- Author
-
Ferraris, C. F.
|
Obla, K. H.
|
Hill, R.
- Title
- Influence of Mineral Admixtures on the Rheology of Cement Paste and Concrete.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Boral Material Technologies, San Antonio, TX
- Journal
-
Cement and Concrete Research,
Vol. 31,
No. 2,
245-255,
2001
- Keywords
-
concretes
|
cement paste
|
rheology
|
mineral admixtures
|
test methods
|
rheometers
|
mini-slump
|
marsh cone
- Abstract
- Rheological tests on cement paste were used to successfully select the type and dosage of mineral admixtures that improved concrete workability. Among the six different mineral admixtures tested, the ultra fine fly ash (UFFA), was determined to give the best results by reducing the yield stress and viscosity. These improved rheological properties were not achieved by increasing the water demand and/or the high range water reducer admixtures (HRWR) dosage. Therefore, the addition of UFFA improved the concrete flow without a potential decrease of the hardened properties or an increase in cost. The conclusions reached based on cement paste tests were validated by concrete slump tests. The cement paste rheological data were also compared using two simpler tests, mini-slump and Marsh cone. The goal was to determine whether the simpler tests could be used to characterize the rheology of cement paste adequately. The conclusions are that these simpler tests are unreliable for measuring workability.