Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180

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Construction and Building Materials

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Review

Rheological properties of fresh concrete and its application on shotcrete

Guoming Liu a,b,c, Weimin Cheng a,b,⇑, Lianjun Chen a,b,⇑, Gang Pan a,b,⇑, Zhaoxia Liu a,b
a
State Key Laboratory of Mining Disaster Prevention and Control Co-founded by Shandong Province and the Ministry of Science and Technology, Shandong University of Science
and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
b
College of Safety and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
c
National Demonstration Center for Experimental Mining Engineering Education, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China

h i g h l i g h t s

Various rheology models of fresh concrete were summarized.

Methods used for rheological measurement were described.

Relationship between rheology and shotcrete was analysed.

Challenges of rheology to shotcrete were discussed.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In the last decades, significant advances have been made to investigate the rheology of fresh concrete. It
Received 29 September 2019 was generally accepted that rheology plays a key role in the estimation of concrete workability. However,
Received in revised form 30 November 2019 the application of rheology on shotcrete is relatively few. Thus, this paper tries to make a link between
Accepted 13 January 2020
the rheology and shotcrete application. In the first part, various rheology models of fresh concrete were
Available online 28 January 2020
summarized. The characteristics and application scope of rheological models are discussed. In a second
part, methods allowing for the measurement of the yield stress and plastic viscosity with or without
Keywords:
the use of a rheometer were described, along with the corresponding transformation equations. The
Rheology
Model
methods of avoiding imprecise translation were put forward. In the third part, the relationship between
Measurement rheology and shotcrete was analyzed, which could be considered as practical tools allowing for the pre-
Shotcrete diction of pumpability and shootability of fresh concrete.
Challenge Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Rheology models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Obtaining rheological properties of concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1. Measurement of rheological parameters with a rheometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.1. Parallel plate rheometer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.2. Concentric cylinder rheometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.3. Other type rheometer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2. Avoiding inaccurate interpretation of rheological measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.1. Selecting suitable rheology model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.2. Correcting for plug flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.3. Avoiding particle migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.3. Indirect calculation for rheological parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.3.1. Calculating from slump or slump flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.3.2. Calculating from particle volume fraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3.3. Calculating from the particle distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

⇑ Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: skdlgm@sdust.edu.cn (G. Liu), wmcheng@sdust.edu.cn (W. Cheng), skyskjxz@163.com (L. Chen), threven@sdust.edu.cn (G. Pan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118180
0950-0618/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180

4. Rheological application for shotcrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4.1. Pumpability based on rheology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.1.1. Plastic viscosity and yield stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.1.2. Prediction of pump pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2. Shootability based on rheology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2.1. Build-up thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2.2. Rebound rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3. Effect of shotcrete process on rheological properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5. Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Conflict of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

