CONCRETE RHEOLOGY

CONCRETE RHEOLOGY
Rheology is the scientific study of the flow and deformation of matter.
Concrete rheology is science which deals with fresh properties of concrete and
concrete it consider as fluid.
Two parameters are namely; yield stress and plastic viscosity are needed to describe
flow properties.
By using various available models or constitutive equations.
Basic Constitute Relationships for flow
•Newtonian fluid is the basic constitute equation for flow.
•The Bingham model is most commonly used to represent concrete flow due to it
simplicity and its ability to represent the majority of concrete mixtures.
The rheological or flow properties of concrete in general and of high performance concrete
(HPC) in particular, are important because many factors such as ease of placement,
consolidation, durability, and strength depend on the flow properties.

Concrete that is not properly consolidated may have defects, such as honeycombs, air voids,
and aggregate segregation. Such an important performance attribute has triggered the design of
numerous test methods.

Generally, the flow behavior of concrete approximates that of a Bingham fluid. Therefore, at
least two parameters, yield stress and viscosity, are necessary to characterize the flow.
Nevertheless, most methods measure only one parameter.

Predictions of the flow properties of concrete from its composition or from the properties of
its components are not easy. No general model exists, although some attempts have been
made.
Conventional methods of measuring concrete workability such as the slump test

provide a broad an indication of the amount of work required to compact the concrete

mixture. With the advent of more fluid concretes (pumpable concrete, self-levelling

concrete), it was necessary to measure the flow properties of concrete. A two

parameter approach, based on rheological principles, was proposed by Tattersall.

The following three terms while referring to concrete rheology:
workability, consistency and plasticity. The definitions given are:

“Workability is a measure of how easy or difficult it is to place,

consolidate, and finish concrete”
“Consistency is the ability of freshly mixed concrete to flow”
“Plasticity determines concrete’s ease of molding”.
RHEOLOGY MEASUREMENT

To determine the Bingham parameters, there are two possibilities:

The fresh concrete is sheared at high rate before the Rheological test. Then, the shear

rate is decreased gradually and the stress is measured. The relationship between the

stress and shear rate is plotted and the intercept at zero-shear rate is the yield stress,

while the slope is the plastic viscosity.

The stress applied to the material is increased slowly and the shear rate is measured.

When the stress is high enough the concrete will start flowing. The point at which the

materials flow is the yield stress and the slope of the curve above this stress is the

plastic viscosity.
Rheology measurements on concrete indicate that it is reasonable to approximate

the concrete flow behaviour using a Bingham model. The Bingham model, along with

other common rheological models, are shown in Fig 1. Shear yield stress (y-axis

intercept), τo, indirectly measures inter-particle friction, while the viscosity µ (slope of

the line) depends on the rheology of the paste and the volume fraction of aggregates.

The shear yield stress for SCC is very low (0 – 60 Pa as compared to a couple of

hundred Pa for normal concrete) and the plastic viscosity is highly variable, ranging

from 20 to 100 Pa.

‘Shear thinning’ means that the rate of increase of shear stress slows down with

increasing shear strain rate; the opposite is true for ‘shear thickening’ behaviour. On

the other hand, pseudoplastic behaviour, exhibited by some VMAs such as water-

soluble high molecular weight polysaccharides (Welan gum and Diutan gum), means a

drop in shear stress at high shear rates. Thixotropy defined as the property exhibited

by certain gels of becoming fluid when stirred or shaken and returning to the semisolid

state upon standing5 would also be equivalent to the pseduoplastic behaviour.

 RHEOMETERSRHEOMETERS

To measure the liquid, suspension or slurry flows in response to applied forces is

measuring by a devices called as Rheometer.

Tattersall for the first time carried out systematic investigations in this field in 1973

and he suggested the use of a 'Two-point test’.

All the rheometers measure the resistance to flow of concrete at varying shear rate

conditions. Rheometers for concrete fall into one of three configurations: coaxial

cylinders, parallel plate, and impeller-type.

 TYPES OF RHEOMETERSTYPES OF RHEOMETERS

Two-Point Test

BML

BTRHEOM

CEMAGREF-IMG

IBB