SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE

DEVELOPMENT, APPLICATIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS

Masahiro OUCHI
Assistant Professor, Dr. Eng.
Kochi University of Technology
Tosa-yamada, Kochi, 782-8502 JAPAN
m-ouchi@infra.kochi-tech.ac.jp

ABSTRACT
Since the development of self-compacting concrete in 1988, the
concrete has been used in practical structures in Japan.
Investigations have been carried out from the viewpoint of making
it a standard concrete. Recommendations and manuals for self-
compacting concrete were also established.

Key words: self-compacting concrete, development, application,

investigation

1. DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE

For several years beginning in 1983, the problem of the durability of concrete structures was a
major topic of interest in Japan. To make durable concrete structures, sufficient compaction by
skilled workers is required. However, the gradual reduction in the number of skilled workers in
Japan's construction industry has led to a similar reduction in the quality of construction work.
One solution for the achievement of durable concrete structures independent of the quality of
construction work is the employment of self-compacting concrete, which can be compacted into
every corner of a formwork, purely by means of its own weight and without the need for
vibrating compaction. The necessity of this type of concrete was proposed by Okamura in 1986.
Studies to develop self-compacting concrete, including a fundamental study on the workability
of concrete, were carried out by Ozawa and Maekawa at the University of Tokyo [1].

The prototype of self-compacting concrete was first completed in 1988 using materials already
on the market. The prototype performed satisfactorily with regard to drying and hardening
shrinkage, heat of hydration, denseness after hardening, and other properties. This concrete was
named High Performance Concrete. and was defined as follows at the three stages of concrete:

(1) fresh: self-compactable

(2) early age: avoidance of initial defects
(3) hardened: protection against external factors

At almost the same time, High Performance Concrete was defined as a concrete with high
durability due to low water-cement ratio by Professor Aitcin. Since then, the term high
performance concrete has been used around the world to refer to high durability concrete.
Therefore, Okamura has changed the term for the proposed concrete to Self-Compacting High
Performance Concrete.
2. APPLICATIONS OF SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE

Since the development of the prototype of self-compacting concrete in 1988, the use of self-
compacting concrete in actual structures has gradually increased. The main reasons for the
employment of self-compacting concrete can be summarized as follows:

(1) to shorten construction period ~ 1,000 m3

300
(2) to assure compaction in the structure:
especially in confined zones where vibrating
compaction is difficult
200
(3) to eliminate noise due to vibration: effective
especially at concrete products plants

That means the current condition of self-compacting 100

concrete is a special concrete rather than standard
concrete. Currently, the percentage of self-
compacting concrete in annual product of ready- 0
1990 91 92 93 94 95 96 97
mixed concrete in Japan is around 0.1% (Fig. 1) [2].
Fig. 1 Annual production of SCC in Japan
Total production of ready-mixed concrete in
A typical application example of Self-compacting Japan in 19997 is 167,6201,000 m
3
concrete is the two anchorages of Akashi-Kaikyo
(Straits) Bridge opened in April 1998, a
suspension bridge with the longest span in the
world (1,991 meters) [3] (Fig. 2). The volume of
the cast concrete in the two ahchorages amounted
to 290,000 m3. A new construction system, which
makes full use of the performance of self-
compacting concrete, was introduced for this.
The concrete was mixed at the batcher plant
beside the site, and was the pumped out of the
plant. It was transported 200 meters through
pipes to the casting site, where the pipes were Fig. 2 Anchorage 4A of
arranged in rows 3 to 5 meters apart. The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge
concrete was cast from gate valves located at 5
meter intervals along the pipes. These valves were automatically controlled so that a surface
level of the cast concrete could be maintained. In the final analysis, the use of self-compacting
concrete shortened the anchorage construction period by 20%, from 2.5 to 2 years.

Self-compacting concrete was used for the wall of a large LNG tank belonging to the Osaka Gas
Company, whose concrete casting was completed in June 1998 [3]. The volume of the self-
compacting concrete used in the tank amounted to 12,000 m3. The adoption of self-compacting
concrete means that

(1) the number of lots decreases from 14 to 10, as the height of one lot of concrete casting
was increased.
(2) the number of concrete workers was reduced from 150 to 50.
(3) the construction period of the structure decreased from 22 months to18 months.

Self-compacting concrete is often employed in concrete products to eliminate the noise of

vibration [3]. This improves the working environment at plants and makes it possible for
concrete product plants to be located in the urban area. The annual production of concrete
products using self-compacting concrete exceeded 200,000 tons in 1996 [2].

3. INVESTIGATIONS ON SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE

Various investigations have been carried out in order to make self-compacting concrete a
standard one. The items to be solved are summarized as follows:

(1) self-compactability testing method

(2) mix-design method including evaluation method for materials
(3) construction method including acceptance test at jobsite
(4) new construction system to make full use of the performance of SCC

The investigations were carried out at each university, large construction company and material maker.
Committee activities were also carried out. As the result, Architectural Institute of Japan and Japan
Society of Civil Engineers established Recommendations for Mix Design and Construction Practice of
Highly Fluidity Concrete in 1997 and Recommendation for Construction of Self-Compacting
Concrete in 1998 respectively. The national ready-mixed concrete industry association, Japan,
established Manual for Manufacturing of Self-Compacting Concrete in 1998 [3].

