Rheological properties of paste for self-compacting concrete with admixtures

The paste content in the self-compacting concrete is about 40% in unit volume. The rheological properties of paste directly determine the properties of self-compacting concrete. In this paper, the effect of silica fume (2, 3, 4, and 5%), limestone powder (5, 10 and 15%), and the viscosity modified admixture (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7%) on the rheological properties were investigated. The effect of admixtures on shear thickening response was discussed based on the modified Bingham model. The results indicate that yield stress and plastic viscosity increased with increased silica fume and viscosity modified admixture replacement. The paste’s yield stress increases and then decreases with limestone powder replacement. The critical shear stress and minimum plastic viscosity are improved by silica fume and viscosity modifying admixture. The critical shear stress first increases and decreases as the limestone powder replacement increases. A reduction in the shear thickening response of paste was observed with silica fume and viscosity modified admixture replacement increase.