Kochi University of Technology Academic Resource Repository

Title Self-Compacting Concrete

Author(s) Okamura, Hajime, Ouchi, Masahiro

Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology, 1(1): 5

Citation
-15

Date of issue 2003

URL http://hdl.handle.net/10173/785

Rights (c) 2003 Japan Concrete Institute.

Text version publisher

Kochi, JAPAN
http://kutarr.lib.kochi-tech.ac.jp/dspace/
 Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, April 2003 / Copyright © 2003 Japan Concrete Institute 5

Invited Paper

Self-Compacting Concrete
Hajime Okamura1 and Masahiro Ouchi2
Received 14 November 2002, accepted 30 March 2003

Abstract
Self-compacting concrete was first developed in 1988 to achieve durable concrete structures. Since then,
various investigations have been carried out and this type of concrete has been used in practical structures in
Japan, mainly by large construction companies. Investigations for establishing a rational mix-design method
and self-compactability testing methods have been carried out from the viewpoint of making self-
compacting concrete a standard concrete.

1. Development of Self-Compacting Concrete al. (Gagne et al. 1989). Since then, the term high per-
formance concrete has been used around the world to
For several years beginning in 1983, the problem of the refer to high durability concrete. Therefore, the authors
durability of concrete structures was a major topic of have changed the term for the proposed concrete to
interest in Japan. The creation of durable concrete “Self-Compacting High Performance Concrete.”
structures requires adequate compaction by skilled
workers. However, the gradual reduction in the number 2. Self-compactability of fresh concrete
of skilled workers in Japan's construction industry has
led to a similar reduction in the quality of construction 2.1 Mechanism for achieving self-compactability
work. One solution for the achievement of durable con- The method for achieving self-compactability involves
crete structures independent of the quality of construc- not only high deformability of paste or mortar, but also
tion work is the employment of self-compacting con- resistance to segregation between coarse aggregate and
crete, which can be compacted into every corner of a mortar when the concrete flows through the confined
formwork, purely by means of its own weight and with- zone of reinforcing bars. Okamura and Ozawa have
out the need for vibrating compaction (Fig. 1). The employed the following methods to achieve self-
necessity of this type of concrete was proposed by
Okamura in 1986. Studies to develop self-compacting
concrete, including a fundamental study on the work-
ability of concrete, have been carried out by Ozawa and
Maekawa at the University of Tokyo (Ozawa 1989,
Okamura 1993 & Maekawa 1999).
The prototype of self-compacting concrete was first
completed in 1988 using materials already on the mar-
ket (Fig. 2). The prototype performed satisfactorily
with regard to drying and hardening shrinkage, heat of
hydration, denseness after hardening, and other proper- Fig. 1 Necessity for Self-Compacting Concrete.
ties. This concrete was named “High Performance Con-
crete” and was defined as follows at the three stages of
concrete:

(1) Fresh: self-compactable

(2) Early age: avoidance of initial defects
(3) After hardening: protection against external
factors

At almost the same time, “High Performance Con-

crete” was defined as a concrete with high durability
due to a low water-cement ratio by Professor Aïtcin et

1Professor, Kochi University of Technology, Japan

2Associate Professor, Kochi University of Technology,
Fig. 2 Comparison of mix proportioning between Self-
Japan. E-mail: [email protected] Compacting Concrete and conventional concrete.
6 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003

Fig. 3 Methods for achieving self-compactability. Fig. 5 Comparison of mix-proportioning of SCC with
other types of conventional concrete.

