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RHEOLOGY MY WAY OF LIFE

O. H. Wallevik*, Reykjavik University & Innovation Center Iceland, Iceland

36th Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 14 - 16 August 2011,


Singapore

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th

36 Conference on Our World in Concrete & Structures


Singapore, August 14-16, 2011

RHEOLOGY MY WAY OF LIFE


O. H. Wallevik*
Professor
ICI Rheocenter, Reykjavik University & Innovation Center Iceland,
Menntavegur 1, 101 Reykjavk. Iceland
Tel: +354 599 6200 Fax: +354 599 6201
E-mail: <wallevik@ru.is>

Keywords: Rheology, rheograph, yield value, plastic viscosity, self-consolidating concrete

Abstract. This paper describes some of the issue of development of Olafur H.


Wallevik for three decades. Of the scientists which coached him, four inspired him
most, G.H. Tattersall, K. Hattori, Fridtjov Irgens and Hans Henrik Bache. Their
influence paved the way for Walleviks ceaseless interest in rheology. Among other
things he has developed almost a dozen instruments to evaluate the rheology of
fresh cementitious materials. Of other things that might be highlighted are the
rheograph and the development of self-compacting concrete.
Increased use of chemical admixtures in concrete and development in cement
properties demands augmented knowledge on the rheological properties such as
yield value and plastic viscosity for successful application of the product. This
knowledge can even be essential for the quality of high performance concrete such
as high strength concrete and in particular self compacting concrete. For
determination of these properties, rheology is a key tool whereas the traditional
empirical test methods like slump come short. To evaluate the rheological properties
of fresh concrete, a coaxial cylinder viscometer can be used.
Application and benefits of rheology as a tool in evaluating the properties of fresh
concrete, in particular self-compacting concrete, are briefly discussed. Several
examples are shown concerning effects of shift in parameters such as increased
water content, air content, silica fume content and different dispersing admixtures.
Further some practical examples of mix-design through use of rheology as a
designing tool are given.
A rheograph can inform (scientifically) where one is located regarding the
properties of the fresh concrete, where to go to optimize them and how to get there.
Often the alternative is just based on feeling.

_________________________________
*Adjunct Professor, Sherbrooke University, Canada

O. H. Wallevik

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Olafur H Wallevik and Rheology
Rheology is by definition the science of flow and deformation of matter and is therefore an ideal tool
and concept to evaluate the workability of fresh concrete (that is if one can quantify the rheological
properties). Olafur got acquainted with rheology in NTH Trondheim (now NTNU) at the BML
department headed by professor O.E. Gjorv three decades ago, through an experimental work with
the so-called 2-point workability device, better known as Tattersall instrument. After being inspired a
lot by the ideas of G.H Tattersall (see figure 1), he finished his master thesis in 1983 on the effect of
silica fume on rheology of fresh concrete and since then silica fume has played a big role in his
research. The year after he met K. Hattori (often named the inventor of superplasticizer as he
developed the Mighty 150) and then came intensive years as he tried to understand the Hattori-Izumi
theory on coagulation of particles. As the theory draws heavily on the basics of non-Newtonian fluid
mechanics, Olafur began taking course with professor F. Irgens at the physics department (probably
he got his most difficult student there) which led to many years of assistance. After finishing his Dr.Ing
thesis at NTH Olafur moved to Iceland where he has worked at the Iceland Building Research
Institute, now Innovation Center Iceland. From about 1993 he focused his research mainly on selfcompacting concrete and high strength concrete where the microstructural analyses in cooperation
with professor K. Kjellsen (then working at CBI) paved the way for further research on nano/micro
scale. In the area of cement chemistry a cooperation with P. Sandberg proved very fruitful. Professor
A. Bentur then inspired greatly a further development and thereafter professor S. Shah as he was so
innovative. Lately working with professor K. Khayat has been a great inspiration and one is still trying
to understand professor H. Jennings nano/micro model.
Through the years, Olafur has given some forty courses in 16 countries on diverse aspects of cement
based suspensions. This activity has been very positive for the development as before every course
one has made point of understanding how the local people make their concrete and what their
philosophy in mix-design is (concrete is very different in various countries, there is for instance likely
more difference in mix-design of Norwegian and Danish concrete than between the east and west
coast of USA). Unfortunately the mathematical skills have faded through the years, but this have
largely been compensated by the brother Jon E. Wallevik and his PFI-theory (Particle Flow Interaction
theory).
1.2 Some historical aspects
One of the first attempts to evaluate rheology of fresh concrete by basic approach was carried out by
Powers and Wiler [1] by use of a plastometer in 1941. Since then several attempts have been made
to take a more basic approach to the testing of fresh concrete properties [2-14]. Most of these
attempts, however, have only resulted in various types of prototype equipment, and still the most
common way of testing fresh concrete properties is an empirical test method, the slump method
introduced by Abrams [15] about a century ago.
a)