1. Introduction measurement of concrete is used to be regarded as an alternative

Shotcrete is widely used in various civil engineering and con-
struction projects, from repairs or building construction to tunnel-
ing or anchored retaining walls [1–4]. Generally, shotcrete has two
process of wet-mix or dry-mix. Wet-mix shotcrete is a process that
dry concrete materials is mixed with water before being pumped
into the delivery hose or pipe for pneumatic placement, while
dry-mix shotcrete is a process where dry or slightly moist compo-
sitions of concrete are introduced into the spray machine and con-
veyed pneumatically through a hose to the spraying gun in which
mixing water is added. The main difference between wet and dry
process lies in the location where water is injected, and hence in
the contacting time between water and raw materials. In both
cases, it finally forms the consolidation concrete on the receiving
surface. In addition, wet-mix shotcrete produces less dust and
low rebound when compared to dry-mix shotcrete, which reduces
some mining hazards such as pneumoconiosis, roof accidents [5–
13]. Especially for wet-mix shotcrete, when considering the pump
and spray process, it requires a low resistance and a moderate sta-
bility to insure the reasonable flowability during pumping, as well
as a viscosity and a consistence to maintain a good bond develop-
ment with receiving surface, adequate structural performance and
proper durability during spraying. Therefore, two properties of
wet-mix shotcrete are often assessed as follow: pumpability -
the mixture should have appropriate fluidity and viscosity [14–
16]; shootability - it can be regarded as the ability of concrete to
be sprayed with suitable cohesion and adhesion [16–19]. Pumpa-
bility needs a high flowability while the shootability needs a low
flowability. It is obvious that two properties seems to be in conflict
in terms of flowability of fresh concrete. To apply wet-mix shot-
crete successfully, the requirements for good pumpability and
shootability must be satisfied in both cases.
However, the main approach applied for studying the behavior
of shotcrete is generally practical and empirical of nature. Guideli-
nes for proportioning wet-mix or dry-mix shotcrete, for designing
pipe configurations, and for placing concrete by a nozzleman are
based mostly on practical experience and trial and error
approaches [1–4]. Additionally, high pipe resistance, even block-
age, may occur in the pump process; high rebound rate and unrea-
sonable build-up thickness may appear in the spray process. Those
questions can delay the engineering process.
Understanding these factors that affect the properties of shot-
crete has been a challenge for decades, and lots of attempts have
been made to solve the problem, including rheological analysis,
adopting high initial air shotcrete or optimizing aggregate phase
[16,17]. In especial, rheology is an efficient tool for a complex com-
posite material to descript the corresponding properties. It can
achieve the scientific description of pump or spray process of shot-
crete. In addition, rheology is very important for 3D printing as
already emphasized by many researchers [20–25]. The rheological
of nearly 100-year old slump test [26]. Slump is a traditional tool
that can estimate the workability of fresh concrete. But slump
may cause large error. Roussel et al. [27] pointed out that slump
test was insufficient to directly assess the pumpability because
the fresh concrete with identical slump value may have different
pumping performance. Good slump does not guarantee good
pumping performance of concrete and vice versa. It has been rec-
ognized that rheological parameters measured by a rheometer
can precisely access the workability of fresh concrete. The
frequently-used parameters employed for presenting rheological
properties of fresh concrete include yield stress, plastic viscosity
and thixotropy and so on [28,29]. The application of rheology
science in fresh concrete field has taken a huge leap forward in
the last few years regarding the use of rheology to optimize the
behavior of construction materials [30–33].
To be specific, in term of pumpability (i.e. pressure loss, block-
age or not), Feys et al. [34] indicated that there exists a correlation
between the concrete rheological properties and pressure loss. He
also showed that the flow rate - pressure loss in pipe relationship
reflects the rheological behavior of fresh concrete, such as non-
linear rheological properties would result in non-linear ‘‘press
loss-flow rate” curves. Secrieru et al. [14] focused on various meth-
ods to characterize the pumpability of fresh concrete based on rhe-
ology. Mai et al. [35] confirmed clearly that the pumping pressure
depends not only on the properties of boundary layer between pipe
and concrete bulk, but also on the rheological parameters of the
concrete.
When it comes to the shootability, most studies focus on the
modification of shotcrete by mixing some admixtures or additive
to improve its shootability. The essence of modification is to opti-
mize the properties of concrete. During spray process, rebound loss
is detrimental for the environment, inducing overconsumption of
material. Besides, rebound may lead to an in-place mixture that
has richer cement content and thus induces increased shrinkage
[17,36–38]. Hence, the reduction of rebound loss and the improve-
ment of the material quality have been the major goals for improv-
ing shootability. According to literatures [36,39–42], recent work
has established a relationship between shootability and various
impacting factors such as the placement method and rheological
properties of shotcrete. Pfeuffer et al. [43] established a relation-
ship model between the rheological characteristics and rebound.
But the rheological parameters measured in this tests was the
characteristics of corresponding mortar without being shot, which
cannot represent the real rheological properties of shotcrete. Sim-
ilarly, Armengaud et al. [18] also thought that Pfeuffer’ research
changed the overall structure of the shotcrete material and proba-
bly altered interpretations.
Therefore, from the point of view of forecasting and controlling
shotcrete, it is crucial to understand the rheological parameters of
wet-mix shotcrete [15,44]. Measuring the rheological properties of
 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180
fresh concrete is not a straightforward task because they vary with
shear history and time due to early hydration and thixotropy
[45,46]. Unfortunately, there is no uniform measurement specifica-
tion because the rheometers developed vary from working princi-
ple to conversion equation. Various rheometers may lead to
significant quantitative differences between rheological parame-
ters (yield stress and plastic viscosity) measured. Hence, the exact
rheological properties of concrete need to be known.
Although lots of work has been indeed carried out to under-
stand the correlation between rheological properties and shotcrete
process [16,28,47], there is few paper to summarize these
researches. Meanwhile, there are still neither codes nor any other
official regulations for the assessment of concrete pumpability
and shootability based on rheology. Thus, this paper presents a
critical review on the correlation between rheological properties
and shotcrete process in recent publications. The objective is to
advance our understanding of rheology and its application on shot-
crete, including selecting rheology model, avoiding inaccurate
interpretations and measuring methods of rheological parameters,
as well as estimating and controlling the pumpability and shoota-
bility. Moreover, some remaining challenges were further
discussed.
2. Rheology models
Based on the rheological parameters, the workability of shot-
crete can be optimized for the better concrete quality. In addition,
when the numerical simulations of concrete flow and the pipe
pressure prediction of fresh concrete are conducted, the values of
plastic viscosity and yield stress of fresh concrete are also required
[33,48]. Hence, the selection of rheology models is important for
obtaining the accurate parameters, which will influence the esti-
mated value of rheological properties [49]. Different rheology
models have been reported to descript the properties of fresh con-
crete. Eq. (1–9) list various mathematical forms of rheology models
[50].
All flow curves of rheology models show the relationship
between shear stress and shear rate. Excepting Quemada model
Eq. (8), others required an intercept on the shear stress axis as a
yield stress: a minimum shear stress that must be applied before
the concrete material starts to flow (the curves do not go through
the origin). The simplest type of Bingham model Eq. (1) has a linear
relationship between shear stress and shear rate. If the cement-
based material belonged to shear-thinning or shear-thickening,
the Bingham model would lead to the inexact estimation in terms
of yield stress (sometimes even physically impossible values),
while the non-linear model like Herschel–Bulkley model Eq. (2)
or modified Bingham model Eq. (3) may generate the reasonable
yield stress values.
In Herschel-Bulkley model, the exponent b is a measure for the
rheological behavior of cement-based material. When the flow
index b is equal to 1, it is a special case of Herschel-Bulkley relation
where the result is the Bingham model. If b﹥1, rheological curve is
a shear thickening behavior in which viscosity increases when
shear rate is high (less flow at high shear rate); If b < 1, rheological
curve is shear thinning behavior where viscosity decreases with
increasing shear stress (more flow at high shear rate). However,
some authors [49,51,52] indicated that Herschel–Bulkley model
is not the best model to describe non-linear characteristic of
cement-based material. When compared to other models applied
on the same set of data, Yahia et al. [51] thought that Herschel–
Bulkley model may result in the highest value for the yield stress
in case of shear-thickening, while the opposite has been concluded
for shear-thinning materials. The discrepancy can be explained
in the mathematical formulation: the zero-shear viscosity
3
(inclination of the rheological curve at zero shear rate) is always
zero for shear-thickening materials (b﹥1), or it is always infinite
for shear-thinning materials (b < 1); as a result, as the zero-shear
viscosity is zero in terms of shear-thickening materials, the veloc-
ity gradient is infinite at the boundary between the sheared zone
and the plug, where the shear rate is close to zero [49]. Therefore,
in order to avoid the problem, a linear term was introduced in the
rheological equation, finally forming the modified Bingham model
Eq. (3) that can provide a better description of the non-linear
behavior of cement-based materials (excepting highly shear-
thickening phenomenon) [53,54].
Eq. (4) is a thixotropy model that is based on the assumption
that a Bingham model is sufficient for the description of the steady
state flow of fresh concrete [55–57]. In this model, k is the floccu-
lation state of fresh concrete. At rest, the shear rate is equal to zero,
the flocculation structure is built because of the hydration of
cementitious materials, and the yield stress is: s0 ðtÞ ¼ s0 þ Athix t,
where, t is time, Athix = s0 =T is the important thixotropic parameter
of fresh concrete. That is to say, with the increase of time, the floc-
culation state k is increased, thus resulting in the larger yield
stress. But k is equal to zero after just mixing. Through the succes-
sive steps in the shotcrete process (rest phase, re-mixing phase,
pumping phase and spraying phase), k will evolve from its initial
zero value to a positive value according to Eq. (4–2).
Additionally, more complicated yield stress material also exists,
like others Eq. (5–9), which appear to offer some benefits in
describing the flow behavior of special rheological materials [34].
For the highly pseudoplastic cementitious materials, the linear
model is very weakness for fitting the nonlinear curve, especially
at low shear rates. The characteristic of rheology models and the
scope of application are listed in Table 1. For example, Eq. (5) is
complex and restrictive, it is suitable for mixtures with viscous
addictive such as silica fume. Considering that there are too many
factor affecting concrete properties, it is suggested that according
to the scatter diagram of experimental data, the type of rheological
curve should be estimated in advance, and then the rheological
model will be determined.
Note: where a, b and c are constants that may include material
parameters in some cases; generally, s (Pa) is shear stress, s0 (Pa) is
yield shear stress, g (Pa s) is plastic viscosity, c_ (1/s) is shear rate, k
is flocculation state of concrete, a is thixotropic parameter and T is
characteristic time of flocculation.
From a practical point of view, the yield stress describes the
behavior of a fluid which behaves like an elastic solid body up to
a certain load (yield stress, flow limit) [60,64]. It is associated to
whether or not concrete material will flow in pipes or adhere to
the receiving surface under an applied stress in term of wet-mix
shotcrete. The plastic viscosity is related to the velocity at which
fresh concrete given will flow once flow is started [60,64]. It can
be noted that, in the field of shotcrete unlike casting concrete,
the applied stress is mainly derived from pump thrust during
pumping process and from high pressure wind during spraying
process. The applications of these non-linear rheology models
above are complicated for calculating rheological parameters, and
the deviation between non-linear and linear models is very small
under normal experimental conditions for ordinary concrete mix-
tures. Thus, in most cases of wet-mix shotcrete, it was suggested
that the modified Bingham model Eq. (3) are the most commonly
used and accepted [19,53,54,65-68].
3. Obtaining rheological properties of concrete
There are two methods to obtain rheological parameters: direct
and indirect method. The direct method is to get rheological
parameters from a rheometer. The indirect method is to obtain
4 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180

Table 1
Rheology models and its characteristic.

Model Equation Characteristic and Scope of application Literatures

Bingham Eq. (1):s ¼ s0 þ g  c_ Simplest and most practical; suitable for instantaneous measurement without time-varying [26,58]
effect; unsuitable for the low water-to-cementitious materilas ratio
Herschel-Bulkley Eq. (2):s ¼ s0 þ a  c_ Relatively complex and practical; suitable for the materials with shear-thinning or shear- [59]
b

thickening; mathematical restriction in the region of low shear rates

Modified Bingham Eq. (3): Complex and better practical; suitable for the non-linear behavior of cement-based materials [51,60]
s ¼ s0 þ g  c_ þ c  c_ 2 (excepting highly shear-thickening)
Thixotropic model Eq. (4–1): Complex and restrictive; suitable for the beginning flow with considering the static yield stress [55,56]
s ¼ ð1 þ kÞ  s0 þ g  c_
@t ¼ T  akc
Eq. (4–2):@k 1 _
Casson Eq. (5): Complex and restrictive, suitable for mixtures with viscous addictive such as silica fume [51,61]
pffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
s ¼ s0 þ g  c_
De Kee Eq. (6): Complicated data treatment; suitable for materials with 100% cement and rheology-modifying [51]
s ¼ s0 þ g  c_  eac_ admixtures
Yahia and Khayat Eq. (7): More complex; unsuitable for the highly shear-thickening materials [51]
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
s ¼ s0 þ 2 s0  g  c_  eac
Quemada Eq. (8): Most complex; suitable for the highly pseudoplastic cementitious materials [62]
pffiffiffiffiffi
1þ ac 2
s ¼ ðbþc pffiffiffiffiffiÞ  c
ac
_
Vom Berg Eq. (9): Complex and restrictive; suitable for the mixtures with both shear-thinning and shear- [63]
s ¼ s0 þ a  sinh1  ðb  c_ Þ thickening

them through back stepping from traditional workability parame-

ters, such as slump and slump flow [27,57,69-71].

