The rheological properties of self-compacting concrete are closely influenced by temperature and the time. Previous studies which aim was to research the effect of temperature on self-compacting concrete workability, showed that the behaviour of fresh SCC at varying temperatures differs from that of normal vibrated concrete. The paper presents the study of rheological properties of fresh self-compacting concrete mixtures made with portland, blast furnace and component cement. Two types of superplasticizers were used. It was proven that temperature has a clear effect on workability; it can be reduced by selecting the appropriate superplasticizer and cement.

Light-weight Self-Compacting Concrete (LWSCC) might be the answer to the increasing construction requirements of slenderer and more heavily reinforced structural elements. However there are limited studies to prove its ability in real construction projects. In conjunction with the traditional methods, artificial intelligent based modeling methods have been applied to simulate the non-linear and complex behavior of concrete in the recent years. Twenty one laboratory experimental investigations on the mechanical properties of LWSCC; published in recent 12 years have been analyzed in this study. The collected information is used to investigate the relationship between compressive strength, elasticity modulus and splitting tensile strength in LWSCC. Analytically proposed model in ANFIS is verified by multi factor linear regression analysis. Comparing the estimated results, ANFIS analysis gives more compatible results and is preferred to estimate the properties of LWSCC.

For the decreasing of too high air volume in SCC, application of anti-foaming admixture (AFA) is proposed. In effect, AFA is increasing mix flow diameter and decreasing the flow time. Moreover, the workability loss is lower. In case of mix incorporating AFA, their high fluidity do not generate segregation of the mix, which is possible in case of SCC incorporating only SP. The effect of AFA application on the compressive strength depends on the proportions between SP and AFA. AFA has not a negative influence on the freeze-proof properties of the tested concrete. The advisable influence of AFA on porosity characteristic of SCC is proved by research results according to EN 480-11 code.

The ductility of High Performance Concrete (HPC) can develop both in tension and compression.This aspect is evidenced in the present paper by measuring the mechanical response of normalvibrated concrete (NC), self-compacting concrete (SC) and some HPCs cylindrical specimensunder uniaxial and triaxial compression. The post-peak behaviour of these specimens is definedby a non-dimensional function that relates the inelastic displacement and the relative stress duringsoftening. Both for NC and SC, the increase of the fracture toughness with the confinement stressis observed. Conversely, all the tested HPCs, even in absence of confinement, show practically thesame ductility measured in normal and self-compacting concretes with a confining pressure. Thus,the presence of HPC in compressed columns is itself sufficient to create a sort of active distributedconfinement.

Self compacting concrete (SCC) filling layer is core structure of China rail track system (CRTS) ? type ballastless track. Construction quality, service performance and durability of CRTS ? ballastless structure are affected by stability of SCC for filling layer. In this study, the stability of SCC of filling layer is researched at three levels as paste, mortar and concrete by theory and experiment. Evaluation indices including bleeding (��), surface bubble rate (��), thickness of paste (��paste) and thickness of surface mortar (��) are proposed based on the theoretical calculation and analysis. The threshold viscosity of paste 0.394 Pa·s and mixture satisfied area are obtained at paste level based on the relationship between viscosity and ��, �� of paste. The mixture satisfied area was defined at mortar level under criterions of maximum value of ��paste and slump flow. Optimal range of gap between neighboring aggregates (��ca) 12.4 mm~14.1 mm is chosen by flow ability, passing ability, stable ability of SCC. These research results will help to further understand the stability of SCC.

In recent years, carbon fibres have been extensively used to strengthen concrete structures. In most cases, the lamination process is carried out using epoxy resin as matrix. In some cases, especially when strengthen structural elements made of weak concrete, it is possible to replace the epoxy resin with an inorganic, cement matrix, while at the same time maintaining a sufficient efficiency of strengthen understood as the percentage increase in the compressive strength of concrete samples due to the applied reinforcement in relation to the reference concrete. In these studies, elements of carbon fibres mats that are reinforced with a cement matrix were used as the starting product for fibre recovery. The laminate, which was used to reinforce concrete elements, was detached from the concrete surface and subjected to processing in order to obtain clean carbon fibre scraps without cement matrix. Then, the obtained carbon material, in shaped form, was used to strengthen self-compacting, high performance, fibre reinforced concrete (SCHPFRC). For comparative purposes, this concrete was also strengthened by carbon fibre mats (with one and three layers of CFRP). Each samples were tested in uniaxial compression test. The compressive strength of concrete reinforced with 1 and 3 layers of CFRP was higher by 37.9 and 96.3%, respectively, compared to the reference concrete. On the other hand, the compressive strength of concrete reinforced with 1 and 3 layers of carbon fibre scrapswas higher by 11.8 and 40.1%, respectively. Regardless of the reinforcement technique used, the composite elements showed a higher deformability limit in comparison plain concrete. The obtained results showed that it is possible to reuse carbon fibre to strengthen structural elements made of SCHPFRC effectively, using simple processing methods.