O. H. Wallevik

b)

c)

d)

Fig. 1. a) Wallevik, Izumi and Hattori in Japan 1987, b) One of the greatest pioneers in rheology of fresh concrete
G.H. Tattersall, who passed away in 2004, c) Fritdjov Irgens and d) Hans Henrik Bache.

It was a great step forward when Tattersall [16] introduced his two-point test apparatus for measuring
concrete workability in 1973 and likely about twenty such devices were produced for basic research.
Rheology is already used by many concrete technologists in evaluation of hardened concrete i.e.
creep. It is also used to evaluate fresh cement based materials, though most of the research has
been concentrated on basic theoretical aspects. In some cases there have been difficulties in
applying rheological test results, as measurement techniques used were somewhat questionable.
The application of rheology to understand the properties of fresh concrete is definitely relevant.
However, without a suitable tool to confirm the theory, it will always be questionable and it will be
difficult to know whether it is realistic and applicable for concrete. The use of viscometers (or
rheometers) is growing as there are over twenty in use in research centers in the Nordic countries.
Among other things, they can quantify material parameters like the plastic viscosity and the yield
value [17-21] of the fresh SCC.
2. BASICS OF CONCRETE RHEOLOGY
2.1 The flow characteristics
Fresh concrete requires the application of force (or shear stress) in order to flow. In other words, it
has a certain resistance to flow. The force required to initiate flow is called the yield value (0), see
figure 2. Increasing the rate of flow (rate of shear) causes the resistance (shear stress) to increase,
as shown in figure 2. The slope () of the line is an expression of the plastic viscosity of the mass.

0: The threshold value, 0 is a measure of the force required to initiate flow.

: The slope, is a measure of the resistance to increase in the rate of flow.


The yield value and plastic viscosity of fresh concrete can be measured with the help of a viscometer
(or rheometers like the Tattersall two-point workability test apparatus). Such a workability test
apparatus records the shear resistance (stress) of the concrete at two (or more) flow rates (rotation
velocity).
Figure 2 is based on linear relation between the rate of shear and shear stress (Bingham behavior)
but in a few cases for concrete it can be more complex, for example shear thickening behavior.
References 21 and 30 provide a detailed description.

O. H. Wallevik

Shear stress (Pa)

Rate of shear (1/s)

&

Fig. 2. A simple flow-curve of fresh concrete.

