Advanced Materials Research Vol 629 (2013) pp 466-470 Online: 2012-12-27

© (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland

doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.629.466

Influence of Sand Ratio on the Fluidity Properties of SCC in CRTS III

Type Track System
Haipeng Gua, Guhua Lia, Xiaohui Zenga, Jianqiang Chenga
a
Southwest Jiaotong University, No.111 Erhuanlu Beiyiduan,Chengdu 610031,China

Keywords: SCC; CRTS III type track; sand ratio; workability

Abstract. In order to prepare SCC (self-compacting concrete) which is used as the packing layer in
CRTS III type track system this paper primary researched the influence of sand ratio on its
performance through experiments of the design of mix proportion. Test results show that when sand
ratio is too small, the fluidity of SCC will be bad and the concrete will generate segregation and
weeping. If sand ratio is too great, the workability of SCC will not be good either, but segregation
will not occur again. The optimum range of sand ratio is 0.56 to 0.58 in this paper, while the range
proposed by China Academy of Railway Sciences is 0.50 to 0.55.

Introduction
CRTS III type track is a new type of slab ballastless track which was invented by China
independently. Unlike the other two types, CRTS I type track and CRTS II type track, CRTS III type
track does not use CA mortar but use SCC as the packing layer. SCC has good workability,
excellent mechanical properties and durability [1]. What’s more, the mechanical properties are not
sensitive to temperature comparing CA mortar. SCC makes slab, packing layer and supporting layer
as a whole to ensure its long-term integrity [2,3,4]. The structure of the new type of slab ballastless
track is shown in Fig.1, the size of the interspace where the concrete is poured in is
100×2700×5350mm.The interspace is very narrow and thin, so the workability of the concrete must
be very good. The processes of the preparation and construction of this concrete is very difficult,
which is one of the vital technologies of the new type track. However, the study of SCC is
insufficiently, the concrete in actual project doesn’t work as expected.

Fig.1 Structure of CRTS III

Therefore, it is very significant to develop SCC with good workability for the application of
CRTS III type track. Sand ratio is one of vital parameters in the design of mix proportion, and it
plays a great influence on the workability of fresh concrete [5]. HUANG Jian has done much
research on mix proportion of SCC, but he did not consider the influence of sand ratio on the
workability of fresh concrete [6]. LI Jinrui has proposed that when sand ratio is 0.50 to 0.52, the
concrete will has good workability [4]. But China Academy of Railway Sciences has proposed that
the optimum range of sand ratio is 0.50 to 0.55 [7]. So, this paper primary did more research to get
the optimum range of sand ratio.

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 Advanced Materials Research Vol. 629 467

Technical requirements of fresh concrete

The packing space in CRTS III type track is very thin, and there is a steel mesh in it, which makes it
very difficult to be filled to compact as normal concrete. So the concrete used in CRTS III type
track must have good fluidity, mechanical properties and durability and so on. The standard of
workability and test methods in [7] are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Standards of performance and test method
Item Performance Test method
Slump flow (mm) 600-750
Slump test
T50 (s) 2-6
BJ (mm) <18 J-ring test
Bleeding ratio 0
H2/H1 ≥0.9 L-box test
T700L (s) 10-18

Material and experiments

Raw material. (1) Cement
P.O42.5, Lafarge cement, is used in this experiment. The performance which is shown in Table 2
conforms to the requirements of GB175-1999.
(2) Fly ash
The fly ash is produced by Suining Power Plant, the performance is shown in Table 3.
(3) Sand
River-sand is used and the fineness modular is 2.8, gradation Ⅱ is qualified by “Construction
Sand” (GB/T 14684-2011). Apparent density is1590kg/m3, packing density is 2600kg/m3. The
performance of sand conforms to the requirements of GB/T 14684-2011.
Table 2 Performance of cement

Flexural
compression
Density Setting time (min) strength
Fineness 80μm strength (MPa)
Normal (MPa)
Item square-hole Stability
consistency (%)
(g/cm3) screen (%) Initial Final
setting setting 3d 28d 3d 28d
times time
P·O42.5 3.14 2.9 26.0 168 230 Qualified 5.7 8.2 27.7 48.2

Table 3 Performance of fly ash

Item Fly ash I
Density (g/m3) 2.319
Fineness (%) 9.6
Water demand ratio (%) 91
Ignition loss (%) 1.87
(4) Crushed stone
Diameters of the stones are 5-10mm and 10-16mm.
(5) Water reducing agent
The water reducing rate is 30%, and it meets the requirements of “Concrete Admixture”
(GB8076-2008) and “Polycarboxylic Water Reducing Agent” (JG/T223-2007).
(6) Expensive agent
UEA type of expensive agent is used, and the use meets the requirements of “Technical Code for
Application of Admixture in Concrete” (GB50119-2003).
(7) Water
The water meets the criterion of “Standard of Water for Concrete” (JGJ63-2006).
Design of mix proportion. The self compacting theory of SCC is shown in Fig.2. Coarse aggregate
is suspended in the mortar which has good cohesive and deformability, under its own gravity, coarse
aggregate wrapped in mortar flow throw the reinforcing mesh to lead concrete with good
compactness. As a result, to get SCC with good fluidity and filling-ability, choosing optimum sand
ratio and aggregate gradation makes a great difference.
468 Material Sciences and Manufacturing Technology