3.1. Measurement of rheological parameters with a rheometer

It is not an effortless task to acquire the right rheological

parameters of fresh concrete because of the complex geometry of
a rheometer and the intrinsic properties of the material (thixotropy
or segregation) [49,72]. During the developing history of rheome-
ters, at first, a mixer type rheometer were used for determining
rheological parameters based on the measurement of the electric
mixing powder requirements. These rheometers have a drawback
of lacking the precision in determining the applied torque. Then
a hydraulic transmission was introduced to eliminate the impre-
cise measurement, along with the development of Tattersall
MKⅡand MKIII type rheometers, corresponding to high and low
workability concretes, respectively. Noted that an interrupted heli-
coidal screw was designed on Mk-II rheometer to prevent or min-
imize particle migration that causes the formation of a lubrication
layer [45]. Later, several modification type rheometer apparatuses
were made by researchers. Now, strain gauge technology is applied
for measuring the applied torque to further improve its precision
[17]. Additionally, hand operating was gradually replaced by the
full-automation for a rheometer.
Even if there are various types rheometers such as Couette Vis-
cometer [73], Parallel Plates Rheometer [74] and customized
rheometers for large coarse aggregates (BTRheom [75], BML [76],
eBT2 [44] or two-point test [77]), they are almost based on the
geometries of the coaxial cylinders or the parallel plate system
[49]. After years of efforts, the continuous development of rheolog-
ical device has basically realized the accurate measurement of rhe-
ological parameters. At present, the most popular rheometer is
based on the coaxial cylinder rheometer. So far, there is no compre-
hensive rheometer which can directly read rheological parameters
(yield stress or plastic viscosity), but only obtain relative rheolog-
ical parameters such as rotation torque. Besides, their correspond-
ing transformation equations are described in this section.
3.1.1. Parallel plate rheometer
The device with two parallel plates is the simplest rheometer in
term of the structure, as shown in Fig. 1. Through analysis, it is
obvious that the shear rate c_ is the velocity divided by the separa-
tion distance between two plates, while shear stress s corresponds
Fig. 1. The rheometer with parallel sliding plates [28].
to the applied force divided by the contract area [78]. This type of
rheometer has simple transformation equations Eq. (10) from raw
data measured in test to rheological parameters. Baudez et al. [79]
employed the parallel rheometer to study the material flowing
properties, the author found the apparent behavior of non-
Newtonian highly viscous fluid was dependent on the gap between
the plates, and the measurement results were less representative
of material intrinsic properties. However, Olafur et al. [28] showed
that the practicability of parallel plate system is bad because of its
inflexibility.
(
c_ ¼ v max
h
ð10Þ
s ¼ l1Fl2
3.1.2. Concentric cylinder rheometer
The concentric cylinder rheometer, such as the ConTec Vis-
cometer, BML-Viscometer and the ICAR rheometer, consists of an
inner cylinder and an outer cylinder [17]. In the early days, some
problem were existed with most of these rheometers. The rheology
measurement of fresh concrete with larger particles was not pre-
cise because larger aggregates cause the turbulence or segregation
and thus break normal flow. What’s more, the appearance of lubri-
cation layer at the interface between the surface of concentric
cylinder and the concrete sample was observed. This lubrication
film generally resulted in relatively low viscosity. Afterwards, in
order to eliminate the effect of lubrication film on rheology test,
some protruding structure was proposed and installed at the inner
 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180
or outer cylinder. This structure can prevent or at least slow down
segregation during measuring rheological parameters. For exam-
ple, both the inner and outer cylinders in ConTec Viscometer [45]
were installed with protruding ribs (Fig. 2), similarly, ICAR
rheometer also has 4-blade vane at the inner cylinder [80].
In term of these concentric cylinder rheometers, it is noted that
the gap distance between inner and outer cylinders is an important
parameter that restricts the maximum aggregate size of fresh con-
crete sample. Generally, the gap distance should be larger than
three times the maximum aggregate size because the interaction
between aggregates would be intensified, causing measuring
errors when this gap was too small. Feys et al. [45] used three dif-
ferent types of rheometer, representing three different gap dis-
tance between inner and outer cylinders respectively, to explore
the effect of gap distance on the rheology measurement. The
results showed that regardless of the gap distance, the rheological
properties of the corresponding mortar was the same during test-
ing; increasing aggregate content enhanced the difference in rheo-
logical measurement between different rheometer configurations.
Although the rheological measurement with using rheometers
is called ‘‘direct measurement”, in fact, it is not the real direct
method because the concentric cylindrical rheometer directly
measures relative rheological parameters, such as torque and rota-
tional speed, rather than shear stress and shear rate. The corre-
sponding rheological curves obtained by a rotational rheometer
is plotted in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 (a) shows the ascending and descending
branches of torque with the velocity. Noted that at the low applied
shear strain in Fig. 3 (a) or at the beginning phase in Fig. 3 (b), tor-
que (shear stress) increases gradually until it reaches its maximum,
i.e. static yield stress, then decreases to a stable value, i.e. dynamic
yield stress. The static yield stress refers to the yield stress that was
used to overcome the flocculation structure inside the fresh
Fig. 2. Photographic images and schematic representation of (a) ConTec viscometer [81].
Fig. 3. (a) A continuous rotational test for a rotational rheometer; (b) Variation of shear stress with time [86].
5
concrete when the inner cylinder or blade of a rheometer begins
to stir the fresh concrete during rheological tests. The dynamic
yield stress refers to the yield stress measured by the rheometer
when there is no or almost no flocculation structure in fresh con-
crete, because the flocculation structure has been destroyed by
the previous rotation of the rheometer. In Fig. 3, the change of
dynamic yield stress with time tends to constant value. Combined
with the measurement method of rheological parameters, the
dynamic yield stress is actually the yield stress of fresh concrete.
The relationships between yield stress and the performance of
shotcrete were descripted in Section 4.1 and Section 4.2.
In Fig. 3 (a), the ascending and descending branches nearly form
a hysteresis loop. This phenomenon is caused by the thixotropic
behavior [60,82]. Roussel [55] ever proposed a thixotropic model
in which the static yield stress increased as a linear function of
time. Banfill et al. [83] studied the rheology of cement pastes and
found three main types of hysteresis loop that depend on the
length of shear time.
Considering the thixotropic behavior, the linear regression
method is usually used to fit the plotted decline curve in order to
reduce the fitting error. It is characterized by the Y-intercept G
and the slope H, expressed in Eq. (11), which is related to the Bing-
ham fluid that appears in Eq. (1) in Table 1.
T ¼GþHN ð11Þ
Luckily, there exists the Reiner-Riwlin equation Eq. (12) for con-
centric cylinder rheometers [84,85], which can transform the rela-
tive rheological parameters in Eq. (11) into the real values in Eq.
(1). The advantage of Reiner-Riwlin method is that only one
approximation calculation is carried out during the transformation
process, i.e. fitting the appropriate curve on the original T-N data to
determine the rheological properties.
6 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180
8    
>
> the calibration found in literatures [26,33,48,89]. However, there
> s ¼
< 0 4ph R2i R20  ln R0
G 1
 1 Ri
 
