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Flow with Show: Self-Consolidating Concrete Offers New Opportunities for
Architectural Concrete
Concrete Design
& Production
Architectural concrete is a hot topic. Defined by the American Concrete Institute as “concrete
Concrete which will be permanently exposed to view and which therefore requires special care in
Construction selection of the concrete materials, forming, placing and finishing to obtain the desired
architectural appearance,” it’s showing its face everywhere. Examples of applications are
PCA Research buildings and transportation structures like bridges and highway sound/barrier walls. Delivery
Durability methods include cast-in-place, precast, and tilt-up, and in every case, good appearance is
essential because the concrete is to be left exposed. Achieving good surface characteristics
Tech Support requires thorough consolidation of the fresh concrete and thoroughly filled forms.
Fortunately, this also leads to a durable material because water, precipitation, and
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aggressive chemicals/ions are shed by the surface skin.
Resources

CTT Newsletter

FAQs

Stockholm Airport Tower Stockholm Airport Tower close-up

Slim and accurate architectural constructions are much easier to realize with SCC, such as this 83-m
high Stockholm Airport tower, which is decorated with excerpts from the work of Antoine de Saint-
Exupéry. Reduced noise levels made construction during nighttime hours possible. Photo courtesy:
HeidelbergCement

Conventional concrete is placed using vibrators to fill the forms. SCC is a big step forward in
fool-proofing that procedure. SCC technology has the potential to revolutionize the concrete
industry, and architectural concrete stands to benefit from easier construction techniques and
improved surfaces.

Self-Consolidating Concrete

The construction industry has always longed for a high-performance concrete that can flow
easily into tight and constricted spaces without requiring vibration. The need for this
technology has grown over the years as designers specify more heavily reinforced concrete

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members and ever more complex formwork. Honeycombing or exposed reinforcement in

structural walls or columns is a constant concern in these structures.

Until recently, the industry used superplasticizing

admixtures (also known as high-range water
reducers) in conventional mixtures in an attempt to
achieve flowable concrete and duplicate the
advantages of a true self-consolidating concrete. This
allowed the use of concrete having an 8-in. or greater
Placment of white-cement SCC
slump; however, some vibration was still required for
adequate consolidation. While high doses of
superplasticizers can create a very fluid concrete that
flows readily, the concrete will segregate if the
mortar is too thin to support the weight of the coarse Placement of white cement SCC. Photo
aggregate. The key to creating self-consolidating courtesy of Aalborg White.
concrete (SCC), also referred to as self-compacting,
self-leveling, or self-placing concrete, is to produce a very flowable mortar that retains a
viscosity great enough to support the coarse aggregate. Today, advances in admixtures and
mix proportioning are making SCC a practical reality around the world.

SCC Formulated with White Cement

Architectural expression in concrete means different things to different people. Some

designers appreciate concrete for its unadorned appearance. So gray portland cement
concrete can receive architectural treatment. Some designers want to use color to express
aesthetics, and white portland cement is available to create white or colored concrete. Much
of the experimental work to date on SCC has focused on gray cement, but there are
opportunities for white cement formulations.

Concrete producers know that there is quite a bit of

development associated with any mix design. When
SCC is brought into the equation, the fresh properties
are the most important characteristic of the mixture.
The concrete has to flow easily (slump flow) including
passing through obstructions like rebar (measured by
the J-ring test), but has to do so without bleeding or
segregating. See “Testing SCC” below or click here for
Slump flow test - white SCC
a description of the ASTM tests for assessing fresh
SCC properties.

If a mixture is designed with gray portland cement, it

can be modified to use white portland cement, but the
mixture will most likely change somewhat. Testing
done by Aalborg Portland A/S identified several
suggestions for converting a gray SCC formulation to
Slump flow test of white SCC.
Photo courtesy of Aalborg White. white cement SCC. (1, 2) They take into account the
difference in chemistry of white cement and gray
cement, dosages of cement, water and admixtures, etc. Alternately, a mixture can be initially
designed in white portland cement.