3.1 Self-compactability testing method

There are two purposes for self-compactability testing methods. One is to judge whether the
concrete is self-compacatable or not, and the other is to evaluate deformability or viscosity for
estimating proper mix-proportioning if the concrete does not have sufficient self-compactability.
center gate
Of the many testing methods proposed for
evaluating self-compactability, the U-type test
proposed by the Taisei group is, at this stage, after opening
concrete

490 center gate

the most appropriate (Fig. 3) [4]. In this test,
the degree of compactability can be indicated obstacle
by the height that the concrete reaches after height
flowing through an obstacle. Concrete with 190

the filling height of over 300 mm can be D13

judged as self-compacting. 280 50 mm

Fig. 3 U-type test

A modification method for mix-proportion in
case of insufficient self-compactability was also proposed, in which flow and funnel tests are
used for estimating proper water-powder ratio and superplasticizer dosage by evaluating the
deformability and viscosity of mortar in concrete [3].

3.2 Mix-design method

Self-compactability can be largely affected by the characteristics of materials and the mix-
proportion. A rational mix-design method for self-compacting concrete using a variety of
materials is necessary. Okamura and Ozawa have proposed a simple mix-proportioning system
assuming general supply from ready-mixed concrete plants [4]. The coarse and fine aggregate
contents are fixed so that self-compactability can be achieved easily by adjusting the water-
powder ratio and superplasticizer dosage only.
3.3 Evaluation method for materials

Investigations on establishing evaluation method of materials, especially powder materials and

superplasticizer have been carried out from the viewpoint of establishing a rational mix-
proportioning method, that is, especially adjusting method for water-powder ratio and
superplasticizer dosage, and of developing suitable material for self-compacting concrete.
Ouchi et. al proposed evaluation method for the effect of superplasticizer and water independent
of each other on the flowability of mortar by using flow and funnel tests [3].

Some general construction companies employ a segregation-inhibiting agent so that the self-
compactablity can be kept constant independent of the variation of unit water content, especially
due to the variation of surface water content in the sand. There are various agents proposed and
available in Japan. The evaluation method for the effect was also proposed [3].

3.4 Acceptance test at jobsite

Since the degree of compaction in a structure

mainly depends on the self-compactability of
concrete and poor self-compactability cannot be
compensated by the construction work, self-
compactability must be checked for the whole
amount of concrete just before casting at the jobsite.
However, conventional testing methods for self-
compactability require sampling and this can be
extremely laborious if the self-compactability
acceptance test is to be carried out for the whole
amount of the concrete. A suitable acceptance test
Fig. 4 Rational acceptance test at
method for self-compactability has been developed
jobsite for self-compacting concrete
by Ouchi et. al [3]:

(1) The testing apparatus is installed between agitator truck and pump at the job site. The
whole amount of the concrete is poured into the apparatus.
(2) If the concrete flows through the apparatus, the concrete is considered as self-
compactable for the structure. If the concrete is stopped by the apparatus, the concrete is
considered as having insufficient self-compactability and mix-proportion has to be adjusted.

This apparatus was successfully used at the construction site of the Osaka Gas LNG tank, and
saved a considerable amount of acceptance test work (Fig. 4) [3].

3.5 New structural design and construction systems

By employing self-compacting concrete, the cost of vibrating compaction can be saved and the
compaction of the concrete in the structure can be assured. However, the total cost for the
construction cannot always be reduced, except in large scale constructions. This is because the
conventional construction system is strongly based on the necessity of the vibrating compaction
of concrete. Self-compacting concrete can greatly improve construction systems previously
based on conventional concrete requiring vibrating compaction. This sort of compaction, which
can easily cause segregation, has been an obstacle to the rationalization of construction work.
Once this obstacle has been eliminated, concrete construction can be rationalized and a new
construction system, including formwork, reinforcement, support and structural design, can be
developed (Fig. 5).

One example of this is the so-called sandwich-structure, where concrete is filled into a steel
shell. This sort of structure has already been completed in Kobe, which could not have been
achieved without the development of self-compacting concrete (Fig. 6)[3].

Self-Compacting Concrete
No Vibration Resistance to Segregation

Less Restriction Less Restriction

to Design to Practice

New Type of Structure Rational Construction

System

Rational Combination of
Concrete & Steel

Fig. 5 Rational construction system achieved by Fig. 6 Application to immersed tunnel

making full performance of self-compacting in Kobe: sandwich structure
concrete [proposed by Ozawa]

4. CONCLUSIONS

It is considered that the main obstacles for making self-compacting concrete widely used have
been solved. The next task in Japan is to distribute the technique for manufacturing and
construction of self-compacting concrete rapidly. In addition, new structural design and
construction systems making full performance of self-compacting concrete should be
introduced.

REFERENCES

[1] Ozawa K, et. al. Development of high performance concrete based on the durability design
of concrete structures: Proceedings of the second East-Asia and Pacific Conference on
Structural Engineering and Construction (EASEC-2), Vol. 1, pp. 445-450, January 1989.
[2] Kodama, Y. Current condition of self-compacting concrete (written in Japanese), Cement
Shimbun, No. 2304, Dec 1997.
[3] Ozawa K (editor), et. al. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Self-Compacting
Concrete (CD-ROM), Kochi, Japan, March 1999, including state-of-the art report on self-
compactability evaluation, materials & design, construction, manufacturing & concrete
products and summary of recommendations & manuals for self-compacting concrete in Japan.
Also available from Concrete Engineering Series, No. 30, Japan Society of Civil Engineers,
March 1999. http://www.infra.kochi-tech.ac.jp/scc-net/
[4] Hayakawa M, et. al. Development & application of super workable concrete, RILEM
International Workshop on Special Concretes: Workability and Mixing, Paisley, 1993.
[5] Okamura H, et. al. Mix-design for self-compacting concrete, Concrete Library of JSCE, No.
25, pp.107-120, June 1995.