Effect of rebar diameter and spacing on workability of self-consolidating concrete

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is able to flow under its own weight and fills the formwork without any external vibration. Nowadays, concrete is the most important building material used in the construction of structures with great preservation for human life such as power plants, airports, buildings and bridges. New researches are emerging every day to improve concrete properties. In this study, the effect of rebar diameter on the workability properties of self- consolidating concrete was investigated. For this purpose, self- consolidating concrete mixtures of two different maximum aggregate grain sizes, 15 mm and 22.4 mm, were prepared. Within the scope of the thesis, a functional formwork was designed to provide using of different rebar diameters and locations. In this study, slump flow, T500 time, Visual stability index (VSI), J-ring and column segregation tests were carried out on the self-consolidating concrete mixtures. According to various rebar diameter and location, the passing properties and segregation of SCC were investigated. As a result of the study, it was found that the passing ability and segregation resistance of the SCC mixtures decrease with the increase of rebar diameter. The mixture with maximum aggregate size of 15 mm was observed to be free of blockage, while the mixture with maximum aggregate size of 22.4 mm was observed to show significant blockage. It is concluded that developed functional formwork can be used as an alternative method to determine the distribution of coarse aggregate and segregation ratio in different regions of the rectangular formwork after pouring SCC.