3. APPLICATIONS OF RHEOLOGY
There are many ways to apply rheology in concrete technology. One can use it during mix
proportioning or mix-design, for raw material evaluation or in quality control at a building site.
In many countries the plastic viscosity of conventional vibrated concrete (CVC) having slump value
between 50 and 150 mm, is quite low or between 20 to 40 Pas. In this case the empirical slump flow
might be an adequate way to evaluate the flowability of the fresh concrete. But if the plastic viscosity
of CVC goes much over 50 Pas the viscosity will start to impact negatively on the workability and the
concrete will be heavy to work with (viscous). Measure should then be taken to reduce the viscosity
(for instance by use of rounded aggregates, reduce the content of coarse aggregates or by use of
silica fume). As the concrete assumes more fluid character (i.e. the yield value falls below some 600
Pa (slump value < 150 mm) then the plastic viscosity starts to play bigger role. Actually, it is the ratio
of plastic viscosity to yield value that is of importance. When this ratio exceeds 10, the empirical test
methods like slump often come short in describing the workability. If the volume of water is low (170
3
kg/m ), aggregates are flaky and volume fraction of stone is high, this ratio can easily reach 100.
Then the plastic viscosity plays a major role in the workability and measure should be taken to reduce
it and make more easy flowing concrete. Use of dispersing admixtures can exert great impact on the
plastic viscosity.
Another important use of rheology is evaluation of diverse ingredients of concrete like:
 Cement
Fluctuation in properties among different cement deliveries (production dates) and in particular in
presence of dispersing admixture (a cement-admixture interaction).
 Water content
In mix-design it is important to check the plastic viscosity if the volume of water or the
water/cement-ratio (w/c) is low, as water is a major factor in reducing plastic viscosity. Thus a
(prescribed) low water content and accordingly, high viscosity, may call for other measures to
ensure sufficient workability.
 Aggregates
Information on the influence of particle shape on viscosity may be gained through rheology tests,
as well as the effect of means to reduce it, e.g. by changing the composition of total (combined)
grading curve.
Analogously the effect of the grading (including total grading of the concrete) of aggregates on
the yield value can be evaluated through rheology.
 Chemical admixtures
The effectiveness of chemical admixtures with a given cement type may be hard to predict
without thorough evaluation. To give an example, an admixture that works very well with cement
from, for instance, Denmark is not so suitable with Icelandic cement of same kind. In such cases,
rheology shows its strength, as well as in evaluation of workability loss effect of an admixture
with given cement type. Also selection of suitable dispersion admixture to reduce plastic viscosity
is greatly facilitated by use of rheology.

O. H. Wallevik

4. HOW RHEOLOGY MAY ASSIST IN MEETING JOB REQUIREMENTS


As mentioned before, CVC with relatively stiff consistency (slump < 150 mm) can have quite low
plastic viscosity (<30 Pas). Then the need for rheological evaluation is limited. This is often the case
in for instance Iceland and Denmark. On the other hand the plastic viscosity of such concrete can
also be quite high as is often seen in for instance Germany and Japan. Then the viscosity plays a
major role in finding measures to reduce plastic viscosity and arrive at a workable mix.
Figure 3 shows the so-called workability boxes for some types or applications of concrete. If
performing up-hill casting it is often necessary to call for quite high yield value so the concrete wont
start to flow before and after compacting. Yet the plastic viscosity may be kept low in order to ensure
workability. Thus it is possible to simultaneously combine high yield value to obtain stability and low
plastic viscosity to secure workability. Thus, the lower the viscosity, the higher the yield value can be
with yet a workable mix.
The extent of adverse vibration effects in the concrete from poke vibrator can be reduced significantly
by increasing plastic viscosity in the fresh concrete due to higher energy absorption.

Yield value (Pa)

Normal concrete

up-hill
casting
Slip
form
HSC
Alumunat
concrete

Pumping
Under water
SCC-IC

SCC-J

Plastic viscosity (Pa s)

Fig. 3. A rheograph for different applications of concrete [26].

