ACI MATERIALS JOURNAL
Title no. 94-M56
In Situ Mechanical Properties of Wall Elements Cast
Using Self-Consolidating Concrete
by K. H. Khayat, K. Manai, and A. Trudel
The use of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) can facilitate the placement
of concrete in congested members and in restricted areas. Given the highly
flowable nature of such concrete, care is required to ensure adequate
stability. This is especially important in deep structural members and wall
elements where concrete can segregate and exhibit bleeding and settlement
which can result in local structural defects that can reduce mechanical
properties.
The objective of this paper is to evaluate the uniformity of in situ mechan-
ical properties of SCC used to cast experimental wall elements. Eight opti-
mized SCC mixtures with slump flow values greater than 630 mm and a
control concrete with a slump of 165 mm were investigated. The SCC
mixtures incorporated various combinations of cementitious materials and
chemical admixtures. The water-cementitious materials ratios ranged
between 0.37 and 0.42. Experimental walls measuring 95 cm in length, 20
cm in width, and 150 cm in height were cast. No consolidation was used for
the SCC mixtures, while the medium fluidity control concrete received thor-
ough internal vibration. Cores were obtained to evaluate the uniformity of
compressive strength and modulus of elasticity along the height of each
wall. Bond strengths were also determined for 12 horizontal reinforcing
bars embedded at various heights of each wall.
All SCC mixtures exhibited small variations in compressive strength and
modulus of elasticity in relation to height and were similar to those
obtained with the medium fluidity control concrete. Considerable reduc-
tions were, however, obtained between compressive strength values deter-
mined on core samples and those of cast cylinders. Such reduction was
approximately 10 and 20 percent for SCC mixtures made with 10- and 20-
mm maximum size aggregate, respectively, and 10 to 15 percent for the
control concrete. The top-bar factor for reinforcing bars positioned
approximately at 140 cm from the bottom of the experimental walls was 1.4
+ 0.2 for seven of SCC mixtures and approximately 2.0 for the control
concrete and one SCC. The optimized SCC mixtures are therefore highly
stable despite their flowing nature and can ensure uniform in situ proper-
ties when cast in deep structural elements.
Keywords: bond strength; congested formwork; filling capacity; flowable
concrete; high-performance, top-bar factor; self-consolidating concrete;
settlement; viscosity-modifying admixture.
INTRODUCTION
The required workability for casting concrete depends on
several factors, such as the type of construction, the selected
placement and consolidation methods, the shape of the form-
ACI Materials Journal / November-December 1997
TECHNICAL PAPER
work, and the congestion nature of the reinforcement. With
the increasing use of congested reinforcements in mat foun-
dations and moment-resisting reinforced concrete structures,
there is a growing interest in specifying highly flowable
concrete. Various factors that contribute to formwork
congestion and how to minimize such problems through
formwork selection, mixture proportions, placement
methods, and consolidation are well documented.1,2
Concrete can be proportioned to be highly flowable to
spread into place under its own weight and achieve good
consolidation without internal vibration. Such concrete is
referred to as self-consolidating concrete (SCC). The use of
SCC has gained wide acceptance in Japan since the late 1980s
for casting congested members as well as the placement of
concrete in restricted areas where consolidation may not be
practical. Among the applications of SCC is the construction
of anchorages and the substructure above the water level of the
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan where 240,000 m3 of SCC
was cast in congested formwork without internal vibration.3
The use of SCC is an extension of technological advance-
ments in the area of underwater concreting where the mixture
is proportioned to ensure high consistency and yet a good level
of resistance to water dilution and segregation.
SCC often incorporates several chemical admixtures, in
particular a high-range water reducer (HRWR) and a
viscosity-modifying admixture (VMA), also known as anti-
washout admixture. The HRWR is used to ensure high fluidity
and reduce the water-cementitious materials ratio (w/cm). The
VMA is incorporated to enhance the yield value and viscosity
of the fluid mixture, hence reducing bleeding, segregation,
and settlement.4,5 The enhanced cohesiveness can ensure
better suspension of solid particles in the fresh concrete and
ACI Materials Journal, V. 94, No. 6, November-December 1997.
Received September 11, 1995, and reviewed under Institute publication policies.
Copyright 1997, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved, including the
making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright proprietors. Perti-
nent discussion will be published in the September-October 1998 ACI Materials Jour-
nal if received by June 1, 1998.
491

