Effect of Mineral and Chemical Admixture on Fiber Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete

Abstract

SCC has become a popular product of modern construction due to its flowing and consolidating properties under its own weight without mechanical vibration, especially on highly reinforced structural components. Nevertheless, adding fibers to SCC tends to decrease workability, and a reasonable balance between mineral and chemical admixtures has to be developed to ensure reasonable fresh-state practice. This paper examines the influence of mineral and chemical admixtures on workability of fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete focusing on slump flow diameter as the main measurement. Fine and coarse aggregates, Ordinary Portland Cement, chemical admixtures, and fibers were used to prepare concrete mixtures with selected mineral admixtures; the water-binder ratio was kept under control with a constant amount of water. Experimental program involved selection of materials, mix proportioning, preparation of specimen, curing and slump flow testing as per the recommendations of EFNARC. To measure the ability to fill and the flow properties of each mixture, slump flow diameter was calculated by averaging between two perpendicular flow diameters. The experimental findings revealed that, mineral and chemical admixtures attracted a significant enhancement in the workability of fiber reinforced SCC as opposed to conventional mixtures. The combination of admixtures that resulted in the optimum slump flow diameter met the EFNARC acceptance limits of self-compacting concrete. The results show that the decrease in the workability due to fiber inclusion can be adequately counterbalanced by appropriate proportioning of the mineral and chemical admixtures, which consequently improves the performance and feasibility of fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete in the fresh state in structural construction.