If one has to pump CVC, the yield value has to exceed 150 to 200 Pa. During pumping of CVC the
concrete flows like a plug with all the shearing occurring in a slippage layer between the concrete
and the pipe wall. If shearing starts within CVC plug due to low yield value the pressure will increase
and the concrete will segregate in the pipe. SCC which has much lower yield value is specially
designed for stability (and normally through higher paste volume than CVC which leads to much less
dilatancy) can take the shearing without segregation (the pump pressure will be higher relative to
consistence of SCC).
The art of making workable high strength concrete consist in the ability to reduce plastic viscosity.
The better one masters that skill the lesser volume of water (or w/c-ratio) can be used. The same
applies for calcium aluminate concrete (CAC) which often exhibits extremely high plastic viscosity,
even at w/c-ratio 0,5. A w/c< 0,4 is often required for CAC and then measures should be taken to
reduce the viscosity by use of rounded aggregates or even silica fume. An easy way to reduce the
plastic viscosity is to increase water content, but with a given low w/c-ratio of the CAC this could lead
to very high cement content and therefore it is much more economical to use silica fume as a
viscosity reducing agent.
The under-water concrete really needs high plastic viscosity as otherwise the shearing (flowing) can
be excessive and undue washout of the cement paste will deteriorate the concrete. Also, higher
plastic viscosity will generally increase the cohesiveness of the fresh concrete. It is recommended
that the yield value should be lower that about 150 Pa to obtain necessary consolidation of the
concrete in the water.

5. RHEOGRAPH: YIELD VALUE VERSUS PLASTIC VISCOSITY


A principal illustration of the effect on yield value and plastic viscosity through changes in content of
water, silica fume, air and superplasticizer in the concrete mix is shown in the center of figure 4, (a
rheograph). The figure (old but still valid) also shows the influence on the shear stress as a function
of rate of shear.
The relations portrayed in figure 4 were established by use of a two-point workability instrument in
1983 by Wallevik [25] and after almost three decades of further research it stands basically

O. H. Wallevik

unchanged, cf. figure 5 where rheological measurement values from testing 22 mortar mixes (in a
BML Viscometer) are shown in a rheograph. The sand/cement ratio in the mixes was 2:1. The
plastisizer used was melamine based and the dosages used are shown as dry polymer weight per
unit weigth of cement.
0

Silica

Stiff

Air

Viscous
Wet

Ref.

Water

Shear stress

Rate of shear

SP

Air

SP

Water
Plastic viscosity (Pa s)
Rate of shear

Shear stress

00

Yield value (Pa)

Rate of shear

Shear stress

Shear stress

Silica

Rate of shear

Figure 4. Rheograph from 1983 [25] illustrating of the effects of water, air, SP and silica fume on the flow
behavior of fresh concrete.

a)

b)

1000

Reference mix

Yield value (Pa)

w/c: 0,37
0%

800
+Air

0.38

600
0.2%

400

+Air
0.4
0.42

200

0,46
0.54

0.4%

(same mix

0.5

repeated 5 times)

0
0

0.6% plasticizer

12

16

Plastic viscosity (Pas)


Fig. 5. Effect of a) water, air and plasticizer in mortar (8 mm) on the yield value and the plastic viscosity.and b)
aggregate shape and sand content in a rheograph [34.]

During prolonged concrete jobs, the rheological parameters of fresh concrete are sometimes known
to fluctuate significantly with cement batches, even if these are delivered from the same cement plant
and production line. This effect can be considerably more prominent if dispersing admixtures are
present in the concrete mix. This can be seen in figure 6 where the yield value of blank mixes varies
from about 240 to 370 Pa (depending on production date) whereas as the mixes containing melamine
based dispersing admixture varies from about 120 to 470 Pa. The straight line characterizes the blank

O. H. Wallevik

mix at w/c of 0,46, the broken line characterizes the Polycarboxylate ether mix at w/c of 0,36 and the
dotted line indicates the Melamine mix at w/c of 0,40.
A more detailed description of this research, through tests in a Rheomixer instead of viscometer (but
showing the same results) can be found in papers by Kubens [29,31] et al.
G Blank

G PC

G Mel

Yield value (Pa)

500

400

300

200

100

3/
20
06
C

(2
)

1/
20
06
C

(1
)

10
/2
00
5
C

10
/2
00
5

08
/2
00
5
C

05
/2
00
5
C

02
/2
00
5
C

08
/2
00
4

Production date

Figure 6. Effect of cement delivery on the yield value without and with dispersing admixtures
(for further information, see ref. 29).