Testing SCC: New ASTM Standards Are Approved

Flowability, passing ability, and stability are three of the most

important characteristics of SCC. In 2001, ASTM started
development of test methods that would assess these
characteristics. In 2005, the first SCC standard was published:
ASTM C1611, Test Method for Slump Flow of Self-Consolidating ASTM C 1621
Concrete, which assesses the flowability of SCC. This was
followed in March of 2006 by ASTM C1621, Test Method for
Passing Ability of Self-Consolidating Concrete by J-Ring. Test
methods to assess static and dynamic stability are currently
under development. These standards will be used in the mix
design process of SCC as well as a quality control tool.
Click here for more information.

References

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Concrete Technology | Self-Consolidating Concrete | Portland Cement Association (PCA)

(1) Thrysøe, Jacob, and Hansen, Tommy Bæk, “Self compacting concrete based on white
portland cement,” Concrete Plant International, #1, Concrete Plant International Worldwide,
February 2006, pages 84 to 93.

(2) Self Compacting Concrete Based on AALBORG WHITE®

Resources

Self-Consolidating Concrete (IS546B)

Self-Compacting Concrete: Bibliography of Resources (LB06)

Self-Consolidating Concrete Takes Concrete Sustainability to a New Level

Concrete is inherently a sustainable material. Some of

its many sustainable properties and applications are
further enhanced with the use of self-consolidating
concrete (SCC). SCC provides benefits beyond those of
conventional concrete in all three aspects of sustainable
development: economic, social, and environmental. National Museum of the
American Indian
The most important benefit of SCC is the increase in
durability. The uniformity of an SCC mixture reduces the
permeability and enhances the overall durability of the
concrete. This, in turn, enhances the lifespan of the SCC
beyond that of conventional concrete (Corinaldesi
2005); thereby reducing the environmental footprint on a unit time basis.

The use of SCC has been adopted by a large number of precast operations. This has been
done primarily due to the economic benefit of SCC. The self-consolidating property eliminates
the need for vibration, which reduces the labor requirement for SCC placement. In some
cases, the labor requirement can be half that for conventional concrete (Baumgartner 2003).
The energy consumption associated with vibration is also removed. Additionally, the
formwork no longer is subject to the stresses of vibration, which can reduce formwork initial
cost, maintenance costs, or both. These benefits apply to precast operations as well as cast-
in-place operations.

Another benefit associated with the elimination of vibration is the noise reduction. This
improves the working environment and safety. This can increase employee productivity by
reducing noise-induced and vibration-induced illnesses (Daczko 2006). Additionally,
operations located within or near residential or commercial centers may experience less
noise-based negative feedback from the neighbors.

The aesthetic quality of SCC formed surfaces allows the bare concrete to be the finish
surface. Additional material, such as paint, is not needed. This in turn reduces maintenance
requirements and improves air quality.

Additional environmental concerns can be addressed using benefits already highlighted for
the economic and social aspects of sustainable development. The reduction in energy
consumption can be directly translated to reduced fossil fuel usage. On top of the reduction
in energy due to elimination of vibration, the rapid discharge rate of SCC allows for shorter
dwell times of trucks at the job site. Again, this directly translates to a reduction of fossil fuel
usage.

Glavind (2005) states that the industry “has suffered from an image of being dirty, noisy,
and environmentally unfriendly.” SCC in combination with the sustainable principles of
concrete in general can be used to refute this image and show that concrete is the choice for
sustainable development.

References

Baumgartner, J., “Application of the Zero Energy System: Self-Compacting Concrete in the
Swiss Precast Concrete Industry,” Betonwerk- und Fertigteil-Technik (Concrete Plant and
Precast Technology), Vol. 69, No. 9, 2003, pages 58-66.

Corinaldesi, V. and G. Moriconi, “Rheological Study of Blended Cement Concrete,” Cement

Combinations for Durable Concrete, Thomas Telford, London, 2005, pages 211-218.

Daczko, J. A., and M. Vachon, "Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC)," Significance of Tests and
Properties of Concrete and Concrete-Making Materials, STP169D, ASTM International, West
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, 2006, pages 637-645.

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Concrete Technology | Self-Consolidating Concrete | Portland Cement Association (PCA)

Glavind, M., D. Mathiesen, and C.V. Nielsen, “Sustainable Concrete Structures: A Win-Win
Situation for Industry and Society,” Achieving Sustainability in Construction, Thomas Telford,
London, 2005, pages 1-14.

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