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Study of the Rheological Behavior of Mortar with Silica Fume and Superplasticizer Admixtures According to the Water Film Thickness

  • Structural Engineering
  • Published:
KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Aims and scope

Abstract

In the manufacture of mortar or concrete, the mixing water fills the interstitial voids between the solid particles of cement and the volume of the resulting paste should be more than sufficient to fill the voids between the fine and coarse aggregates. So we should have enough water to cover all the fine particles and enough paste to cover all aggregates. Therefore, it can be assumed that both Water Film Thickness (WFT) and paste film thickness have major effects on the rheology of the mortar. In this work, we try to apply this approach to understand the rheological properties of mortars containing various amount of Silica Fume (SF) with two types of superplasticizer using rheometer apparatus and mini cone test. The results show that the rheological behavior is governed by water film thickness and the dosage of superplasticizer. However, for high dosages water film thickness remains the only factor governing the behavior. In addition, the mixture compactness increases significantly when adjuvanted with efficient superplasticizer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory Geomaterials, Hassiba Benbouali University of Chlef, Algiers, Algeria

    M’hamed Adjoudj & Karim Ezziane

  2. Cergy Pontoise University, 95000, Cergy-Pontoise, France

    El Hadj Kadri & Hamza Soualhi

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  1. M’hamed Adjoudj
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  2. Karim Ezziane
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  3. El Hadj Kadri
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  4. Hamza Soualhi
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Correspondence to M’hamed Adjoudj.

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Adjoudj, M., Ezziane, K., Kadri, E.H. et al. Study of the Rheological Behavior of Mortar with Silica Fume and Superplasticizer Admixtures According to the Water Film Thickness. KSCE J Civ Eng 22, 2480–2491 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-017-0228-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-017-0228-3

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