Fig.2 Process of self-compacting of SCC [8]

According to computation and other studies in [1,7,9], the most appropriate amount of binder is
500 to 600kg/m3, the proportion of fly-ash is 20% to 35%, expanding agent 8% to 15%. Water-
binder ratio at 0.31 to 0.36 is the best, and the dosage of water reducing agent is about 2.8%. The
amount of sand and stone is 1700 to 1800 kg/m3, the stone of 5-10mm and stone of 10-16mm is 7:3.
In order to get the appropriate sand ratio, several groups of mix proportion are designed in Table 3.
Table 3 Mix proportion of SCC
Expanding Stone (kg/m3) Water
Cement Fly-ash Sand Water
Item agent reducing
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) 5-10mm 10-16mm (kg/m3)
( kg/m3) agent
SCC-1 308 187 55 905 585 250 180 2.8%
SCC-2 308 187 55 955 550 235 180 2.8%
SCC-3 308 187 55 1009 511 220 180 2.8%
SCC-4 308 187 55 1044 487 209 180 2.8%

Experiments. Slump test: it is accorded to CCES02-2004 “Design and construction guidelines of

SCC”. Filled the slump meter with concrete, then lifted it up slowly, and tested time that slump flow
reached 50cm and the final slump flow. This experiment mainly tests the fluidity of the concrete.
J-ring test: the apparatus of this experiment contains a slump meter and a J-ring. J-ring is made
up with 16 steel bars whose diameter is 18mm, and the diameter of J-ring is 300mm [7]. It tests the
anti-segregability and ability of flowing through steel bars of concrete by testing the average height
difference of the concrete from four directions between the outside and middle of J-ring.
L-box test: accorded to CCES02-2004, the time that the concrete flows to the end of the box and
the final slope of the concrete in the box can be tested to test the fillibility of the concrete.
Results analysis
Effects of sand ratio on fluidity. As can be seen from Fig.3, when the sand ratio is 0.52 to 0.60,
the expansion of SCC increases first, and then decreases with the increase of sand ratio. The
expansion is all up to the requirement and it reaches a maximum when the sand ratio is about 0.56.
While T50 decreases first, and then increases with the increase of sand ratio, but it can meet
demands only when the sand ratio is about 0.58.

Fig.3 (a) Test of fluidity; (b) Result of the test

 Advanced Materials Research Vol. 629 469

When the water quantity is stably, if sand ratio is small, there is not enough sand to play the role
of rolling, and the void between stones is increased, which can only be filled with mortar. As a
result, the mortar that acts as lubricant decreases, which makes the internal friction of fresh concrete
increase, and the fluidity of concrete turns to bad. If sand ratio is too great, the total surface area of
aggregate is big, cement paste which used to cover the surface of the stones and sand particles needs
to be increased. So, when using water and cementing material quantity stably, the concrete becomes
very sticky, and the fluidity becomes bad. The optimal range of the sand ratio is 0.56 to 0.58 from
this test.
Effects of sand ratio on anti-segregability. The result of J-ring test is shown in Fig.4.When the
sand ratio is less than 0.55, too many stones are accumulated in the middle of J-ring. The problems
of segregability and weeping are seriously, as is shown in Fig.4. With the increase of the sand ratio,
the stones in the middle of J-ring decrease. When the sand ratio is about 0.58, BJ is just 13mm. But
the value of BJ will increase because of the decrease of the fluidity of concrete when the sand ratio
continues to increase, but segregation does not occur again.
When sand ratio is small, there is not enough mortar to wrap stones. As a result, some stones of
fresh concrete cannot flow which leads to segregation. When sand ratio is great, the concrete is too
sticky to flow through the steel bar. The optimal range of the sand ratio is 0.56 to 0.59.
Effects of sand ratio on fillibility. The result of L-box test can be seen from Fig.5, the shape is
similar to the shape of Fig.5. With the increase of the sand ratio, the value of T700L decreases first,
and then increases, while the value of H2/H1 increases first, and then decreases, they both reach
extreme value when sand ratio is about 0.58. The concrete flows slowly because of its bad fluidity,
and the segregation makes it flow through steel bars in L-box hardly when sand ratio is small. But,
if sand ratio is great, the concrete will be too sticky to flow. Because, inner friction of the concrete
increases so much that it cannot flow by its own gravity any more even the slope of concrete is still
great. The optimal sand ratio is about 0.58 from the figure.

Fig.4 (a) Test of anti-segregability; (b) Result of the test

Fig.5 (a) Test of fillibility; (b) Result of the test

470 Material Sciences and Manufacturing Technology

Conclusion
SCC in CRTS III should have super good workability, because the packing layer is very narrow and
long. From the tests, it can be concluded that on the basis of definite amount of other materials, if
sand ratio is less than 0.56, the concrete will not only have bad fluidity but also generate
segregation; if sand ratio is more than 0.58, the concrete will be very thickness without any
segregation, but the fluidity will be bad. The optimum range of sand ratio is 0.56 to 0.58 from this
research.

Acknowledgements
This paper is finally supported the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of
China (SWJTU11CX015) and (SWJTU12BR035).

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Influence of Sand Ratio on the Fluidity Properties of SCC in CRTS III Type Track System
10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.629.466