Optimising construction with self-compacting concrete

Winner of the 2018 ICE Publishing Awards (Thomas Howard Medal) for the best paper of the year in the Construction Materials journal. Permission is granted by ICE Publishing to print one copy for personal use. Any other use of these PDF files is subject to reprint fees.Self-compacting concrete or self-consolidating concrete (as it is known in North America) (SCC) is used on the basis of its unique properties of flowability, passability and resistance to segregation. It requires no external energy to achieve full compaction, so is advantageous on site, but there is evidence that its higher cost is a significant barrier to greater adoption. The research entailed work measurement of 14 UK single-family home residential projects (eliciting data on construction time and labour productivity) and cost modelling of three slab scenarios (exploring the relationship between material and labour costs). The study found SCC was placed up to 73% faster than conventional concrete and, when labour and material costs are included, the supplier is able to price SCC to closely match conventional concrete, hence making SCC more viable for the contractor. This relationship between as-built costs for SCC and conventional concrete is clarified by developing Pmax, providing a new mechanism for understanding project profitability and viability of SCC

UK contractors’ views on self-compacting concrete in construction

This briefing was published in the journal Proceedings of the ICE - Construction Materials [© ICE Publishing]. The website is at: http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/serial/coma. Permission is granted by ICE Publishing to print one copy for personal use. Any other use of these PDF files is subject to reprint fees.Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is claimed to offer faster construction, safer sites and more consistent concrete quality, but little corroborative research data exist on performance advantages, particularly in comparison with traditional construction. Industry opinions also appear to be divided. For these reasons, an extensive interview programme was undertaken with UK contractors – from large national concrete frame contractors to small, locally based housebuilders – to assess whether benefits were being achieved and to try to understand the reasons why SCC is, or is not, being used. The 48 participants reported that decisions on the suitability of SCC were inherently complex and, if selected, there were challenges in understanding ‘how’ construction should be planned and managed to accommodate the use of SCC and to fully utilise its advantages. The findings identify the need for a step change in the industry’s perception of SCC, such that it should be considered as a construction method, not simply as a material