the and Size in Fresh Concrete Pressure on Formwork Walls, Materials and
sharper slope obtained at 100 and 250 min after casting. For Structure, V. 33, 2000, pp. 50-58. (in French)
3. Gardner, N. J., and Ho, P. T.-J., Lateral Pressure of Fresh Concrete,
example, for the 1.0-SCC and 0.30-SCC mixtures with ACI JOURNAL, Proceedings V. 76, No. 7, July 1979, pp. 809-820.
initial Ab values of 132 and 549 J/m3s, respectively, the 4. Ritchie, A. G. B., The Triaxial Testing of Fresh Concrete, Magazine
P(maximum)/P(hydrostatic) value decreased threefold after of Concrete Research, V. 14, No. 40, 1962, pp. 37-42.