From the examples related above it should be clear that use of rheology comes very handy when
designing or optimizing mixes and evaluating practical properties of fresh concrete.
6. EQUIPMENT TO ASSESS RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
6.1 Coaxial viscometers

For assessing the viscosity and yield value of a concrete mix one needs equipment which is able to
determine these parameters. The ConTec BML [17] Viscometer and the three types of ConTec
Viscometers [19] are shown in figure 7 a and b, respectively. These are coaxial cylinder viscometers
for coarse particle suspension which have proven to be efficient tools to evaluate the rheological
properties of cement suspensions. The ConTec Viscometers can be used to measure dilute
suspensions such as cement paste as well as relatively stiff concrete mixes.
Ideally these viscometers are applicable for concrete with plastic to flowing consistency. The more
fluid and stable (in respect of segregation) the mix is, the more reliable the test results will be. When
designed, they were made for concrete with a slump value of about 120 mm and higher. However,
depending on the mix design, it is possible to get sufficiently good measurements on concrete having
slump-value as low as 50 mm in extreme cases.
a)

b)

Fig. 7. The viscometers: a) The BML viscometer. b) The ConTec viscometers 5, 4 and 6.

Viscometers are ideal instruments to measure the rheological behavior of special concrete such as
High Performance Concrete (HPC), Underwater Concrete (UWC) and in particular Self-Compacting
Concrete (SCC) as the ratio 0/ is so low (<<100). They are also suitable to evaluate the effect of

O. H. Wallevik

different ingredients such as; various admixtures, pozzolanes, cement types, different deliveries of
cement, etc. The more fluid the testing material is or the higher the plastic viscosity is relative to the
yield value, the more accurate are the test results.
6.1 Rheometers

Several other instruments exist to measure the rheology of fresh concrete. Tattersall et al. developed
the two-point instrument [16, 21] in the seventies, see figure 8. The ConTec BML Viscometer [17],
already shown in figure 7a, was developed in the end of the eighties. In the beginning of the nineties,
the BTRHEOM [22] rheometer was introduced by de-Larrard France and also the IBB instrument [23]
(which is modified and automated version of the Tattersall MK III instrument) by Beaupr.

Fig. 8. The Tattersall two-point (MK II), the IBB instrument and the BTRHEOM rheometer.

As a rule of thumb if one is comparing values from these instruments; the Tattersall instruments gives
about the same values as the ConTec Viscometers and the BTRHEOM give roughly double values of
the Bingham parameters, the yield value and the plastic viscosity.
All the above listed rheometers/viscometers are pretty big and it is quite time consuming to make a
test (relative to the simple slump test), thereby not so suitable for use at the casting site. This is an
obstacle in use of rheology as one can hardly verify the prescribed rheological properties of concrete
or use rheology as a tool for quality control of concrete production during casting.
A portable rheometer, named Rheometer-4SCC has been developed at IBRI which is intended for
SCC and is at least as accurate as the rheometers mentioned above. It is quite easy to use, requires
about 7 liters of concrete for testing and the time from filling the material container, testing, data
processing to emptying it is about 1 minutes (even shorter than needed for the simple slump test).

Fig. 9. The ConTec Rheometer-4SCC at a building site.

The instrument can also be used for conventional vibrated concrete, but then a Tattersall impeller is
used instead of the so-called SCC impeller.
6.2 Rheological definition of SCC

The proposed area for SCC in a rheograph is shown in figure 10. If the plastic viscosity is low or
below some 40 Pas, the SCC should have significant yield value (depending on the viscosity). On
the other hand if the SCC is viscous i.e. showing plastic viscosity over 70 Pas, the yield value has
to be close to zero. The inner box (dark coloured) in figure 10 represents the recommended values
for pairs of yield value and plastic viscosity values for SCC.
The figure shows also the necessary slump-flow depending on plastic viscosity to obtain selfcompacting concrete.
The applied plastic viscosity can differ considerably among SCCs and the author has experienced
viscosity in the range of 7 to 160 Pas. The pioneers like Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands
generally utilize very high viscosity due to the high powder content.