>
> moeters without an inner cylinder so far. It is difficult to determine
>
: g ¼ 8pH2 h R12  R12
i 0
where H is the slope that refers to the resistance against deforma-
tion (plastic viscosity) and G is the interrupt that means the force
required to initiate the flow of the concrete mixture (yield shear
stress); h is the height of the inner cylinder (submerged in the con-
crete during the test), Ri and R0 are the radii of the inner and outer
cylinder.
3.1.3. Other type rheometer
Besides the coaxial cylinder and the parallel plate system, there
are many other types of rheometer that do not have the inner
cylinder. For example, Fig. 4 shows the eBT2 rheometer whose
measuring produce is based on the ball measuring system (BMS)
[87,88]. Two probes replace the inner cylinder of a concentric
cylinder rheometer. At the set speed, the device rotates 360
degrees, the data obtained by a measuring probe will be processed
into a flow curve that related to Bingham model. Hence, the rela-
tive yield stress and relative viscosity are determined according
to the measured data. For eBT2 rheometer, non-shear fresh con-
crete can be measured directly at any time. The measurement is
usually less than 1 min. It can greatly reduce the separation prob-
lems that may occur in the measurement process. Gołaszewski
[44] used this type of rheometer to investigate rheological param-
eters of fresh concrete, and indicated that changes in the rheolog-
ical properties of fresh concrete over time could be predicted based
on measuring corresponding mortar properties.
The IBB rheometer uses an H-shape impeller rather than an
cylinder to measure fresh concrete, as shown in Fig. 5 [15]. The tor-
que exerted on this impeller is measured when the impeller stirs
fresh concrete in a measuring bowl. In spite of the different inner
structure, both eBT2 and IBB rheometer also use Eq. (11) to calcu-
late the relative yield stress and the relative plastic viscosity. Fur-
thermore, the rheometer can also be calibrated by means of
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) according to the principle of
Fig. 4. Schematic of eBT2 rheometer [86].
Fig. 5. Details of IBB rheometer with H-shape impeller [15].
is no corresponding transformation procedure for those rheo-
ð12Þ
the real rheological parameters from the relative rheological
parameters measured by these types of rheometer.
3.2. Avoiding inaccurate interpretation of rheological measurements
The process of interpreting rheological measurements is consid-
erably complicated, some errors or inaccuracies in data interpreta-
tion can result in erroneous conclusions. In some literatures,
methods used for transforming raw data into fundamental rheo-
logical units were developed and discussed. Estelle et al. [90] pro-
posed a simpler method, but it is excessively sensitive to noise
appeared in the experimental data. For other methods, as men-
tioned above, the Reiner–Riwlin equation can achieve the trans-
forming function, however, this equation is only applicable for
Bingham materials and ignores the effect of the plug flow during
test [24]. In addition, in terms of non-linear rheology model, it is
a challenge to transform the measured raw data into real rheolog-
ical parameters. Particle migration and thixotropy also induce the
problems of data interpretation during rheological testing. Next,
we elaborate on how to avoid inaccurate interpretation from three
aspects.
3.2.1. Selecting suitable rheology model
Wallevik et al. [28] discussed the major issues that may cause
the inaccurate interpretation of rheological measurements. He sta-
ted the necessity of selecting an alternative rheology model rather
than Bingham model, and proposed some transformation equa-
tions suitable for non-linear rheological models. Yahia and Khayat
[51] indicated that the modified Bingham model Eq. (3) can pro-
vide a more accurate rheological estimate than other models when
the concrete mixture is not highly shear-thickening. Feys et al. [49]
also showed that the modified Bingham model can deliver a better
value for determining yield stress by comparing the yield stress
obtained from slump flow with the yield stress obtained from
the three different rheology models. In order to further the applica-
tion of the modified Bingham model for those non-linear rheolog-
ical materials, Feys et al. [49] described the interpretation equation
Eq.(13) for the modified Bingham model. The corresponding rela-
tionship between rotational velocity (N) and torque (T) is listed:
T = G + H N + C N2. Therein, the second order term C, first order term
H and intercept G are used to transform into yield shear stress (s),
plastic viscosity (g) and parameter c.
8    
>
>
>
>
>
s 0 ¼ 4ph R2  R2
G 1 1
 ln RR0i
>
> i

0

>
>
<
g ¼ 8pH2 h R12  R12 ð13Þ
>
>  
i 0
>
>
>
>
>
>
11 ðR0 Ri Þ
>
: R2 R2
c ¼ 8ip3 hðR
0
þR Þ
C
0 i
3.2.2. Correcting for plug flow
For a concentric cylinders rheometer, if the concrete material in
the gap between inner and outer cylinders is not entirely sheared,
that is to say, plug flow appears during rotating measurement, the
Reiner–Riwlin equation Eq. (12) and the modified Reiner–Riwlin
equation Eq. (13) cannot be directly applied. Heirman et al. [91]
indicated that ignoring the plug flow can induce errors for ConTec
Viscometers. These errors depends on the gap between inner and
outer cylinders. The larger the gap is, the bigger the error is.
Because the existence of plug influences the Ro in Eq. (12) or Eq.
(13), the estimation of viscosity is too high and the estimation of
 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180 7

yield stress is too low without correction of plug flow. Errors

caused by flow plug can be explained in Fig. 6 (a). For a high yield
stress material with a plug in a concentric cylinder rheometer, the
concrete plug is not shear during test, so the Ro should be replaced
by the plug radius (Rp). Rs means the shear radius. When the yield
stress of concrete material is known, the plug radius can be calcu-
lated as follows [28],
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
T
Rp ¼ ð14Þ
2ps0 h

For Eq. (14), every measurement point in the data set is differ-
ent because the plug radius rely on the torque applied during rhe-
ological test. It is recommended that the iterative calculation,
where an initial set of rheological properties is conducted, is per-
formed to obtain the real rheological parameters.
Fig. 7. Boundary for indicating the recommended range of shear thickness Rs
[28,92].
3.2.3. Avoiding particle migration
The formation of plug flow is generated by particle migration.
Coarse aggregates tend to move from high shear zone near the interpretation, was summarized in Table 2. This type of concentric
inner cylinder to low shear zone near outer cylinder in a concentric cylinder rheometer was the most common and practical, but atten-
cylinder rheometer. In that case, coarse particles near inner cylin- tion should be paid to the effect of plug flow during measurement.
der are driven off (i.e. thin mortar layer is formed) and the concrete The modified Bingham model was recommended to obtain the
material becomes non-homogeneous, thus the rheological mea- accurate rheological parameters. In addition, for the concrete with
surement is invalid (rheological parameters becomes lower). The larger size aggregate or the concrete with other special properties,
tendency of particle migration would be enhanced with increasing the eBT2 or other rheometers were recommended.
the rotational velocity or measuring duration or gap distance in a
rheometer. To avoid errors caused by the particle migration, one
3.3. Indirect calculation for rheological parameters
way is to install the protruding structure in the inner or outer
cylinder as shown in Fig. 2. The other way is to estimate the shear
Even if those rheometers mentioned in Section 3.1 show a big
radius Rs based on the determination of plug flow. For high yield
step forward in the field of concrete measurement, the measure-
stress material, the shear thickness Rs is equal to the plug radius
ment discrepancy between the various rheometers are still exists
Rp while the shear radius Rs is equal to the radius of outer cylinder
[57]. In addition, those measurement apparatuses with or without
R0 for low yield stress material, as shown in Fig. 6.
inner cylinder above are usually very expensive. From another
When the shear zone is smaller than the maximum aggregate
point of view, rheological parameters can also be obtained indi-
size, this phenomenon imply apparent particle migration [28]. Cor-
rectly by derivation from traditional and available testing parame-
responding rheological analysis should be careful, avoiding invalid
ters like slump, slump flow, particle volume fraction or the
data. Feys et al. [92] plotted a graph (Fig. 7) for two kinds of fresh
thickness of excess paste. The indirect methods are often preferred
concrete with different rheological properties to identify whether
in construction sites due to better mobility of slump cone [33]. This
the shear thickness is sufficiently. Rheological measurement was
method opens the door for obtaining the intrinsic rheological prop-
conducted in a concentric cylinder rheometer with R0 = 143 mm,
erties by using the easy measurement parameters.
Ri = 63.5 mm, and a maximum size particle of 12.5 mm. The Rs
value that fell in the range between Ri + Dmax and R0 is recommend
to avoid the errors due to particle migration. 3.3.1. Calculating from slump or slump flow
In brief, the characteristic of different rheomoters, from In literatures [57,69,70,93], many attempts were done to
the relation equation, transformation equation to accurate relate slump to rheological parameters. Without the use of any

Fig. 6. Definition of plug radius Rp and shear radius Rs.