K. H. Khayat is an associate professor of civil engineering at the Universit de Sher-
brooke, Canada. His research interests include rheology, repair, high-performance
concrete and durability. He is a member of RILEM Committees TC 115 on high-
strength concrete and TC 145 on workability of special concrete mixtures, and TRB
Committee A2E05 on chemical additions and admixtures for concrete. He is a collab-
orating investigator in the Canadian Networks of the Centres of excellence on High-
Performance Concrete.
ACI member K. Manai received his BS from the Ecole Nationale dIngnieurs de
Tunis and his MS from the Universit de Sherbrooke. His research interests include
mix design and durability of concrete. He is currently a graduate student at the
Universit de Sherbrooke.
ACI member A. Trudel received both BS and MS degrees from the Universit de Sher-
brooke. His research interests include the rheological and structural properties of
self-consolidating concrete. He is currently employed with Axim, Italcenti Group in
France.
therefore good deformability and filling capacity during the
spread of fresh concrete among the various obstacles. Another
way to enhance deformability and stability is to increase the
volume of the cement paste, thus reducing the relative volume
of aggregate. Yurugi, et al.6 found that the volume of coarse
aggregate in concrete has a greater effect on the filling
capacity of concrete among congested reinforcement than the
sand-to-paste ratio. For SCC made with w/cm of 0.53, the coarse
aggregate volume is recommended to be 310 to 340 L/m3 when
the sand-to-paste volume ratio is 65 percent and to 330 L/m3 for
mixtures with 75 percent sand-to-paste volume ratio.
The reduction in aggregate content necessitates the use of
a higher volume of cement which increases cost and results
in greater temperature rise. Therefore, SCC often contains
high volume replacements of fly ash, blast furnace slag, or
limestone filler. Such materials are less reactive than cement
and can reduce problems resulting from fluidity loss of the
rich SCC. The incorporation of one or more type of supple-
mentary cementitious materials having different
morphology and grain-size distribution values can improve
particle size distribution and packing of solid particles,
hence enhancing workability and stability. Tangtermsirikul
et al.7 reported that the use of finely ground blast furnace
slag increases the segregation resistance of SCC. Miura et
al.8 evaluated the influence of supplementary cementitious
materials on workability and reported that the replacement of
cement by 50 percent of blast furnace slag and 30 percent of
fly ash can significantly improve rheological properties.
The increase in fluidity does not necessarily result in
proper filling of congested areas since highly flowable
concrete may not possess enough cohesion between the
cement paste and aggregate to ensure uniform deformation.
Therefore, SCC should be cohesive enough to enhance
filling capacity of cast members in the absence of internal or
external vibration. High cohesiveness is also necessary to
minimize bleeding, segregation, and settlement of the cast
concrete before stiffening. The lack of stability can weaken
the interface between aggregate and cement paste and
increase the tendency to develop local microcracking that
can increase permeability and reduce mechanical properties.
Bleeding can also result in some accumulation of porous
cement paste under the lower half of horizontally embedded
reinforcement and under the ribs of vertically positioned
bars. The settlement of fresh concrete can reduce the effec-
492
tive projection of concrete lugs and contribute further to the
reduction in bond strength.9 Ensuring adequate stability is
especially critical in deep structural elements, such as indus-
trial beam, slab, and wall elements where the SCC can segre-
gate and exhibit bleeding and settlement, thus resulting in a
reduction in strength, stiffness, and bond to reinforcing steel.
This paper reports the results of an investigation aimed at
evaluating in situ properties of optimized SCC mixtures used
for casting experimental walls. The variations in in situ
compressive strength fc , modulus of elasticity (MOE), and
bond to horizontally embedded reinforcing bars are evalu-
ated for eight optimized SCC mixtures. The results are
compared to those obtained with a reference concrete wall
element cast using a normal-consistency concrete.
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
Ensuring adequate consolidation of concrete is essential to
obtain proper strength and durability. With the increasing use
of highly flowable and SCC, it is important to assure that such
concrete can secure uniform in situ mechanical properties that
are similar to those obtained with properly consolidated
concrete of conventional fluidity levels. This paper offers data
concerning the distribution of mechanical properties vs. height
of wall elements cast using SCC mixtures made using various
combinations of binary and ternary cementitious systems.
Such data can be useful to engineers considering the use of
SCC to enhance the filling capacity of restricted areas as well
as highly congested reinforced sections.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
Materials
A Type 10 Canadian portland cement (CSA3-A5-M83,
similar to ASTM C 150 Type I cement) and a blended silica
fume cement (HSF) containing approximately 8 percent
silica fume, by mass, were used. The chemical and physical
characteristics of the two cements are presented in Table 1.
The majority of the investigated mixtures incorporated one
or two types of mineral additives to enhance workability.
These materials included Class F fly ash (ASTM C 618-84),
blast furnace slag, finely ground limestone filler, and silica
fume. Their chemical and physical characteristics are
summarized in Table 2.
Two types of river-bed siliceous sands and a crushed lime-
stone coarse aggregate were used. The specific gravity,
absorption, and fineness modulus values of the different
used aggregate are summarized in Table 3.
A naphthalene-based HRWR conforming with CSA3-
A266.6-M85 was used. It had a solid content of 42 percent and
a specific gravity of 1.21. A liquid-based carboxylic hydroxide
acid conforming with CSA3.A266.2-M78 was used for the set
retarding admixture. A microbial polysaccharide (welan gum)
was used for the VMA to enhance stability of the SCC. The
powder VMA was vigorously mixed in 1 percent solution with
part of the mixing water to prehydrate the polymer prior to
addition to concrete. The VMA can also be diluted with part of
the HRWR, up to 10 percent, to facilitate dispensing.
Mixture proportions
The SCC mixtures presented in this paper were optimized in
a study which investigated the effects of aggregate and paste
ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997
Table 1Chemical and physical properties of Table 2Chemical and physical properties of
cements mineral admixtures
Percentage by mass Physical analysis Blast
Silica Fly furnace Limestone
HSF HSF fume ash slag filler
Type 10 cement Type 10 cement
SiO2 93.6 50.0 36.1 0.25
SiO2 percentage
21.0 27.7 < 45 mm 96 91 Al2O3 0.3 29.4 10.0
Al2O3 4.2 3.8 2
Blaine, m /kg 376 628 Fe2O3 0.5 15.3 0.5
Fe2O3 CaO 0.3 1.7 33.9
3.1 2.1 Vicat set time
MgO 0.5 0.7 15.4
CaO 62.0 58.1 Initial, min 180 175
Na2O eq. 1.4 0.4 0.7
MgO 2.9 2.7 Final, min 365 350
C 1.9
SO3 2.7 2.8 Compressive strength, MPa LOI 2.8 2.2
Na2O eq. 0.74 0.71 1 day 13.4 CaCO3 98.2
Free MgCO3 1.2
CaO 1.2 3 day 21.6 21.5
Specific gravity 2.22 2.53 2.88 2.71
LOI 2.5 1.2 7 day 27.7 35.1
Bulk unit weight, kg/m3 280
C3S 52.0 2
Blaine, m /kg 20,250 360 445
C2S 21.0
Surface area B.E.T., m2/kg 17,500
C3A 5.7 6.6 Mean apparent diameter, m 0.1 13 25 4
C4AF 9.5 6.3 percent passing 45, m 100 90 99 100

