Mechanical Properties of High-Strength Self-Compacting Concrete

In this research work, the mechanical properties of high-strengthself-compacting concrete (HSSCC) were studied. Three mixes were selected,having compressive strengths of more than 70, 80, and 90 MPa, respectively.For these three mixes, the stress-strain characteristics werestudied by casting cylinders. It was observed during the testing thatthe binder content and water-to-binder ratio influence the strengthof HSSCC, and slow changes in stress-strain curves were seenas the strength increased. The use of HSSCC results in reduced bondcracking, leading to a more linear and steeper stress-straincurve in the ascending branches as the strength of the concrete increases.Elastic properties such as modulus of elasticity and Poisson'sratio of HSSCC were calculated using experimental data. In HSSCC,since the aggregate content is lower and the size of the aggregatesis smaller, it will have a lower modulus of elasticity compared tonormal vibrating concrete (NVC). Thus, an equation is proposed fromthe experimental results for predicting the modulus of elasticityof HSSCC. The results suggest that the proposed equation for predictingthe elastic modulus of HSSCC for strengths ranging from 70 to 90 MPais valid. It was also observed that the Poisson's ratio valuesfor all three mixes of HSSCC were found to be lower than the typicalvalue for NVC, indicating a higher degree of stiffness.