8 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180

Table 2
Comparison of characteristics of different rheometer and corresponding attentions.

Type Relational equation Transformation Characteristic Attention

equation
Parallel plate Eq. (10) Simplest structure and easy Suitable for simple non-Newtonian fluid
rheometer interpretation; but bad practicability
Concentric T = G + H N, corresponding to Bingham Reiner–Riwlin The most commonly used types; Correcting for plug flow and avoiding
cylinder model, Eq. (1) equation, Eq. (12) easy to ignore the effect of plug particle migration
rheometer T = G + H N + C N2, corresponding to Eq. (13) Accurate but complex interpretation Correcting for plug flow; installing
modified Bingham model, Eq. (3) protruding structure
eBT2 rheometer T = G + H N, corresponding to Bingham None Simple structure and fast Challenge to transform the measured raw
model, Eq. (1) measurement data into real rheological parameters
Others Customized for special materials

rheometer, slump or spread allows for the estimation of rheological
properties. Especially for the yield shear stress, it is closely corre-
lated with slump. There are several types of slump mould with var-
ious size, including conical [94] or cylindrical moulds [95]. The
types of slump mould are generally related to different cement-
based materials. In case of fresh concrete, the application of ASTM
Abrams cone with 30 cm height is extensive [96]; for cement paste,
a small mould called Kantro Mini cone [97,98] or ASTM C230-90
mini-cone [99] is widely employed. In the slump test, the mould
is filled with the tested materials. The mould is lifted and then
materials begin to flow down due to the weight of material. The
flow will stop when the shear stress is equal to the yield shear stress
of tested material. Afterwards, two geometrical parameters, slump
or slump flow, are usually measured. Slump indicates the difference
between the height of the mould and the collapsed material. Slump
flow is the final diameter of the tested material after flow stoppage.
Two parameters at stoppage is directly related to the rheological
properties of tested material.
Following this approach, relationships between the yield stress
s0 and the slump flow SL were reported by Murata et al. [69] with
Eq. (15), Ferraris and de Larrard [100] with Eq. (16), Hu et al. [75]
with Eq. (17), Wallevik [101] with Eq. (18). Therein, Murata et al.
[69] stated that the relation in Eq. (15) is independent of the mea-
suring mold geometry.
s0 ¼ 714  473logðSL=10Þ
ð300  SLÞ  qsg
s0 ¼ þ 212
0:347
qsg
s0 ¼ ð300  SLÞ
0:27
ðs0 þ 394Þ
SL ¼ 300  0:347 þ aðs0  s0 ref ÞðV m  V ref
m Þ
qsg
where qref is the density of water, a = 77.1-3mm/(Pal), qsg is
specific gravity, Vm is fraction of volume of cementitious matrix,
and Vref
m = 345 l/m .
3
For tested materials with larger slump, the slump flow (SL) is a
recommended parameter to estimate the yield shear stress, so in
the case of low slump, these models Eqs. (15–18) is not reasonable
for material property prediction [57]. In order to obtain the correct
correlation between yield stress and slump value, Roussel et al.
[70] developed two theoretical analytical solutions Eqs. (19–20).
Both of Eq. (19) and Eq. (20) is suitable for large slump and small
slump, respectively. All of them show the dimensionless yield
stress s00 as a function of dimensionless slump S’.
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2p 2
s00 ¼ H ð1  S0 Þ
5=2
15X 0
1  S0
s00 ¼ pffiffiffi
3 the median particle radius, the maximum attractive interparticle
where S0 ¼ S=H0 , s00 ¼ s0 =qgH0 , both two are dimensionless slump
and yield stress; H0 is initial height; X is specimen volume.
When it comes to the effect of material density, relatively com-
plex expression of yield stress and plastic viscosity can be found in
[102,103], as shown in Eq. (21). However, in case of fresh concrete
with high flowability, T500 is hard to measure accurately due to
quick collapse.
( qg
s0 ¼ ð808  SÞ 11740
qg ð21Þ
g ¼ 10000 ð0:026S  2:39T 500 Þ
where T500 is the time to reach a 500 mm diameter spread; g is grav-
ity; q is material density.
Numerical simulations of slump test were also carried out to
explored the correlation between slump and yield stress [27].
Two following equations, Eq. (22) and Eq. (23), was obtained for
ASTM Abrams cone and the ASTM mini cone, respectively, both
two showed an excellent agreement between the measured and
predicted slumps over a wide range of dimensionless yield shear
stress [27,57]. Note that the correlation Eq. (22) between slump
and dimensionless yield stress is only applicable for those materi-
als with 5–25 cm slump.
ð25:5  SÞq
s00 ¼ ð22Þ
17:6
ð15Þ
225qm g X2
s00 ¼ ð23Þ
128p2 ðSL=2Þ5
ð16Þ
where, s00 is dimensionless yield stress; q is the density of fresh con-
crete, qm is the density of cement paste; X is tested volume.
ð17Þ In brief, slump or slump flow test provides an indication of rhe-
ological properties, especially for yield shear stress. All equation
mentioned show a large progress for linking slump or slump flow
ð18Þ to rheological properties. However, the discrepancy between mea-
sured and predicted testing value frequently occurs when using a
conical type cone or using a cylindrical cone with low slump mate-
rials [101]. Further workability tests should pay more attention on
estimating the yield stress of materials with low slump or other
parameters, such like thixotropy or plastic viscosity.
3.3.2. Calculating from particle volume fraction
For the application of wet-mix shotcrete, it has relatively small
slump value; hence, the slump flow of wet-mix shotcrete may not
present the exact calculation for rheological parameters. Therefore,
Flatt et al. [104] proposed another yield stress model Eq. (24) by
using particle volume fraction, maximum packing, particle size
and so on.
/2 ð/  /0 Þ
ð19Þ s ¼ m1 ð24Þ
/max ð/max  /Þ
where /max is the maximum packing fraction, / is particle volume
ð20Þ fraction and /0 is the percolation threshold; m1 is a function of
 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180 9

force and the relative particle size. However, the model is based on
the assumed condition that the radius of curvature at contact point
is the characteristic parameter of the particle, rather than the radius
of curvature of the whole particle. In addition, viscosity can also be
expressed by Eq. (25) [105,106] when considering the particle vol-
ume fraction. It is noted that the first equation in Eq. (25) is only
suitable for the dilute suspension of spheres.
8 is the paste around the aggregate; Dpi is the fictitious diameter; ni
< g ¼ gs ð1 þ 2:5/Þ
 ½g/max
: g ¼ gs 1  /
/max
where gs is the viscosity of the solvent, [g] is the intrinsic viscosity
[105,106].
In early year, a semi-empirical equation was also obtained to
assess the relative plastic viscosity grel, as listed in Eq. (26) [100].
This model is based on the assumption that the plastic viscosity
depends on the concentration of solid particles. Whether or not
air-entraining agent or other additive were added and if it were
concrete or mortar, the semi-empirical equation is independent
and usable.
  
