Influence of Mortar Rheology on Aggregate Settlement

The influence of the rheology of fresh concrete on the settlement of aggregate is examined. Fresh concrete exhibits a yield stress that, under certain conditions, prevents the settlement of coarse aggregate, although its density is larger than that of the suspending mortar. Calculations, based on estimates of the yield stress obtained from slump tests, predict that aggregate normally used in concrete should not sink. To test this prediction, the settlement of a stone in fresh mortar is monitored. The stone does not sink in the undisturbed mortar (which has a high yield stress), but sinks when the mortar is vibrated, presumably due to a large reduction in its yield stress. This implies that during placement of concrete, the aggregate settles only while the concrete is being vibrated. A unique experimental method for measuring aggregate settlement is also introduced and demonstrated

Thixotropy in macroscopic suspensions of spheres

An experimental study of the viscosity of a macroscopic suspension, i.e. a suspension for which Brownian motion can be neglected, under steady shear is presented. The suspension is prepared with a high packing fraction and is density-matched in a Newtonian carrier fluid. The viscosity of the suspension depends on the shear rate and the time of shearing. It is shown for the first time that a macroscopic suspension shows thixotropic viscosity, i.e. shear-thinning with a long relaxation time as a unique function of shear. The relaxation times show a systematic decrease with increasing shear rate. These relaxation times are larger when decreasing the shear rates, compared to those observed after increasing the shear. The time scales involved are about 10000 times larger than the viscous time scale and about 1000 times smaller than the thermodynamic time scale. The structure of the suspension at the outer cylinder of a viscometer is monitored with a camera, showing the formation of a hexagonal structure. The temporal decrease of the viscosity under shear coincides with the formation of this hexagonal pattern