Form Filling with Self-Compacting Concrete

This paper describes a newly started Ph.D. project with the aim of simulating the form filling ability of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) taking into account the form geometry, reinforcement configuration, casting technique, and the rheological properties of the concrete. Comparative studies of the form filling during actual castings and simulations by a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program will be carried out to verify if a continuum mechanical approach is valid, and if the SCC can be characterised by the Bingham model or other parameters, such as thixopropic behaviour, have to be taken into account. Furthermore investigations will be carried out to verify and further develop models based on the composite theory describing the effect of mixture composition on the rheological properties and stability of fresh SCC.