Table 3Aggregate properties

volumes10 as well as the type and combination of chemical and
Specific Absorption, Fineness
mineral admixtures11 on consistency, deformability, settle- gravity percent modulus
ment, bleeding, segregation, and strength development. All Sand (0-5 mm)
selected SCC mixtures were proportioned to secure slump flow for 20 mm MSA
concrete 2.69 1.22 2.4
values (base diameter of concrete following the removal of Sand (0-5 mm)
slump cone) greater than 600 mm and high filling capacity for 20 mm MSA concrete 2.69 0.70 2.9
when cast among closely spaced rebars. The optimized SCC Gravel (5-10 mm) 2.79 0.77 5.6
mixtures had no external bleeding, low settlement and segrega- Gravel (5-14 mm) 2.73 0.30 6.4
Gravel (5-20 mm) 2.71 0.40 6.9
tion values, minimum 28-d fc of 40 MPa, and drying shrinkage
values lower than 800 m after six months.
The mixture proportions of the optimized mixtures FA concrete incorporates 3 percent silica fume and 20 percent
selected for this study are given in Table 4. The abbrevia- fly ash by mass of total cement content of the control concrete
tions of the various concretes refer to the types and concen- (584 kg/m3). The volume of cement in the 3 percent SF/20
trations of cementitious materials used to replace some of the percent FA mixture is then calculated as the total volume of
cement, expressed as percentages of mass of cementitious cementitious materials (approximately 186 L/m3) minus the
materials. The LF, SG, SF, and HSF refer to mixtures calculated volumes of silica fume and fly ash corresponding to
containing limestone filler, blast furnace slag, silica fume, 3 percent and 20 percent by mass of 584 kg/m3, respectively.
and blended silica fume cement, respectively. Five SCC mixtures containing 20-mm MSA had 0.41 w/cm,
Five SCC mixtures containing 20-mm maximum size aggre- 300 L/m3 of coarse aggregate, and 60 to 62 percent sand-to-
gate (MSA) were prepared. They had combinations of 5-14 paste volume ratios. The control mixture had 300 L/m3 of
and 5-20 mm coarse aggregate that proved necessary to reduce coarse aggregate (MSA of 20 mm) and a sand-to-paste ratio of
porosity.10 The 5-14-mm and 5-20-mm aggregates were 74 percent. The three SCC mixtures made with 10-mm MSA
combined at 70:30 by mass to enhance workability and had approximately 315 L/m3 of coarse aggregate and sand-to-
stability. Three SCC mixtures containing 10-mm MSA were paste volume ratios of 62 to 75 percent.
also investigated. Such mixtures can be better suited for filling Fabrication and curing
formwork with closely spaced reinforcement. A medium All mixtures were prepared in 800 kg batches mixed in a
fluidity control concrete was used as a reference mixture. It did pan mixer of a 0.6-m3 capacity. The mixing sequence
not incorporate any HRWR or VMA and contained 20-mm consisted of homogenizing the sand and cementitious mate-
MSA and similar volumes of aggregate and paste as those of rials for one minute in the mixer before introducing approxi-
the other five SCC mixtures made with 20-mm MSA. All of mately half of the mixing water and all of the HRWR. The
the evaluated mixtures incorporated a set retarding admixture coarse aggregate was added and followed by the remaining
to minimize fluidity loss during testing. water. After one minute of mixing, the prehydrated VMA was
All nine SCC mixtures had approximately 186 L/m3 of introduced, and the concrete was mixed for two additional
cementitious materials. The dosages of mineral additives are minutes.
expressed as percentages of mass of cement of the control A plywood formwork measuring 95 cm in length, 20 cm
mixture (584 kg/m3). Therefore, the 3 percent SF/20 percent in width, and 150 cm in height was used for casting the nine

ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997 493

Table 4Mixture proportions of optimized concretes
3 percent SF
3 percent SF 3 percent SF 3 percent SF 40 percent HSF HSF
Mixture 20 percent FA 30 percent LF 100 percent C 3 percent SF 40 percent SG20 Control SG10 20 percent SG1 20 percent SG2
Cement, kg/m3 417 379 589 563 307 584 307 428 436
3
Silica fume, kg/m 18 18 18 18 18
Fly ash, kg/m3 118
Blast furnace slag,
kg/m3 235 236 109 111
Limestone filler, kg/m3 176
3
Total CM, kg/m 553 573 589 581 560 584 561 537 547
w/cm 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.42 0.39 0.37
Water, kg/m3 227 235 241 238 229 239 235 211 202
Sand, kg/m3 691 691 692 691 690 850 706 747 762
Gravel 5-10 mm,
kg/m3 877 884 902
Gravel 5-14 mm,
kg/m3 568 567 568 567 566 563
Gravel 5-20 mm,
kg/m3 247 247 247 247 247 245
HRWR, L/m3 5.6 4.6 5 5.7 5.9 6.8 9.8 10
VMA, percent CM 0.075 0.075 0.075 0.075 0.075 0.075 0.06 0.06
Set-retarding agent,
L/m3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
3
Unit weight, kg/m 2288 2315 2335 2325 2293 2482 2384 2385 2418

experimental wall elements (Fig. 1). The walls were cast by

discharging the concrete from the top without the aid of an
elephant trunk. Each wall was cast in two lifts. The eight
SCC walls did not receive any internal or external consolida-
tion, whereas the control mixture with medium slump was
thoroughly consolidated using an internal vibrator. Several
standard cylinders measuring 100 mm by 200 mm were
prepared to monitor strength development. All reference
cylinders were properly consolidated.
Each wall had 12 reinforcing bars that were rigidly fixed
in groups of three at four levels along the height of the wall
(Fig. 1). Deformed reinforcing bars with 20-mm diameter
and approximately 400-MPa yield strength were used. The
center-to-center spacing between adjacent bars was 20 cm.
The minimum clear cover over exterior bars was 6 cm (or Fig. 1Schematic of an experimental wall.
three times the reinforcing bar diameter, db). The distances
from the bottom of the walls to the center of each group of Testing program
reinforcing bars were 7, 52, 97, and 142 cm. A rigid plastic Following concrete mixing, slump, slump flow, filling
sheathing (Fig. 2) was tightly attached to the outer end of capacity, unit weight, and fresh air content were determined.
each bar near the loaded end protruding out of the formwork The filling capacity was evaluated by casting concrete in an
in order to prevent bonding to concrete. The remaining Acrylic transparent box with dimensions of 300 x 500 x 300
length of the bar (5 cm or 2.5 db) was properly cleaned to mm having closely spaced smooth horizontal bars, as shown
ensure adequate bond development. in Fig. 2. The concrete was introduced through a funnel into
The formwork was removed one to two days after casting the section free of obstacles until the depth of concrete in that
corresponding to the demolding of the reference cylinders. section reached 220 mm. Once the flow of concrete among the
The concrete was allowed to cure for 7 additional days under bars ceased, the relative area occupied by the concrete in the
wet burlap and plastic sheets, then left to air cure until the time section with the closely spaced pipes was determined to calcu-
of testing. Concrete casting and curing took place in a labora- late the filling capacity of the concrete, as described in Fig. 2.
tory environment with approximate temperature of 20 5 deg The stability of fresh concrete was evaluated in the
C. Except for the 3 percent SF and 100 percent C mixtures mixture optimization phase by casting concrete in a PVC
which were tested at 18 and 19 d of age, respectively, the column measuring 20 cm in diameter and 150 cm in height,
pullout bond testing and in situ mechanical properties of the same height as the experimental walls. The settlement was
remaining walls were evaluated at 28 days of age. monitored using a linear dial gauge with a precision of 0.002

494 ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997

mm that was fixed on top of a thin Acrylic sheet that was
positioned at the top surface of the concrete. The plate was
anchored into the concrete through three 75-mm long screws
cast in the concrete. Surface settlement was monitored also
for the cast walls by placing the same setup at the upper
surface of the nonreinforced portion of each wall.
Prior to bond strength testing, each wall was tilted hori-
zontally to rest onto an elevated platform with the rein-
forcing bars protruded upwards in order to facilitate pullout
testing. A hydraulic jack with 135-KN capacity was used for
the pullout test (Fig. 3). The jack was attached to the rein-
forcing bar, and a reaction cylinder was positioned against
the concrete away from the loaded area. As mentioned
earlier, plastic sheathing near the loaded side of the bar was
used to prevent bonding to concrete near the reaction point
and avoid secondary confining stresses in the bonded region.
The pullout load was applied gradually and recorded using a Fig 2Filling capacity apparatus.
load cell. The net slip of the bar was measured using an
L.V.D.T. connected to the unloaded end of the bar (Fig. 3).
A data acquisition system with a scanning frequency of one
Hertz was used. The average bond strength was calculated as
follows:

= P/db ls

where P, db, and ls correspond to the applied load, reinforcing

bar diameter, and anchorage length, respectively.
Following the pullout testing of 12 reinforced bars for
each wall, 12 cores measuring 95 mm in diameter and 200
mm in length were obtained at four levels corresponding to
those of the anchored bars (Fig. 1). The cores along with the
corresponding reference cylinders were capped and tested in
compression shortly after core extraction. For each wall, the
MOE was determined according to ASTM C 469 on two
cores taken near the bottom of each wall (d = 7 cm) and two
other cores near the top (d = 142 cm).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Fresh concrete properties
The eight SCC mixtures had slump flow values of 635 to
660 mm (except for one concrete that had a slump flow of 700
mm). All SCC mixtures had high filling capacities ranging
between approximately 60 and 70 percent, indicating excel-
lent deformability without blockage among closely spaced
obstacles. The control mixture had a slump flow of 330 mm, a
slump of 165 mm, and zero filling capacity.
No external bleeding was observed on the top surface of
any of the nine cast wall elements. Except for the 3 percent
SF/40 percent SG20 and HSF 20 percent SG1 mixtures, the
settlement values of the SCC mixtures measured on 150-cm
high walls ranged between 1.4 and 2.9 mm. This corresponds
to approximately 0.1 and 0.2 percent of the wall heights,
respectively. For the 3 percent SF/40 percent SG20 and HSF
20 percent SG1 mixtures, the maximum settlement was
approximately 0.4 percent which was similar to that of the
medium fluidity control mixture.
The fresh air content was 2.1 percent for the control mixture
and 0.6 0.2 percent for the SCC mixtures. Despite equal
volumes of water and cementitious materials of the SCC
mixtures made with 20-mm MSA and the control concrete, the
Fig. 3Pullout test setup.
former mixtures entrapped less air than the thoroughly
vibrated control mixture. This reflects the excellent capability
of the highly flowable concretes to self consolidate.
Effect of height on in situ compressive strength
The fc and coefficient of variation (C.O.V.) values of
reference 100 x 200 mm cylinders and 95-mm diameter
cores obtained at various heights along the experimental
walls are shown in Tables 5 and 6. Table 5 summarizes the
results of the six mixtures made with 20-mm MSA, while
Table 6 lists the results of the three concretes made with 10-
mm MSA. At the time of testing, the fc results of reference
cylinders of the five SCC mixtures made with 20-mm MSA
were approximately 43 to 52 MPa, 58 MPa for the control
mixture made with 20-mm MSA, and 68 to 80 MPa for the
SCC mixtures made with 10-mm MSA. The C.O.V. of fc
measurements ranged from 0 to 8.9 percent and was limited
to 5 percent for the majority of the tests.
The variations in mean in situ fc values with casting height
are shown in Fig. 4. The comparison of such variations indi-
cates that there is no statistically significant difference
among the various strength values (95 percent confidence
limit). Therefore, the optimized SCC mixtures exhibited
uniform strength distribution along the 150-cm high walls
which is comparable to that obtained with the medium-
fluidity control concrete.

ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997 495

Fig 4Variations of in situ compressive strength with depth
of wall.
Fig. 5Variations of in situ compressive strength with depth
relative to strength at bottom of wall.
In general, fc values are expected to be greater near the
bottom of the walls than near the upper sections due to better
compaction near the bottom concrete caused by the weight of
the concrete. The variations in fc results in relationship to
values obtained near the bottom of the walls for SCC
mixtures made with 20- and 10-mm MSA are plotted in Fig.
5 and 6, respectively. The variations in relative fc of the
control concrete are included on each figure for comparison.
All mixtures made with 20-mm MSA exhibited slight
reductions in fc with height compared to fc values obtained
near the bottom of the walls. Again, such strength reduction
can be due to the decrease in compaction effort of the concrete
near the top of the wall in comparison to that near the bottom.
The potential entrapment of bleed water underneath coarse
aggregate particles can be expected to increase towards the top
of the wall. Such bleeding can weaken the interface between
the aggregate and cement paste and result in a reduction of in
situ mechanical properties.
At approximately 140 cm from the bottom of the wall, the in
situ fc of SCC mixtures made with 20-mm MSA compared to
fc of cores near the bottom ranged between 92 and 99 percent.
This value was 94 percent for the control concrete that was
thoroughly consolidated. In the case of SCC mixtures made
with 10-mm MSA, the variations in in situ fc of the three eval-
496
Fig. 6Variations of in situ compressive strength with depth
of wall relative to bottom strength.
Fig 7Variations of in situ compressive strength with depth
of wall relative to bottom strength.
uated concretes compared to corresponding mean strengths
near the bottom of the walls varied between 97 and 105
percent. These strength variations are smaller than those
obtained with concrete having 20-mm MSA and may be in part
due to the lower possibility of bleed water entrapment under
the smaller size aggregate.
The variations in in situ fc along the heights of the walls
are compared in Fig. 7 to fc values obtained from testing
reference cylinders that received proper consolidation and had
similar curing history as the corresponding concrete walls.
Except for the HSF 20 percent SG1 and HSF 20 percent SG2
concretes, the remaining SCC mixtures exhibited -1.5 percent
reductions in potential strength. Such spread was limited to 12
3 percent for the control concrete and 9 2 percent for the
HSF 20 percent SG1 and HSF 20 percent SG2 mixtures. The
differences in core-to-cylinder fc are partially due to higher
degree of consolidation for the standard cylinders vs. the SCC
mixtures. Such deviations can also be due to the fact that fc of
reference cylinders was measured by applying the load parallel
to the direction of concrete casting, whereas fc of core samples
was evaluated by applying a compression loading perpendic-
ular to the direction of casting. Because of the non-isotropic
nature of concrete, small pockets of entrapped water and air
ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997
 Table 5Properties of hardened optimized
mixtures with 20-mm MSA
3 percent 3 percent 3 percent
SF SF SF
20 30 100 3 40
percent percent percent percent percent
Mixture FA LF C SF SG20 Control
fc MPa,
cylinders 28 d 28 d 19 d 18 d 28 d 28 d
Sample A 52.8 44.3 49.0 50.1 51.5 58.7
Sample B 52.2 43.9 51.4 51.4 52.3 57.4
Sample C 51.0 40.8 49.6 50.6 52.2 57.9
Mean 52.0 43.0 50.0 50.7 52.0 50.8
C.O.V.,
percent 1.8 4.5 2.5 1.3 1.9 1.1
Fig. 8Spreads of in situ modulus of elasticity between top fc MPa cores 28 d 28 d 19 d 18 d 28 d 28 d
and bottom cores. d* = 7cm
Core A 42.5 35.9 39.6 39.0 38.7 52.8
Core B 44.4
Core C 45.2
Mean 42.5 35.9 39.6 39.0 42.8 52.8
C. O. V. 8.9
d = 52 cm
Core A 42.0 35.5 36.0 38.1 38.1 50.5
Core B 42.5 35.5 39.5 37.8 41.1 53.0
Core C 42.5 35.9 38.6 36.7 41.8 48.9
Mean 42.3 35.6 38.0 37.5 40.3 50.8
C.O.V.,
percent 0.7 0.8 4.7 2.0 4.9 4.1
d = 97 cm
Core A 42.5 34.6 36.9 43.3 40.0 52.3
Core B 42.0 35.1 37.6 41.6 41.1 51.2
Core C 39.6 34.4 38.8 40.2 42.4 52.2
Mean 41.4 34.7 37.8 41.7 41.2 51.9
Fig. 9Variations with depth of bond strength between hor-
C.O.V.,
izontally embedded bars and concrete. percent 3.9 1.2 2.6 3.7 2.9 1.2
d = 142 cm
Core A 42.1 34.4 36.5 39.2 40.5 49.8
underneath aggregate as well as small separations resulting Core B 37.9
from settlement around such aggregate can weaken the inter- Core C 40.4
face between the bottom of the aggregate and the hydrated Mean 42.1 34.4 36.5 39.2 39.6 49.8
cement paste. This can affect fc , especially for cores for which C.O.V.,
percent 3.7
such weakness planes are parallel to the direction of compres-
MOE, GPa
sion loading (i.e. horizontal cores taken perpendicular to
d = 7 cm
casting direction, Fig. 1). In general, the spread between fc of Core A 34.0 32.0 30.0 29.0 33.0 37.0
cores tested in compression perpendicular to the direction of Core B 33.0 32.0 29.0 29.0 33.0 34.0
casting vs. those tested parallel to the direction of casting can Mean 33.5 32.0 29.5 29.0 33.0 35.5
be on the order of 10 percent. C.O.V.,
percent 2.1 0 2.4 0 0 6.0
Effect of height on in situ modulus of elasticity d = 142 cm
The in situ MOE values determined near the bottom and Core A 32.0 32.0 30.0 30.0 32.0 34.0
top of each wall are summarized in Tables 5 and 6. Figure 8 Core B 30.0 31.0 29.0 27.0 32.0 32.0
Mean 31.0 31.5 29.5 28.5 32.0 33.0
shows the spreads in MOE values determined on cores
C.O.V.,
obtained near the top and bottom sections of each wall. As in percent 4.6 2.2 2.4 7.4 0 4.3
the case of fc , the MOE was slightly weaker near the top of *d is distance from bottom of wall to center of reinforcing bar
each wall. The maximum spread was limited to 2.5 GPa. The
relative MOE measured near the top of the wall compared to Effect of height on in situ bond strength to
that near the bottom ranged between 92 and 100 percent for anchored bars
the evaluated SCC, except for the HSF 20 percent SG2 A good reproducibility of bond stress development vs. net
mixture which tested slightly greater MOE near the top than slip was obtained for all mixtures at various bar positions.
the bottom. This spread in MOE was approximately 93 Typical variations in bond stress vs. net slip for three rein-
percent for the control concrete which is similar to values forcing bars positioned at 52 cm from the bottom of the walls
obtained with the SCC, thus indicating the highly stable are shown in Fig. 9 for one SCC and the control mixture. The
nature of the tested SCC mixtures. C.O.V. of the average bond strength (umax) values of the two

ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997 497

Table 6Properties of hardened optimized Table 7Maximum bond strengths of optimized
mixtures with 10 mm MSA mixtures with 20 mm MSA
3 percent SF HSF HSF 3 percent 3 percent 3 percent
Mixture 40 percent SG10 20 percent SG1 20 percent SG2 SF SF 3 SF
fc MPa, 20 percent 30 per- 100 percent 40 percent Con-
Mixture FA cent LF percent C SF SG20 trol
cylinders 28 d 28 d 28 d
Umax MPa
Sample A 66.2 79.8
Sample B 70.5 81.2 d* = 7cm
Sample C 68.2 80.0 Bar 1 34.3 31.2 29.2 38.3
Mean 68.3 80.3 Bar 2 39.5 29.5 31.7 33.5 36.4 32.5
C.O.V., percent 3.2 0.9 Bar 3 41.1 27.6 30.4 40.7 39.7
fc MPa, cores 28 d 28 d 28 d Mean 38.3 29.5 30.2 31.0 38.5 36.1
d* = 7cm C.O.V.,
percent 9.4 7.3 7.2 5.6 14.1
Core A 56.9 60.9 70.5
d = 52cm
Core B 57.7 64.6 70.6
Bar 4 32.3 27.7 24.2 21.6 31 30.7
Core C 66.0 73.3
Bar 5 32.8 32.5 27.2 28.4 34.7 38.1
Mean 57.3 63.2 71.5
Bar 6 33.0 28.6 25.4 20.8 24.7 33.2
C.O.V., percent 1.0 4.1 2.2
Mean 32.7 29.6 25.6 23.6 30.1 34.0
d = 52cm
C.O.V.,
Core A 60.2 63.4 70.2 percent 1.2 8.8 5.9 17.7 16.8 11.2
Core B 61.1 61.7 73.0 d = 97cm
Core C 58.5 60.2 75.9 Bar 7 30.6 25.1 26.9 20.8 29.9 25.5
Mean 59.9 61.8 73.0 Bar 8 31.8 29.2 24.4 27.2 26.1 29.8
C.O.V., percent 2.2 2.6 4.0 Bar 9 33.9 32.5 26.4 24.0 29.7 33.4
d = 97cm Mean 32.1 28.9 25.9 24 28.6 29.6
Core A 58.7 62.3 74.1 C.O.V.,
Core B 58.7 64.1 74.9 percent 5.3 12.8 5.0 13.3 7.5 13.5
Core C 58.0 64.9 75.5 d = 142cm
Mean 58.5 63.8 74.8 Bar 10 21.9 20.5 20.1 15.6 20.4 17.5
C.O.V., percent 0.7 2.0 0.9 Bar 11 27.2 23.8 21.3 14.2 24.2 16.7
d = 142cm Bar 12 22.8 18.0 25.1 23.8 18.9
Core A 57.1 61.1 75.8 Mean 24.0 20.8 22.2 14.9 22.8 17.7
Core B 55.4 63.8 72.5 C.O.V.,
Core C 54.5 percent 11.7 13.9 11.7 6.6 9.2 6.2
*d is distance from bottom of wall to center of reinforcing bar
Mean 55.7 62.5 74.2
C.O.V., percent 2.4 3.0 3.1
MOE, GPa
d = 7cm
Core A 36.0 35.0 35.0
Core B 36.0 35.0 36.0
Mean 36.0 35.0 35.5
C.O.V., percent 0 0 2.0
d = 142cm
Core A 34.0 35.0 37.0
Core B 35.0 35.0
Mean 34.5 35.0 37.0
C.O.V., percent 2.0 0
*d is distance from bottom of wall to center of reinforcing bar

concretes were 1.2 and 11.2 percent. The umax values

measured at various levels of walls made with concrete having
20- and 10-mm MSA are summarized in Tables 7 and 8,
respectively. For the 108 pullout strength tests, the C.O.V.
values of the determine umax varied between approximately 1
and 18 percent.
The spreads in umax values with distance from the bottom
of the cast walls are plotted in Fig. 10. As expected, a reduc-
tion in bond strength was observed for the upper rebars. This
variation in umax values was, however, not statistically
significant (95 percent confidence limit) for the three SCC
mixtures containing 10 mm MSA. On the other hand, in the
case of the control concrete and the five SCC mixtures
Fig. 10Variations with depth of bond strength between
horizontally embedded bars and concrete.
containing 20-mm MSA, the difference in umax values with
height was statistically significant.
The effect of bleeding and settlement on weakening bond
strength between concrete and the rigidly held reinforcing
bars is related to several factors, including concrete fluidity,
stability, and casting position.12-15 The resulting weakening
in bond strength between reinforcements located near the
bottom and top of a cast section is known as the top-bar
factor, or the top-bar effect. Such effect is taken into account

498 ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997

 Table 8Maximum bond strengths of optimized
mixtures with 10 mm MSA
3 percent SF HSF HSF
Mixture 40 percent SG10 20 percent SG1 20 percent SG2
Umax, MPa
d* = 7cm
Bar 1 40.4 54.9 45.2
Bar 2 42.0 48.4 47.7
Bar 3 33.3 54.5
Mean 38.6 51.6 49.1
C.O.V., percent 11.9 8.9 9.8
d = 52 cm
Bar 4 29.5 52.1 48.3
Bar 5 35.4 54.3 46.9
Bar 6 39.5 51.7 48.6
Fig. 11Effect of depth on normalized bottom-to-top average Mean 34.8 52.7 47.9
bond strength ratio. C.O.V. percent 14.4 2.7 1.9
d = 97 cm
Bar 7 34.5 51.9 45.0
Bar 8 36.0 53.1 40.0
Bar 9 37.3 56.7 41.1
Mean 35.9 53.9 42.1
C.O.V percent 3.9 4.6 6.2
d = 142 cm
Bar 10 28.5 41.2
Bar 11 29.3 43.5 42.7
Bar 12 34.8 46.9 45.4
Mean 30.9 43.9 44.1
C.O.V., percent 11.3 6.6 4.3
*d is distance from bottom of wall to center of reinforcing bar