compactability (Fig. 3) (1995): ratios of the coarse aggregate volume to its solid volume
(G/Glim) of each type of concrete are shown in Fig. 6.
(1) Limited aggregate content The degree of packing of coarse aggregate in SCC is
(2) Low water-powder ratio approximately 50% to reduce the interaction between
(3) Use of superplasticizer coarse aggregate particles when the concrete deforms.
In addition, the ratios of fine aggregate volume to solid
The frequency of collision and contact between aggre- volume (S/Slim) in the mortar are shown in the same
gate particles can increase as the relative distance figure. The degree of packing of fine aggregate in SCC
between the particles decreases and then internal stress mortar is approximately 60% so that shear deformability
can increase when concrete is deformed, particularly when the concrete deforms may be limited. On the
near obstacles. Research has found that the energy other hand, the viscosity of the paste in SCC is the high-
required for flowing is consumed by the increased inter- est among the various types of concrete due to its lowest
nal stress, resulting in blockage of aggregate particles. water-powder ratio (Fig. 7). This characteristic is
Limiting the coarse aggregate content, whose energy effective in inhibiting segregation.
consumption is particularly intense, to a level lower than
normal is effective in avoiding this kind of blockage.
Highly viscous paste is also required to avoid the
blockage of coarse aggregate when concrete flows
through obstacles (Fig. 4). When concrete is deformed,
paste with a high viscosity also prevents localized
increases in internal stress due to the approach of coarse
aggregate particles. High deformability can be achieved
only by the employment of a superplasticizer, keeping
the water-powder ratio to a very low value.
The mix proportioning of self-compacting concrete is
shown and compared with those of normal concrete and
RCD (Roller Compacted concrete for Dams) concrete
(Fig. 5). The aggregate content is smaller than conven-
tional concrete that requires vibrating compaction. The Fig. 6 Degree of aggregate’s compaction-Coarse
aggregate in concrete and fine aggregate in mortar.

Fig. 7 Relationship between paste volume and water-

Fig. 4 Mechanism for achieving self-compactability. powder ratio.
 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003 7

open the center

gate
680 mm

obstacle
200

280 height
Fig. 8 U-flow test.
Fig. 9 Box test. Fig. 11 V-funnel.
There are three purposes for self-compactability tests Flow and funnel tests for mortar or paste have been
relating to practical purposes. proposed to characterize materials used in self-
compacting concrete, e.g. powder material, sand, and
Test (1): To check whether or not the concrete is super-plasticizer. Testing methods for the mortar prop-
self-compactable for the structure erties were also proposed and the indices for
Test (2): To adjust the mix proportion when self- deformability and viscosity were also defined as G m and
compactability is not sufficient Rm (Figs. 12 and 13).
Test (3): To characterize materials
G m = ( d1 d2 - d02 )/d02,
As Test (1), the so-called U-flow test or Box test is
d1, d2: measured flow diameter;
recommended (Figs. 8, 9 and 10). The U-flow test was
developed by the Taisei Group (Hayakawa 1993). In d0: flow cone diameter
this test, the degree of compactability can be indicated Rm = 10/t,
by the height that the concrete reaches after flowing t (sec): measured time (sec) for mortar to flow
through an obstacle. Concrete with a filling height of through the funnel
over 300 mm can be judged as self-compacting. The
Box-test is more suitable for detecting concrete with A larger G m indicates higher deformability and a
higher possibility of segregation between coarse aggre- smaller Rm indicates higher viscosity. Characterizing
gate and mortar. methods for materials were proposed using the G m and
If the concrete is judged to be having insufficient self- Rm indices.
compactability through test (1), the cause has to be
detected quantitatively so that the mix proportion can be
adjusted. Slump-flow and funnel tests (Fig. 11) have
been proposed for testing deformability and viscosity,
respectively, and the indices were also defined as G c and
Rc.

G c =(Sfl1 Sfl2 - Sfl02)/Sfl02,

Sfl1,Sfl2: measured flow diameter; Sfl0: Slump cone
diameter
Rc = 10/t,
t (sec): measured time (sec) for concrete to flow
through the funnel
Fig. 12 Mortar flow test

Fig. 10 Obstacles employed in Box test: R2 (Left) and

R1 (Right). Fig. 13 Mortar funnel test.
 8 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003

