Mortar tests for self-consolidating concrete

Mortar tests are a convenient and efficient way of selecting combinations of water, powder, and admixtures for concrete trial mixtures, but they can also be used to evaluate combinations of powder and admixtures for robustness to variations and changes with time. The use of mortar spread and V-funnel flow time tests can provide this valuable information without the use of expensive testing equipment, and their results can be correlated to concrete properties as illustrated in this article.