as the modification factors required to increase the develop-

Fig. 12Effect of depth on normalized bottom-to-top
average bond strength ratio.
in reinforced concrete design by using a modification factor
to increase the anchorage or overlap development lengths of
top bars to enable the development of similar bond strengths
as those of the bottom bars. For example, for conventional
steel bars, the ACI Building Code (1995) and the AASHTO
Bridge Specifications (1989) require the increase of devel-
opment length calculated for bottom bars by 30 and 40
percent, respectively, when more than 30 cm of concrete is
cast underneath the bars.16,17 In general, at equal compres-
sive strength, the top-bar effect increases in high slump
mixtures containing HRWR compared to lower slump
concretes.12,18
The umax between embedded reinforcement and concrete
depends on the diameter of the bar, as well as the mechanical
property of the concrete. Bond strength is often expressed in
terms of the tensile strength of the concrete or the square root
of fc . Since the in situ fc in the experimental walls is shown
to vary with distance from the bottom of the wall, the
measured umax values are normalized by dividing them by
the square root of the mean in situ fc measured on cores taken
at similar heights. The normalized ratios of bottom-to-top
umax values for the SCC mixtures made with 20- and 10-mm
MSA are plotted in Fig. 11 and 12, respectively. Such ratios
for the control concrete are included on both graphs for
comparison. The normalized umax ratios can be considered
ment lengths of top bars in order to secure umax values
similar to those of the bottom bars.
As expected, the top-bar factors increased with distance
from the bottom of the 150-cm high walls. For the upper
level of the reinforcement (d = 142 cm), the top-bar factor of
four SCC mixtures made with 20-mm MSA varied between
approximately 1.3 and 1.6. In the case of the control and 3
percent SF mixtures, this value was approximately 2.0. The
top-bar factor was limited to 1.20 0.05 for the three SCC
mixtures made with 10-mm MSA.
The above results can be compared to those obtained by Jirsa
and Breen18 for conventional concrete mixtures. The authors
evaluated the top-bar effect of horizontally embedded bars in
concrete blocks of various heights. The top-bar effect was
shown to increase with slump and depth of concrete below the
anchored bar. For concretes with slumps of 150 to 225 mm,
corresponding to the maximum evaluated consistency levels,
the top-bar factor for d = 142 cm was approximately 2.618. In
light of such results, the obtained modification factors of the
optimized SCC mixtures can be considered to be quite low
given their highly flowable nature.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the above results, the following conclusions may
be warranted:
1. Statistically insignificant differences were obtained
between the variations in in situ fc values along the 150-cm
high walls made with SCC and non SCC mixtures, indicating
a high degree of strength uniformity. In general, variations in

ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997 499

fc of cores tested from the top and bottom sections of the
experimental walls were limited to 8 percent.
2. Slight reductions in in situ MOE were observed
between core samples obtained near the top and bottom
portions of the walls. The maximum reduction in MOE
between the top and bottom sections varied between 0 and
8 percent for SCC mixtures and was 7 percent for the
control concrete, again indicating uniform mechanical
properties of the optimized SCC mixtures.
3. Considerable reductions were observed between fc
values obtained from testing core samples and those of
reference cylinders that received thorough vibration. In
general, the reduction in fc was 15 to 25 percent for SCC
mixtures made with 20-mm MSA, 10 percent for those
made with MSA of 10 mm, and 10 to 15 percent for
medium slump control concrete.
4. The maximum top-bar factors near the upper sections of
the 150-cm high walls for all but one SCC varied between 1.2
and 1.6, compared to approximately 2.0 for the control
concrete. Given the highly fluid nature of the evaluated SCC
mixtures, such top-bar factors are considered to be low and
reflect the stable nature of the SCC mixtures.
5. Smaller variations in in situ fc and umax with height
were obtained in SCC mixtures containing 10-mm MSA
than those with 20-mm MSA.
NOTATION
Control = 100 percent type 10 cement, medium fluidity concrete
3 percent SF/ = SCC with 3 percent silica fume and 20 percent fly ash
20 percent FA
3 percent SF/ = SCC with 3 percent silica fume and 30 percent lime-
30 percent LF stone filler
3 percent SF/ = 100 percent C = SCC with 100 percent type 10
30 percent LF cement
3 percent SF = SCC with 3 percent silica fume
3 percent SF/ = SCC with 3 percent silica fume and 40 percent blast
40 percent SG20 furnace slag with 20-mm MSA
3 percent SF/ = SCC with 3 percent silica fume and 40 percent blast
40 percent SG10 furnace slag with 10-mm MSA
HSF 20 = SCC with 8 percent silica fume and 20 percent blast
percent SG1 furnace slag, mix 1
HSF 20 = SCC with 8 percent silica fume and 20 percent blast
percent SG2 furnace slag, mix 2
CONVERSION FACTORS
1 cm = 0.0039 in.
1L = 61 in3
1 MPa = 145 psi
1 kg/m3 = 1.685 lb/yd3
500
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ACI Materials Journal/November-December 1997