2.2 Factors of self-compactability in terms of Sufficient deformability of the mortar phase in concrete
testing results is required so that concrete can be compacted into struc-
The factors making up self-compactability were tures by its self-weight without need for vibrating com-
described in terms of the test results for fresh concrete paction. In addition, moderate viscosity as well as
and mortar below. deformability of the mortar phase is required so that the
relative displacement between coarse aggregate parti-
(1) Influence of coarse aggregate depending on cles in front of obstacles when concrete is to flow
spacing size around such obstacles can be reduced and then segrega-
It is not always possible to predict the degree of com- tion between coarse aggregate and mortar can be inhib-
paction into a structure by using the test result on the ited. The necessity for viscosity was confirmed by
degree of compaction of the concrete into another struc- Hashimoto’s visualization test.
ture, since the maximum size of coarse aggregate is The indices for mortar deformability G m and viscosity
close to the minimum spacing between the reinforcing Rm were proposed by using mortar flow and funnel test
bars of the structure. For example, the relationship results. The relationship between mortar deformability
between coarse aggregate content in concrete and the and viscosity and the self-compactability of fresh con-
filling height of the Box-type test, which the standard crete is shown assuming a fixed coarse aggregate con-
index for self-compactability of fresh concrete, is shown tent (Fig. 15). The existence of an optimum combina-
in Figs. 14 and 15. The relationship between the filling tion of deformability and viscosity of mortar for
height through obstacle R1 and that through R2 varied achieving self-compactability of fresh concrete was
depending on the coarse aggregate content. That test demonstrated.
result shows that the influence of coarse aggregate on
the flowability of fresh concrete largely depends on the (3) Role of mortar as solid particles
size of the spacing of the obstacle. It can be said that In addition to its role as a liquid mentioned above, mor-
the self-compactability of fresh concrete has to be dis- tar also plays a role as solid particles. This property is
cussed in terms of solid particles as well as in terms of so-called “pressure transferability”, which can be appar-
liquid. ent when the coarse aggregate particles approach each
other and mortar in between coarse aggregate particles
(2) Role of mortar as fluid in flowability of fresh is subjected to normal stress (Fig. 16). The degree of
concrete the decrease in the shear deformability of the mortar
largely depends on the physical characteristics of the
400
solid particles in the mortar (Fig. 17) (Nagamoto 1997).
Filling height of Box-test (mm)

For example, the difference in the relationships

300 between the funnel speeds of mortar and concrete due to

200
t :mortar’s shear s : normal stress
Obstacle R2 (3 hours) resistance
100 t steel plate
Obstacle R1 (5 hours)
s mortar

0
steel plate
250 300 350
Unit coarse aggregate content (litter/m3)

Fig. 14 Influence of coarse aggregate content on self- Fig. 16 Normal stress generated in mortar due to
compactability. approaching coarse aggregate particles.

Fig. 17 Degree of increase in shear deform resistance t

Fig. 15 Relationship between mortar’s flowability and due to s depending on physical characteristics of solid
self-compctability of fresh concrete. particles.
 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003 9

Fig. 18 Relationship between mortar’s and concrete’s Fig. 21 Unique relationship between Rcs/Rm and
flowability (V65 funnel). degree of self-compactability.

differences in the fine aggregate content in mortar are Rcs/Rm are shown in Fig. 20. The difference in the
shown in Fig. 18. It was found that the relationship characteristics of the solid particles in mortar can be
between the flowability of mortar and concrete cannot reflected by the value of Rcs/Rm. The relationship
always be unique due to differences in the characteris- between Rcs/Rm and the filling height of the Box-type
tics of the solid particles in the mortar, even if the char- test, which is the index for self-compactability of fresh
acteristics of the coarse aggregate and its content in con- concrete, is shown in Fig. 21. It was found that the
crete are constant. relationship was unique despite the differences in the
A simple evaluation method for the stress transferabil- fine aggregate content in mortar or the characteristics of
ity of mortar was proposed by using the ratio of the fun- sand or powder particles.
nel speed of concrete with glass beads as the standard
coarse aggregate (Rcs) to the speed of mortar (Rm) (Fig. (4) Influence of coarse aggregate -Content, shape
19) (Ouchi 2000). The higher stress transferability cor- and grading-
responds to the smaller value of Rcs/Rm. The relation- T h e i n f lu e n ce o f c o a r se a g g r eg a t e o n t h e s el f -
ships between fine aggregate content in mortar and compactability of fresh concrete, especially flowability
through obstacles, can be equal despite the shape of the
coarse aggregate particles’ shape as long as the ratio of
coarse aggregate content to its solid volume in concrete
is the same (Fig. 22) (Matsuo, et al., 1994). However,
the influence of the grading of coarse aggregate has also
to be considered if the spacing of the obstacles is very
close to the maximum size coarse aggregate. For exam-
ple, the relationships between the size of the concrete
funnel’s outlet and the flow speed through it depends on

Fig. 19 A Simple Evaluation Method for Stress Transfer-

ability of Fresh Mortar.

