Report rep038 : Durability of Self-Compacting Concrete - State-of-the-Art Report of RILEM Technical Committee 205-DSC

A lot of fundamental knowledge is available concerning the durability of traditional concrete. A good and durable concrete mix can be designed based on the state-of-the-art knowledge. However, some problems might occur in practice due to problems with execution. One of the reasons for the introduction of SCC was to avoid these durability problems related with badly vibrated concrete. Actually however, SCC is used without a general and fundamental insight of the intrinsic durability of the material itself. This could be called the durability paradox related to the implementation of SCC.

Because of this durability paradox, the RILEM Technical Committee TC 205-DSC was established in 2004, as a follow-up committee of earlier successful RILEM Technical Committees: RILEM Technical Committee TC 174-SCC on Self-Compacting Concrete, and RILEM Technical Committee TC 188-CSC on Casting of Self-Compacting, both chaired by Å. Skarendahl. The reports of these earlier RILEM Technical Committees related to Self-Compacting Concrete can be found in literature.

The work of RILEM TC 205-DSC on Durability of Self-Compacting Concrete is based on the following input:
- The RILEM State-of-the-art-report on SCC
- The proceedings of major international RILEM symposiums on SCC
- Collection of data from relevant work, as published in international scientific journals
- Relevant information concerning ongoing research projects in the field of durability of SCC, as provided by the committee members.

The results will hopefully contribute to a more precise durability design of concrete structures with self-compacting concrete. The potential durability risks related to the use of SCC are made clear. The advantages of using SCC with respect to a possibly increased service life are outlined. It is the expectation that this will contribute to a more advanced -use of SCC within concrete construction.

Furthermore, this report will hopefully improve the fundamental understanding of degrading processes in SCC, with respect to microstructure and transport mechanisms, which is a requisite to design more robust concretes and to the further development of
SCC.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Microstructure of self-compacting concrete

3. Transport properties

4. Degradation mechanisms

5. Service life modelling

6. Summary and conclusions