Concrete

:This article is about the construction material. For the philosophical term, see Concrete (philosophy). For the comic book, see Concrete (comics). For the film see Concrete (film).

Self compacting concretes

During the 1990s a number of countries including Japan, Sweden and France developed a range of concretes that were self-compacting. These 'SCC's are characterised by their extreme fluidity (using plasticizers), behaving more like water than the traditional viscous concrete.

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SCCs are characterized by

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• extreme fluidity measured by flow or slump, typically measured between 700-750 mm.
• no need for vibrators to compact the concrete, which can be noisy
• no or little need for expensive concrete pumping equipment
• no bleed water (excess water draining out of the concrete)

SCC can offer benefits of up do 50% in labour costs, due to it being poured up to 80% faster and having reduced wear and tear on formwork.

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As of 2005, self compacting concretes account for 10-15% of concrete sales in some European countries.

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