Fig. 20 Relationships between fine aggregate content in

mortar and Rcs/Rm
[1: OPC+Crushed Sand(CS), 2: Fly Ash (FA)+CS, 3: Fig. 22 Unique relationship between ratio of coarse
FA+River Sand(RS), 4: OPC + RS, 5: OPC+Land aggregate content to its solid volume in concrete despite
Sand(LS)]. difference in gravel shape.
10 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003

investigations to establish the following items have been

carried out mainly at the University of Tokyo since the
development of the prototype.

(1) Self-compactability testing method

(2) Mix-design method
(3) Acceptance testing method at job site
(4) New type of powder or admixture suitable for
self-compacting concrete

Of those items, (1) has already been mentioned in this

paper. (2), (3) and (4) are described below

Fig. 23 V-funnel. 3.2 Mix-design method

(1) Rational mix-design method
the fineness modulus of coarse aggregate FM even if the Self-compactability can be largely affected by the char-
property of the mortar phase is the same (Figs. 23 and acteristics of materials and the mix proportion. A ratio-
24). It was found out that the flow speed of concrete nal mix-design method for self-compacting concrete
through a funnel with an outlet width of 55 mm was using a variety of materials is necessary. Okamura and
largely influenced by the grading of the coarse aggre- Ozawa (1995) have proposed a simple mix proportion-
gate. ing system assuming general supply from ready-mixed
concrete plants. The coarse and fine aggregate contents
3. State of the art on Self-Compacting Con- are fixed so that self-compactability can be achieved
crete easily by adjusting the water-powder ratio and
superplasticizer dosage only.
3.1 Current status of Self-Compacting Concrete
Self-compacting concrete has been used as a “special (1) The coarse aggregate content in concrete is fixed
concrete” only in large general construction companies at 50% of the solid volume.
in Japan. In order for self-compacting concrete to be (2) The fine aggregate content is fixed at 40% of the
used as a standard concrete rather than a special one, mortar volume.
new systems for its design, manufacturing and construc- (3) The water-powder ratio in volume is assumed as
tion of self-compacting concrete need to be established. 0.9 to 1.0, depending on the properties of the powder.
Various committee activities on self-compacting con- (4) The superplasticizer dosage and the final water-
crete have been carried out as a result. powder ratio are determined so as to ensure self-
Among them, a system by which the ready-mixed compactability.
concrete industry can produce self-compacting concrete
as a normal concrete would seem the most effective In the mix proportioning of conventional concrete, the
since, in Japan, as much as 70% of all concrete is pro- water-cement ratio is fixed at first from the viewpoint of
duced by the ready-mixed concrete industry. Assuming obtaining the required strength. With self-compacting
a general supply from ready-mixed concrete plants, concrete, however, the water-powder ratio has to be
decided taking into account self-compactability because
self-compactability is very sensitive to this ratio. In
most cases, the required strength does not govern the
water-cement ratio because the water-powder ratio is
small enough for obtaining the required strength for
ordinary structures unless most of the powder materials
in use is not reactive.
The mortar or paste in self-compacting concrete
requires high viscosity as well as high deformability.
This can be achieved by the employment of a
superplasticizer, which results in a low water-powder
ratio for high deformability.

(2) Adjustment of water-powder ratio and super-

plasticizer dosage
The characteristics of powder and superplasticizer large-
ly affect the mortar property and so the proper water-
Fig. 24 Dominance of gravel grading for flowability powder ratio and superplasticizer dosage cannot be
through small spacing. fixed without trial mixing at this stage. Therefore, once
 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003 11

the mix proportion is decided, self-compactability has to

be tested by U-flow, slump-flow and funnel tests. Meth-
ods for judging whether the water-powder ratio or
superplasticizer dosage are larger or smaller than the
proper value by using the test results, and methods for
estimating the proper values are necessary. The relation-
ships between the properties of the mortar in self-
compacting concrete and the mix proportion have been
investigated and then formulated. These formulae can
be used to establish a rational method for adjusting the
water-powder ratio and superplasticizer dosage to
achieve appropriate deformability and viscosity (Ouchi
1998).