O. H. Wallevik

Yield value (Pa)

160

120

80

550 mm

Min. Slump-flow to obtain SCC


600 mm

40

650 mm
700 mm

0
0

30

60

90

120

Plastic viscosity (Pa s)


Fig. 10. Old [24] and new [34] proposed area for SCC in a rheograph

The yield value in these countries is normally negligible or about zero. Norway, Iceland and
Switzerland (assuming very good aggregates) usually apply very low plastic viscosity; on the other
hand they normally employ a significant yield value (typically 30 to 40 Pa).
6.3 Use of Rheology in designing SCC

In the opinion of the author, rheological device is essential to obtain good SCC in respect of
flowability, stability and to find robust as well as economical solution. It tells (scientifically) where one
is located regarding the properties of the fresh concrete, where to go to optimize it and how to get
there. Some SCCs should be very viscous as other should have very low plastic viscosity, depending
on the application. A mix exhibiting low plastic viscosity (like 25 Pas) should have a minimum yield
value (>30 Pa) to maintain stability in respect of segregation. This can be for instance the case of
Eco-SCC [33] where the total binder content (inclunding limestone filler) of the SCC is 315 kg/m3 or
less which is very low. If the SCC is very viscous (>70 Pas) the yield value has to be close to zero
(or < 10 Pa) to be able to move. The empirical test methods like slump-flow, T50 and the V-funnel
can give an indication of the plastic viscosity, but probably only when the yield value is near zero. For
instance the V-funnel time is merely a function of the plastic viscosity and the thixotropy when the
SCC is very viscous, but a function of the yield value and the plastic viscosity when the SCC is low
viscous. Also the adhesion (stickiness) properties play a certain role regarding the V-funnel time
which is therefore not always suitable.
6.4 Examples of repair with very low and high viscous SCC

Here one will only briefly mention two examples, both of which concern repair work of bridges. In
both cases rheology was an essential tool in developing the mix-design of the concrete used. These
examples are chosen as the tasks were in many ways quite similar but the flowability/rheology of the
concrete had to be quite different. In both cases an overlay (of variable thickness) was cast onto an
old and damaged concrete.

SCC
Small gap

Fig. 11. The Stykkisholmur bridge where low viscosity SCC was used.

Very low viscosity


This example concerns a bridge deck repair. Here the SCC had to flow (quickly) with high shear rate
through narrow gap (and reinforcement), so it was designed to have very low plastic viscosity or
about 25 Pas. But as the viscosity was so low the yield value had to be relatively very high (for SCC)
to maintain stability against segregation. The yield value was about 40 to 50 Pa.

O. H. Wallevik

Very high viscosity


The other case concerns bridge pillar repair where the concrete had to flow slowly around a pillar 10
m wide, much longer distance than in the previous case and not through such
ch a narrow gap (the
reinforcement was similar in both cases). In addition, the concrete was reinforced with synthetic
structural fibers so the paste (or the matrix/binder) had to be relatively viscous to drag the fibers along
with the flowing concrete. There are also some other aspects to this case which are described by
Nielsson et al. [27].

Fig. 12. The Borgarfjordur bridge where high viscosity SCC was used (Courtesy: The Icelandic Road Administration).

Shear stress (Pa)

The aggregates used and the volume of binder/matrix


binder/matrix were quite similar in both cases. Silica fume
were also used in both cases. The main difference is that the low viscosity concrete had higher water
content and lower cementitious
ous materials and air entrainment. Figure 13 shows the different
rheological
eological properties of the fresh concrete in the two bridges.
After improving the mix-design
design in 2005 (in particular in respect of rheology) for a similar task, the
plastic viscosity of the fiber reinforced self-compacting
self
concrete (FR-SCC)
SCC) was reduced from
fr
about
100 down to about 70 Pas (which is significantly lower than typical German SCC)
SCC).