/
grel ¼ exp 26:75  0:7448
/max
Pe
C¼ ð28Þ
P
n
ni  si  Dpi
i
where srel and grel is relative yield shear stress and relative plastic
viscosity, respectively; Cis the relative thickness of the excess paste
that is corresponding to particle distance, as listed in Eq. (28); Pe
is the number of particles of the size x; si is the surface of particle
ð25Þ
of the size x.
Based on the above models, from slump to particle distance,
they may provide a further practical tool to estimate the rheolog-
ical parameters. Table 3 summarized the advantage and disadvan-
tage of different calculation methods. It’s hard to say which
computing model is more accurate. If fundamental tests such as
slump appears smaller error, it may be magnified through equation
transition. Moreover, they are not applicable for the case of thixo-
tropy. So the direct measurement from rheometers is still attrac-
tive, as well as with the development of new simple measuring
technology.
ð26Þ 4. Rheological application for shotcrete

Whether dry shotcrete or wet shotcrete, the ultimate goal is to

3.3.3. Calculating from the particle distance
In literature [107], a method for calculating the relative rheo-
logical parameters was proposed by using particle distance, as
shown in Eq. (27). Fig. 8 shows the particle distance model, which
subtracts the paste in the void from the total paste volume. But this
exponential correlation is not very pronounced because it is a
semi-empirical equation that lacks a number of verification tests.
( technology of concrete mix proportion (ingredient, rheology etc.)
srel ¼ 0:0525C2:22 þ 1
ð27Þ
grel ¼ 0:0705C1:69 þ 1
improve the shootability of shotcrete. However, for wet-mix shot-
crete, pumping process is the first stage before spraying, so it is
also important to predict and identify early if fresh concrete can
be pumped or not. Recent studies have showed that parameters
affecting the pumpability and shootability of shotcrete were
divided into two parts: one is site condition such as types of pump,
pipe configurations and spraying gun size etc., the other is the
[108]. Considering that the site conditions are usually constant,
most studies focus on the rheological properties of wet-mix
shotcrete.

Fig. 8. Variable paste layer thickness on particles [107].

Table 3
Summary of different calculation methods for estimating rheological parameters.

Method Number of Advantage Disadvantage Challenge

independent
variables
Calculating from 1–3 Major estimation for the yield stress of concrete with Iterative error; lack of Estimation for the rheological
slump or slump large flowability estimation of plastic viscosity properties of concrete with small
flow flowability
Calculating from 2–4 Estimation for the rheological properties of concrete Limitation for the estimation Obtaining more independent
particle volume with small flowability; the semi-empirical equation is of plastic viscosity variables accurately.
fraction independent
Calculating from 5 Providing a possibility for estimating rheological Not real rheological Measuring the particle distance
the particle parameters with particle nature parameters; just a accurately
distance semi-empirical equation
10 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180

Rheology can be used not only to characterize the performance
of fresh concrete, but also to understand the performance of shot-
crete technology in practical application. When the viscosity of
fresh concrete is high, it often shows good cohesion, which is ben-
eficial to the accumulation of thickness when spraying, while when
pumping, the high viscosity enhanced the friction between the
concrete plug and the pipe, which is unfavorable to the pipe flow.
Similarly, the higher yield stress of fresh concrete can enhance the
retention of concrete on the substrate, but it may produce higher
pipeline resistance. In order to better understand the application
of rheology in shotcrete, this section summarizes the relationship
between rheology and pumpability and shotcrete.
4.1. Pumpability based on rheology
During the pumping process of wet-mix shotcrete, the flow of
fresh concrete is very complex in the pipeline. In order to ensure
the suitability of fresh concrete mix ratio, one method is to carry
out full-scale pumping test, but this method is more complex
and costly. The other way is to measure the workability of fresh
concrete, including rheological and tribological properties [109].
It was reported in [34,110] that there existed a good correlation
between the yield stress and the pressure loss for the conventional
vibrated concrete (CVC); the plastic viscosity of fresh concrete is
the dominant factor that affects the pressure loss for self-
consolidating concrete (SCC).
4.1.1. Plastic viscosity and yield stress
According to the literature [110], in order to build the correla-
tion between rheology and pumpability, 25 kinds of concrete mix-
tures with different flowability were designed and successfully
pumped in pipelines with 100 m length, including three mixtures
CVC, four highly-workable concrete (HWC) and 18 mixtures SCC.
Note that the boundary between HWC and CVC is defined as

Fig. 9. Relationship between pressure loss and plastic viscosity, yield stress of concrete [110].
 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180
300 mm slump flow, while the transition between HWC and SCC is
set to 550 mm and 620 mm slump flow (if slump flow is between
these two values, these mixtures are called HWC and SCC). The
rheological properties were measured with the ICAR rheometer.
Fig. 9 (a) shows that the correlation between pressure loss and
plastic viscosity is almost linear, regardless of whether the con-
crete mixture was CVC, HWC, SCC or even segregated. All data
points fell on or was close to the fitting line: y = 1.16  10.66
[110]. For CVC that had smaller slump than SCC, most of the points
are concentrated at lower plastic viscosity. For SCC points, the lin-
ear relationship seems to be stronger than other data, which is
similar to the conclusions reported in [34].
The correlation between pressure loss and yield stress can be
found in Fig. 9 (b) [110]. For the mixtures that were designed as
SCC and HWC, there is no clear linear relationship. For CVC, yield
stress is well related to pressure loss, which is also determined
in literatures [111]. However, there are three points that are
unconventionally higher than the fitted line. Because these three
points were initially designed as SCC and HWC, and then they were
identified as CVC due to slump decreasing with time, thus three
point still have higher plastic viscosity. In brief, it can thus be con-
cluded that yield stress is correlated to the pressure loss in case of
CVC mixtures, while plastic viscosity has a tight relationship with
pressure loss in case of CVC, SCC or HWC.
4.1.2. Prediction of pump pressure
Previous studies indicated that the concrete plug was pumped
through pipes with the formation of lubrication layer [35]. Con-
crete zone near the inner pipe wall would be sheared in case that
pump velocity increases. In this case, the schematic of concrete
flow can be explained by a bilinear model (Fig. 10), relating to
the required pumping pressure against actual concrete flow rate
[112,113]. It can be seen in Fig. 10 that the first portion (Ⅰ) is
described by the interface properties where fresh concrete flows
through pipes at low velocity as plug flow; the second (Ⅱ) consists
of plug flow and shear flow where the shear stress applied is
greater than yield shear stress [112,113].
Thus, from a theoretical point of view, the single rheological
parameter (yield stress or plastic viscosity) is not the significant
factor that influences pressure loss. According to the Kaplan equa-
tion for concrete flow in Eq. (29) and Eq. (30), the rheological
parameters of concrete and lubrication layer are esteemed to be
more dominant for pressure loss.
During the last decade, a number of practical guidelines and
experimental techniques have been developed to predict the
pumping pressure. According to literatures [33,114], pumping
Fig. 10. Schematic of concrete pipe flow, changing from bulk flow to ‘‘Bulk + Shear”
flow [113].
11
pressure is a function of flow rate, the geometry of the pipe (diam-
eter and length), rheological properties of lubrication layer and the
rheological properties of fresh concrete. For example, the pressure
loss in the larger pipes is smaller than the pressure loss in the small
pipes. Chapdelaine et al. [113,115] predicted the pipe pressure
based on both rheological and tribological properties of fresh con-
crete. Choi et al. [116] proposed a rough estimation of the pumping
pressure without the yield stress of concrete bulk and lubrication
layer, but it had a good agreement with the measured pressures.
Kaplan theoretical models [110,113,114] are the most popular
and acceptable, the prediction of pumping pressure can be divided
into two types: one is for the concrete bulk that does not undergo
any shear (Eq.29), the other is for the concrete that undergo some
shearing in pipes (Eq. (30)). From these results from pump tests,
the R-term with Q has the most importance, the R-term with s/g
has the second most importance in these models [110].
2L Q
P¼ ð g þ sl;0 Þ ð29Þ
R 3600pR2 kr l
2L 3600pR2 kr  4gb sl;0 þ 3gb sb;0
Q R R
P¼ ð þ sl;0 Þ ð30Þ
R 1 þ 4Rg gl
b
where L is the length of the pipeline; R is the inner radius of pipes; Q
is the flow rate of fresh concrete; kr is the filling coefficient of
pumping cylinders; sl,0 and gl are the yield stress and the plastic vis-
cosity of the lubrication layer, respectively; sb,0 and gb are the yield
stress and the plastic viscosity of concrete bulk, respectively.
As a consequence of this argument, although the correlative
research on wet-mix shotcrete is few, those results related to
CVC and SCC can also be regarded as a helpful guideline due to
their constituent and most properties are similar, especially for
CVC. It is recommended that the influence of yield stress on pres-
sure loss might be more important than viscosity in terms of wet-
mix shotcrete.
4.2. Shootability based on rheology
The definition of shootability includes: (1) the degree to which a
material bounces off the sprayed surface (i.e., rebound); (2) the
ability of a material to stick to itself, simultaneously adhere to
shooting surface (i.e., build-up thickness) [16]. The rebound and
build-up thickness are the importance parameters when estimat-
ing the shootability. Efforts have been made to improve the shoota-
bility of wet-mix or dry-mix shotcrete based on the rheological
properties of concrete. Based on the rheological requirements,
some of mix proportion of shotcrete was selected to improve the
shootability [117]. Burns [112] experimentally examined the rela-
tionships among rheology, tribology, and the performance of wet-
mix shotcrete. The technical tips were presented to improve the
shootability in terms of the type and replacement level of mineral
admixtures based on rheological parameters [118]. A numerical
method for the estimation of shotcrete performance was also pro-
posed based on the rheological properties of shotcrete [119].
4.2.1. Build-up thickness
Relationship between build-up thickness and rheological
parameters was investigated in [17], it was found that build-up
thickness had an almost proportional relationship to the yield
stress (flow resistance) while it had no strong correlation with
the plastic viscosity (torque viscosity). However, research on the
quantitative analysis between shootability and rheological proper-
ties is few. Thus, the prediction of shotcrete properties mainly
depends on personal perception, lacking scientific support. Yun
et al. [16] provided a quantifiable means of estimating the shoota-
bility based on fresh materials’ relative rheological parameters
12 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180