3.3 Acceptance test at job site

Fig. 25 Automatic acceptance test at job site.
Since the degree of compaction in a structure mainly
depends on the self-compactability of concrete, and
poor self-compactability cannot be compensated by the There have been many examples of the development
construction work, self-compactability must be checked of new type of superplasticizer for self-compacting con-
for the whole amount of concrete just before casting at crete. Characterization of the dispersing effect of
the job site. However, conventional testing methods for superplasticizer independent of the effect of water flow
self-compactability require sampling and this can be is indispensable.
extremely laborious if the self-compactability accep- The authors found that the ratio of G m to Rm was
tance test is to be carried out for the whole amount of almost constant with the variety of Vw/Vp (volume ratio
concrete. A suitable acceptance test method for self- of water to powder) on condition that Sp/P was constant
compactability has been developed by Ouchi et al (Fig. 26). G m/Rm, the ratio of G m to Rm was proposed
(1999).: as the index for the dispersing effect by superplasticizer
(Fig. 27). The relationship between Sp/P and its effect
(1) The testing apparatus is installed between the G m/Rm is quite different depending on the combination
agitator truck and the pump at the job site. The
whole amount of concrete is poured into the appara-
tus.
(2) If the concrete flows through the apparatus, the
concrete is considered as self-compactable for the
structure. If the concrete is stopped by the apparatus,
the concrete is considered as having insufficient self-
compactability and the mix proportion has to be
adjusted.

This apparatus was successfully used at the construc-

tion site of the Osaka Gas LNG tank and saved a consid-
erable amount of acceptance test work (Fig. 25)
(Kitamura 1999).
Fig. 26 Relationship between flow area and funnel
speed of fresh mortar with variety of water-powder ratio
3.4 New type of superplasticizer suitable for and superplasticizer dosage.
Self-Compacting Concrete
There is more room for improvement for admixtures
such as superplasticizer suitable for self-compacting
concrete. In order to achieve this purpose, characteriza-
tion of materials is indispensable.
The requirements for superplasticizer in self-compacting
concrete are summarized below.

(1) High dispersing effect for low water/powder

(cement) ratio: less than approx. 100% by volume
(2) Maintenance of the dispersing effect for at least
two hours after mixing
(3) Less sensitivity to temperature changes Fig. 27 Definition of dispersing effect by superplasticizer
by using flow and funnel test results.
12 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003

Fig. 28 Relationship between superplasticizer dosage

and its effect in accordance with material in use.

Fig. 29 Shin-kiba Ohashi bridge.

of superplasticizer and powder material in use (Fig. 28)
(Ouchi et al. 2001; Sugamata et al. 2001). At this stage,
the relationship cannot be estimated without any experi- in confined zones where vibrating compaction is dif-
mental result due to the chemical effect of super- ficult
plasticizer depending on the combination to the powder (3) To eliminate noise due to vibration: effective
material in use. especially at concrete products plants

3.5 Segregation-inhibiting agent The volume of self-compacting concrete in Japan is

It has been found that it is possible to manufacture self- shown in Fig. 30. The production of self-compacting
compacting concrete with constant quality, especially concrete as a percentage of Japanese ready-mixed con-
self-compactability. However, any variation in material crete, which accounts for 70% of total concrete produc-
characteristics can affect self-compactability. The most tion in Japan, is only 0.1%. The current status of self-
influential variant is the water content of fine aggregate, compacting concrete is “special concrete” rather than
which results in variations in the water content of the “standard concrete.”
concrete itself. To solve this problem, some general con- Other applications of self-compacting concrete are
struction companies employ a segregation-inhibiting summarized below.
agent. This type of agent is effective in making self-
compactability less sensitive to the variation of the Bridge (anchorage, arch, beam, girder, tower, pier,
water content in the concrete. Various agents are avail- joint between beam & girder)
able for this purpose in Japan (Hibino 1998). Box culvert
Building
4. Applications of Self-Compacting Concrete in Concrete filled steel column
Japan Tunnel (lining, immersed tunnel, fill of survey
4.1 Current condition on application of self- tunnel)
compacting concrete in Japan Dam (concrete around structure)
After the development of the prototype of self- Concrete products (block, culvert, wall, water tank,
compacting concrete at the University of Tokyo, inten- slab, and segment)
sive research was begun in many places, especially in
the research institutes of large construction companies.
As a result, self-compacting concrete has been used in
many practical structures. The first application of self-
compacting concrete was in a building in June 1990.
Self-compacting concrete was then used in the towers of
a prestressed concrete cable-stayed bridge in 1991 (Fig.
29). Lightweight self-compacting concrete was used in
the main girder of a cable-stayed bridge in 1992. Since
then, the use of self-compacting concrete in actual struc-
tures has gradually increased. Currently, the main rea-
sons for the employment of self-compacting concrete
can be summarized as follows.

