DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-STRENGTH SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE WITH REDUCED SEGREGATION POTENTIAL

Self-compacting concrete having enhanced ability to flow is known to have increased segregation and bleeding potential. Any attempt to increase the stability of fresh concrete (cohesiveness) requires using increase amount of fine materials in the mixes. This paper reports an investigation into the development of self-compacting concrete with reduced segregation potential. The self-compacted concrete mix having satisfied the criterion recognized by the differential height method is modified in many ways to increase the fine particle content by replacing partially the fine and coarse aggregates by low-calcium fly ash. The systematic experimental approach showed that partial replacement of coarse and fine aggregate could produce self-compacting concrete with low segregation potential as assessed by the V-Funnel test. The paper reports the results of bleeding test and strength development with age. The results showed that fly ash could be used successfully in producing self- compacting high-strength concrete with reduced segregation potential.