(flow resistance and torque viscosity). In his experiments, for plain measured by a static penetrometer (called Proctor needle). Results
concrete or the concrete with AEA, a tendency was found that the showed that the rebound rate is a function of static penetration
higher the flow resistance, the larger the build-up thickness. Espe- stress: the rebound increases with increasing p values (i.e. yield
cially for the mixture with synthetic fiber, the build-up thickness stress). On the contrary, Yun et al. [16] thought both plastic viscos-
became greater due to the higher flow resistance. However, the ity and yield stress had no clear relationship with the rebound rate.
torque viscosity has a non-significant effect on build-up thickness Although the correlations were unclear, some advices were pro-
[17]. Yun et al. [15] indicated that the silica fume was very effective posed to reduce the rebound rate as follows, mixing 9% silica fume
in improving the rheological properties of wet-mix shotcrete, par- in concrete can reduce about 5% rebound rate; the use of air
ticularly in terms of shootability (build-up thickness). A two-point entraining agent, polymer and viscosity agent has a tendency to
apparatus type rheometer was used for determining the rheologi- lower rebound [16]. In addition, the build-up thickness had an
cal properties of fine aggregate concretes, then the concretes were almost inverse linear relationship with the rebound rate.
sprayed through a piston pump to measure their adhesion to a sub- By contrast, the most probable reasons for unclear relationships
strate by build-up thickness [120]. between rheological properties and shootability, pumpability are
In addition, previous studies have shown that the adding accel- most likely: the quality of shotcreting relies on many factors such
erator or mixing silica fume increased the build-up thickness due as process control, the skill of the nozzleman and operation meth-
to the result of increasing yield stress [15,17]. Because the acceler- ods, rather than simply fresh concrete properties. Therefore, the
ator can promote the concrete setting, fresh concrete with the research direction in the future is pointed out, that is, to pay atten-
accelerator after spray become stiff quickly, leading to the higher tion to the evaluation of technical differences and the influence of
yield stress and cohesion. Similar, mixing silica fume also enhance test equipment/technology on the performance of shotcrete
the cohesiveness of shotcrete. Higher yield stress and larger cohe- [16,124].
sion is helpful to increase the build-up thickness. It was noted that
introducing a lot of initial air in fresh concrete was beneficial for
4.3. Effect of shotcrete process on rheological properties
improving the performance of wet-mix shotcrete. During pump,
small air bubbles in fresh concrete could reduce the yield stress,
Shotcrete process consists of pump process (wet-mix) and spray
thus enhanced the flowability; however, during spray, the loss of
process, both them may change the rheological properties of fresh
high initial air content caused the increase of yield stress, thus
concrete [125]. Burns [112] indicated that the yield stress and vis-
increasing the build-up thickness [121].
cosity values tend to increase after pump. Feys et al. [126] used
two experimental pumping campaigns to describe the influence
4.2.2. Rebound rate
of pumping on the fresh properties. The results showed that the
Excepting shotcrete operation, the factors that influence
pumping process can cause decrease in plastic viscosity and
rebound rate can be attributed to the concrete technology, such
increase in yield stress. Pumping also effects fresh concrete from
as mix proportion, rheological properties. Pfeuffer et al. [43]
a stable condition to segregating if both the plastic viscosity and
divided the concrete technology into two aspects: the quantity of
yield stress decrease.
mortar and the grain size distribution of the aggregate. According
Links between rheology and shotcrete process (pumping and
to measuring the relative rheological parameters of mortar, a cor-
spraying) were ever reported [17,120,123]. In front, the rheology
relation between the rebound and rheological properties was
of fresh concrete and its effect on the shotcrete process was inves-
established [43]. He concluded that the rebound was closely
tigated, the rheology of fresh cement paste was also regarded as a
related to the intrinsic viscous flow properties of mortar in con-
guide to study the rheological properties of fresh concrete for the
crete. The relative viscosity of shotcrete should be low to minimize
selection of mix proportions of shotcrete. The process of both
rebound on the basis that the spraying aggregates are embedded
pump and spray produce the effect on the properties of fresh con-
easily. The author also indicated that concrete sprayed with a
crete, for example causing a reduction in the slump and a decrease
higher amount of water can reduce the rebound behavior [43].
in air content. Beaupre [17] used the UBC rheometer to measure
Similar results can be seen in [122], the rebound rate can decrease
the effect of two processes on the rheological properties of wet-
by more than 50% through the water–cement ratio variation from
mix shotcrete. During this measurement, the influence of time
0.40 to 0.55. In this case, it is explained that the plastic viscosity
was ignored. In order to explain the phenomenon of shotcrete
and the yield stress of cement paste reduces as water content
affecting concrete properties, three terms were defined: Cast,
increases, thus the concrete sprayed on substrate becomes more
Pump and Shot, representing three different working situation.
plastic or softer consistency. This phenomenon promotes aggre-
Cast refers to the one after casting the concrete but before pump-
gates to penetrate into the concrete layer. If decreasing water-
ing, Pump refers to the one after pumping but before shooting, and
cement ratio or mixing adhesive materials in concrete mix, the
Shot refers to the one after shooting. As shown in Fig. 11, each
rebound would increase because the concrete layer have a stiff
consistency that the impacting aggregates could no longer become
embedded. Even if water is one of the main parameters, as water
content increased, the corresponding impermeability as well as
strength decreased. Moreover, for dry-mix shotcrete, water con-
tent is difficult to control because it is adjusted by the operator.
In order to explore the relationship between the rebound rate
and the rheological properties of fresh concrete, the rheological
measurement of fresh wet-mix shotcrete was conducted by adding
additive components of different types and dosages [123], results
showed that plastic viscosity and yield stress were negatively cor-
related with rebound rate, in addition, a multiple linear regression
equation for predicting the rebound was obtained based on the
rheological parameter.
Literature [18] defined that the yield stress is proportional
to the static penetration strength (p). In his study, p value was Fig. 11. Influence of pump and shoot process on rheological properties [17].
 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180 13

