Influence of the rheological properties on the steel fibre distribution and orientation in self-compacting concrete

Elena Jasiuniene, Vaidotas Cicenas, Paulius Grigaliunas, Zymantas Rudzionis, Arunas Aleksandras Navickas - Prof. K. Barsauskas Ultrasound Research Institute, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania; Department of Electronics Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania; Department of Building Materials, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania.

The interest in potential applications produced with self-compacting fibre reinforced concrete continues to grow, but in practice, problems associated with an uneven distribution and orientation of fibres in the concrete structure occur. It is not clear what exactly influences uneven distribution of fibres in selfcompacting concrete (SCC) mixtures, especially during the casting and how different factors influence fibre orientation. The objective of this work was to investigate how rheological properties influence the steel fibre distribution in self-compacting concrete. This work also focuses on the investigation of steel fibre spatial orientation dependence on rheological properties of SCC, while keeping other casting parameters and the proportions of mixture components constant.(…) The steel fibre orientation, volumetric concentration and spatial distribution values were determined in separate beam sections using three different non-destructive testing methods: electromagnetic induction, image analysis and computed tomography (CT scan).