The paste content in the self-compacting concrete is about 40% in unit volume. The rheological properties of paste directly determine the properties of self-compacting concrete. In this paper, the effect of silica fume (2, 3, 4, and 5%), limestone powder (5, 10 and 15%), and the viscosity modified admixture (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7%) on the rheological properties were investigated. The effect of admixtures on shear thickening response was discussed based on the modified Bingham model. The results indicate that yield stress and plastic viscosity increased with increased silica fume and viscosity modified admixture replacement. The paste’s yield stress increases and then decreases with limestone powder replacement. The critical shear stress and minimum plastic viscosity are improved by silica fume and viscosity modifying admixture. The critical shear stress first increases and decreases as the limestone powder replacement increases. A reduction in the shear thickening response of paste was observed with silica fume and viscosity modified admixture replacement increase.

Malaysia’s construction industry is experiencing rapid growth, translating into increased demand for cement. However, cement production pollutes the air to the detriment of the climate via CO2 emission, making research into a cementitious replacement in concrete a necessity. This paper details an experimental study of self-compacting concrete (SCC) with partial replacement of cement by rice straw ash (RSA), which is expected to result in environmental preservation due to the green materials being used in cement production. The physicomechanical properties of the SCC with RSA replacement were determined via its compressive strength, water absorption, self-workability, and fire resistance (residual strength after exposure to high temperatures). The proportion of RSA replacement used were 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%, and all passed the slump flow test, except the 20% and 25% samples. The SCC samples with 15% of RSA replacement reported the highest compressive strength at 7 and 28 curing days and the highest residual strength post-exposure to high temperatures. The lowest percentage of water absorption was reported by the 15% of RSA replacement, with a density of 2370 kg/m3.

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) has been widely used in the filling layer of high-speed railways. The quality of the filling layer directly affects the durability, comfort, and safety of the track system. In this study, shrinkage characteristics and the creep behavior of SCC were investigated by compressive creep tests and shrinkage tests. They were performed on specimens with different loading levels with a calcium sulfoaluminate-based expansive agent (UEA) and viscosity modified admixture (VMA). Furthermore, based on the scanning electron microscope (SEM) morphology of hydration products and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, the influence of admixtures on microstructure and mineral phases of SCC was analyzed.The results show that when concretes were loaded with the same stress level, the main factor influencing creep of SCC was the quantity and microstructure of amorphism and hydration crystal. The XRD and SEM result showed that UEA andVMAmake the creep and shrinkage of SCC reduce obviously as the cementitious system grow many crystals in hydration products. The creep of NC was less than SCC with identical compressive strength. At the same time, the addition of UEA can improve the ability to resist drying shrinkage.

Shear cracking behaviour of fibrous self-compacting concrete of normal and high strength grade (M30 and M70) is presented here. Two stirrup diameters (6mm Φ and 8 mm Φ) with a constant steel fiber content of 38 kg/m³ (0.5% by volume of concrete) were selected for the present study. The size of the beam was fixed at 100x200x1200mm. The clear span of the beam 1100 mm, was maintained throughout the study. A total of 16 shear-deficient beams were tested under three point loading. Two stirrup spacing (180 mm and 360 mm) are used for the shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d = 2). Investigation indicates that initial cracking load and ultimate load increased as the area of shear reinforcement increased by increasing the diameter of stirrup. It was also noted that the failure mode was modified from brittle shear failure to flexural-shear failure in the presence of fibers. The mechanical behaviour of SFRSCC was improved due to the combined effect of stirrups and steel fibers. The stiffness, toughness, and deflection of the beams increased when compared to SCC beams without fibers. The experimental results were compared with existing models available in literature, and the correlation is satisfactory.