Self-compacting concrete properties of fresh and hardening concrete for civil engineering applications

Abstract: This licentiate thesis consists of three papers, A-C. In Paper A the consequence of using self-compacting concrete for civil engineering applications regarding the fresh and young stage and possible consequences on production techniques are studied. This study includes an investigation and evaluation of production techniques for a full-scale project, and an examination of fresh and hardening concrete properties for SCC where influences from different ingoing materials are investigated. The outcome from the project was satisfactory. In paper B various concrete mixes have been examined in order to find possible relations between workability tests and rheological parameters in order to make it possible to classify a fresh self-compacting concrete mix according to rheological properties. In paper C load carrying capacities of cracked as well as un-cracked concrete railway sleepers have been investigated. The cracking is believed to be caused by delayed ettringite formation.The tests show that small cracks do not seem to influence the load-carrying capacity and it is first when the cracking is very severe that the load-carrying capacity is reduced significant.