(1) To shorten construction period

(2) To assure compaction in the structure: especially Fig. 30 Volume of SCC cast in Japan.
 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003 13

Diaphragm wall In addition, a rational acceptance test for self-

Tank (side wall, joint between side wall and slab) compactability at the job site was newly introduced.
Pipe roof The concrete casting was completed in June 1998.

4.2 Large scale construction 4.3 Concrete products

Self-compacting concrete is currently being employed Self-compacting concrete is often employed in concrete
in various practical structures in order to shorten the products to eliminate vibration noise (Fig. 32). This
construction period of large-scale constructions. improves the working environment at plants and makes
The anchorages of Akashi-Kaikyo (Akashi Straits) the location of concrete products plants in urban areas
Bridge opened in April 1998, a suspension bridge with possible. In addition, the use of self-compacting con-
the longest span in the world (1,991 meters), is a typical crete extends the lifetime of mould for concrete prod-
example (Fig. 31) (Kashima 1999). Self-compacting ucts (Uno 1999). The production of concrete products
concrete was used in the construction of the two anchor- using self-compacting concrete has been gradually
ages of the bridge. A new construction system that increasing (Fig. 33).
makes full use of the performance of self-compacting
concrete was introduced for this purpose. The concrete 4.4 Necessity for new structural design and
was mixed at the batcher plant next to the site, and was construction systems
then pumped out of the plant. It was transported 200 Using self-compacting concrete saves the cost of vibrat-
meters through pipes to the casting site, where the pipes ing compaction and ensures the compaction of the con-
were arranged in rows 3 to 5 meters apart. The concrete crete in the structure. However, total construction cost
was cast from gate valves located at 5-meter intervals cannot always be reduced, except in large-scale con-
along the pipes. These valves were automatically con- structions. This is because conventional construction
trolled so that the surface level of the cast concrete systems are essentially designed based on the assump-
could be maintained. The maximum size of the coarse tion that vibrating compaction of concrete is necessary.
aggregate in the self-compacting concrete used at this Self-compacting concrete can greatly improve con-
site was 40 mm. The concrete fell as much as 3 meters, struction systems previously based on conventional
but segregation did not occur, despite the large size of
coarse aggregate. In the final analysis, the use of self-
compacting concrete shortened the anchorage construc-
tion period by 20%, from 2.5 to 2 years.
Self-compacting concrete was used for the wall of a
large LNG tank belonging to the Osaka Gas Company.
The adoption of self-compacting concrete in this partic-
ular project had the following merits.

(1) The number of lots decreased from 14 to 10 as the

height of one lot of concrete was increased.
(2) The number of concrete workers was reduced
from 150 to 50.
(3) The construction period of the structure decreased
from 22 months to18 months.

Fig. 32 Casting of SCC for Tunnel Segment.

Fig. 31 Anchorage 4A of Akashi-Kaikyo bridge. Fig. 33 Volume of SCC for concrete products in Japan.
14 H. Okamura and M. Ouchi / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 1, No. 1, 5-15, 2003

lished. In addition, new structural design and construc-

tion systems making full use of self-compacting con-
crete should be introduced.
When self-compacting concrete becomes so widely
used that it is seen as the “standard concrete” rather than
a “special concrete,” we will have succeeded in creating
durable and reliable concrete structures that require very
little maintenance work.

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