Table 4 In order to realize the measurement of compressive rheology,

Challenges of concrete rheology from current research status to further trends. according to the literatures [34,55,114], there are usually two
Challenge Current research status Future research trends methods: one is to develop a new rheometer that can realize the
Classification of The range of application To describe specific compressive situation; the other is to simulate the compressive sit-
rheological models of existing rheological cement-based mixtures uation by adjusting the rotational velocity of the rheometer. The
for different models is ambiguous with specific rheological velocity should meet the shear stress produced by the shotcrete
cement-based models accurately process. Yim et al. [127] developed a rheometer that could measure
materials
Transition equation Reiner–Riwlin equation Derivation of
the rheological properties meanwhile simulating the pumping pro-
from raw data to or modified Reiner– transformation equation cess with a high pressure. Meeten [128] studied the squeeze-flow
real rheological Riwlin equation are just for non-concentric apparatus based on two plates system, the rheological parameters
parameters for suitable for concentric cylinder type under pressure can be calculated by measuring the velocity. The
non-concentric cylinder type rheometers
demonstration of the first method above suggest that it is a feasible
cylinder type rheometers
rheometers field for further research [50,129]. However, those apparatuses
A rheometer without Existing rheometers To develop a new based on compressive rheology are almost applied to cement paste
transition equation vary from working rheometer that read real and mortar so far. For the second method, the specified operation is
principle to conversion rheological parameters to make two shear stress be same, that is to say, compressive stress
equation. without transition
during shotcreting is equal to rotational stress during measure-
equation
Measurement of Existing compressive To develop a ment in an ordinary rotational rheometer. Alfani et al. [130] found
compressive rheometers are just compressive rheometer the satisfactory quantitative shear stress results: the rheological
rheology suitable for mixture that can simulation fresh test (shear: 15–40 kPa) and an pressed flow process (shear: 3–
without aggregate concrete under pressure
40 kPa). The second method is just suitable to some paste and gels;
the application of compressive stress for others is much lower.
Although Cardoso et al. [90] developed a squeeze-flow appara-
compaction significantly causes the change of relative yield shear tus, similar to Meeten’ [87], any actual values of rheological param-
stress (flow resistance ‘‘Torque”). Those types of stiffening can be eters could not be derived with the force–displacement-time data
explained: pumping compaction caused the pumping stiffening, in squeeze-flow [131,132]. So far, it is different to directly compare
shooting compaction caused the shooting stiffening [17]. the compressive rheology and shear rheology because the latter is
more suitable for less stiff materials. Hence, more work is needed
5. Challenges to study the new compressive rheometer used for fresh concrete
with coarse aggregate and to solve the difference between com-
Table 4 lists the challenges of concrete rheology. There are pressive rheology and shear rheology. The research in this paper
many existing rheological models, and the corresponding applica- will help to improve the application of shotcrete in roadway sup-
tion scope is ambiguous. We should clearly distinguish the applica- port and reduce the occurrence of mine disasters [133–137].
tion of different rheological models in special cement-based
materials. For example, the Casson in Eq. (9) model is suitable for
the concrete mixtures with viscous additive. Moreover, Reiner– 6. Conclusions
Riwlin equation or modified Reiner–Riwlin equation are just suit-
able for concentric cylinder type rheometers. It is a big challenge The paper presents a general review of rheology models and
to determine the real rheological parameters for other rheometers measurements. Rheology investigation is an important avenue to
without concentric cylinders. study performance of shotcrete, especially for estimating pumpa-
If possible, the new type rheometer should be developed, which bility (pump pressure) and shootability (build-up thickness and
can directly read the ‘‘real rheological parameters” rather than rebound). The application of rheological properties of fresh con-
‘‘relative parameters” and simulate the compressive environment crete on shotcrete are reviewed.
during pump or spray process. Certainly, along with the precise
rheological measurement using a rheometer above, the indirect (1) In term of rheology. The workability of shotcrete can be opti-
method should be further optimized for obtaining rheological mized and adjusted based on the rheological parameters.
parameters of fresh concrete conveniently and accurately. Although various non-linear rheological equations were pro-
Further, measuring the rheology of fresh concrete is still a chal- posed, Bingham model is the most commonly used for fresh
lenging research field as rheological parameters obtained can vary concrete. For the non-linear behavior of cement-based mate-
a lot from one rheometer to another rheometer, in addition to the rials, the modified Bingham model can provide a better
effect of temperature, thixotropy and hydration. For shotcrete, the description. The characteristic of rheology models and the
flowability of fresh shotcrete is generally lower than self- scope of application were summarized. The plug flow and
compacting concrete, some rheometers are not suitable for the particle migration are discussed to avoid the inaccurate
rheological measurement of shotcrete. After fresh concrete is interpretations.
sprayed on the substrate, fresh concrete will become stiff. When (2) In term of pumpability. The flow region of fresh concrete in
measuring the sprayed concrete, the rheometer cylinder may not pipe can be divided into two patterns: plug (slip) and shear
rotate because it is stuck by the aggregate. Hence, it is another flow, corresponding to two types of calculation formulas of
challenge when measuring the rheology of concrete after spray. pumping pressure. Pumping pressure is a function of flow
During the process of measuring rheological parameters, it is rate, the geometry of the pipe (diameter and length), rheolog-
difficult to precisely match the shear rate in a rheometer to the ical properties of lubrication layer and fresh concrete. In case
shear rate in the real application of shotcrete. Considering that of fresh concrete with low flowability, the yield stress of con-
wet-mix shotcrete undergo high pressure during pumping and crete is correlated to the pressure loss: pressure loss increases
spraying process. The rheological properties of the materials under with increasing yield stress. When taking no account of the
such high pressures are unknown. Compressive rheology is pro- flowability degree of fresh concrete, the correlation between
posed under the condition of fresh concrete being compressed by pressure loss and plastic viscosity almost appear to be linear:
pumping pressure or spraying pressure. pressure loss increases with increasing plastic viscosity.
14 G. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 243 (2020) 118180
(3) In term of shootability. Build-up thickness had an almost
proportional relationship to the yield stress while it had no
strong correlation with the plastic viscosity. The higher the
flow resistance, the larger the build-up thickness. The
rebound is closely related to the intrinsic viscous flow prop-
erties of mortar in concrete. The relative viscosity of shot-
crete should be low to minimize rebound. The rebound
rate is a function of static penetration stress (relating to
yield stress): rebound increases with increasing yield stress.
However, the function is various for different concrete mix,
because it depends on the binder type and the degree of
replacement of cement content.
(4) In term of challenges. During the process of measuring rhe-
ological parameters, it is difficult to precisely match the
shear rate in a rheometer to the shear rate in the real appli-
cation of shotcrete. The actual shear rate of fresh concrete
during pump and spray processes should be further deter-
mined to better match the rotating velocity of rheological
measurement. Moreover, the rheometer structure and corre-
sponding transformation equation should be unified as far as
possible to obtain the precise rheological parameters.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by such projects as National Key
Research and Development Plan of the 13th Five-Year Period of
China (grant number 2017YFC0805203), Key Research and
Development Plan of Shandong Province (2018GSF116001),
National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number
51974177, 51604163), Applied Research Project Foundation of
Qingdao Postdoctoral Researcher (grant number 2015176), Natural
Science Foundation of Shandong [grant numbers ZR2019QEE007,
ZR201801280006, ZR2019MEE115].
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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