Yield value (Pa)

160

120

80

40

500
90 Pa s
400
300
200
25 Pa s
100
0

0
0

30

60

90

Plastic viscosity (Pa s)

120

10

Rate of shear (rad/s)

Fig. 13. The rheograph and the flow-curves


flow
for the low (25 Pas) and high (90 Pas) viscous SCC, respectively.

This is actually very low viscosity taken into account that the concrete had water/binder ratio of 0,26.
A key factor in obtaining this low plastic viscosity is that the aggregates are rounded and the mix
contains silica fume. Further information can be found in a papers
paper by Krage et al. [28] and
Kristjansson et al. [32].
7. FINAL REMARKS

This paper is presented at the conference Our World in Concrete and Structure in Singapore 2011,
which is dedicated to professor Olafur H. Wallevik and addresses those who have influenced most his
scientific development. Its content revolves around concrete rheology, his main subject of interest.
Rheology can supply valuable information regarding the properties of fresh concrete, where to go for
further optimization of the product and how to get there by use of a rheograph. Otherwise, the
optimization is largely based on feeling. Even if experienced technologists can achieve very passable
results that way, this approach, contrary to rheological measurements, gives little data for eventual

O. H. Wallevik

comparison to other mix solutions or for later reference. Normally, an empirical test method only tells
if the material flows but not how.
One can develop high performance concrete like SCC without rheology, but then a lot is based on
feeling. Rheology is crucial for effective development of SCC. It should be used in all phases from
selecting materials through mix-design and production.
Use of viscosimetry in concrete technology is not common for the time being as concrete is a very
complex material. However, this will change with increased use of high performance concrete such
as SCC. Knowledge of shear-viscosity is essential for successful application of these concrete
types. Hence further research in this field is valuable for further development especially of self
compacting concrete.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The colleagues at ICI (former IBRI) are thanked for their assistance, in particular Bjorn Hjartarson and
Asbjorn Johannesson. The author would like to thank the Icelandic Research Fund (Rannis).
REFERENCES
[1] Powers, T.C. and Wiler, E.M., A device for studying the workability of concrete, Proc. ASTM, 41,

1003-1015, 1941.
[2] L'Hermite, M.R. and Tournon, M.G., La vibration du beton frais, Annales de l'institut technique du

batiment et des travaux publics, New series no. 11, 1948, pp. 1-75.
[3] L'Hermite, M.R., The rheology of fresh concrete under vibration, Cement and Concrete
Association, Translation no. 9, 1949, pp. 1-32.
[4] Eriksson, A.G., Development of fluidity and mobility meter for concrete consistency test, Report
No. 12, The Cement and Concrete Institute, Stockholm, 1949.
[5] Ritchie, A.G.B., The triaxial testing of fresh concrete, Magazine of Concrete Research, Vol. 14,
No. 40, March 1962, pp. 37-41.
[6] Tassios, T.P., Plasticity and cohesionness of fresh concrete, RILEM seminar. Leeds 1973, Paper
1.3, pp. 1-38.
[7] Mizuguchi, H., Fujisaki, S. and Ohshiro, T., Measurement of plastic viscosity and yield value of
fresh concrete, Review of the 28th General Meeting, The Cement Association of Japan, 1974, pp
100-102.
[8] Mizuguchi, H., Katano, M. and Shimizu, T., Fundamental study on the properties of fresh mortar
by means of rotation viscometer, Report No. 24, Tokushima University, 1979, pp 13-23, (in
Japanese).
[9] Bache, H.H., Stability of fresh concrete, Betonteknikk, No. 3/08, Aalborg Portland, Aalborg, 1978
(in Danish).
[10] Okamoto, H., Basic study of evaluation of workability of fresh concrete, Transactions of the
Japan Concrete Institute, Japan Concrete Institute, Tokyo, Dec. 1979.
[11] Nishibayashi, S., Yamura, K. and Inoue, S., Rheological properties of superplasticized concrete,
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