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Fluidity evaluation of fiber reinforced-self

compacting concrete based on buoyancy law

Metwally A.A. Abd Elaty & Mariam F. Ghazy

To cite this article: Metwally A.A. Abd Elaty & Mariam F. Ghazy (2018) Fluidity evaluation of fiber
reinforced-self compacting concrete based on buoyancy law, HBRC Journal, 14:3, 368-378, DOI:
10.1016/j.hbrcj.2017.04.003

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HBRC Journal (2018) 14, 368–378

Housing and Building National Research Center

HBRC Journal

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FULL LENGTH ARTICLE

Fluidity evaluation of fiber reinforced-self

compacting concrete based on buoyancy law
Metwally A.A. Abd Elaty *, Mariam F. Ghazy
Faculty of Engineering, Structural Engineering Department, Tanta University, Egypt

Received 3 November 2015; revised 4 April 2017; accepted 29 April 2017

KEYWORDS Abstract An experimental testing program was undertaken to evaluate the applicability of using
Self compacting concrete; the principles of Archimedes’ law for buoyancy to assess the fluidity of self compacting concrete
Self-compacting-fiber rein- (SCC) as well as fiber reinforced self compacting concrete mixes (FR-SCC). A cone instrument with
forced concrete; different apex angle values (20, 30, 40 and 45°) was implemented. One type of steel fibers (SF), three
Fluidity; types of polypropylene fibers (PP1, PP2 and PP3) as well as one type of glass fibers (GF) with dif-
Segregation; ferent fiber volume fractions and aspect ratios were conducted. Fourteen FR-SCC mixes in addition
Buoyancy to a control mix were examined. A new terminology called fluidity index (FI) was proposed and
evaluated based on the displaced volume rate according to the buoyancy law through performing
cone penetration test. Parallel with the penetration test, traditional flow ability and segregation
resistance tests were performed.
The results indicated that the proposed method is effective in evaluating the fluidity of FR-SCC
mixes in terms of FI. FI values between 0.8 and 1.0 indicate SCC mixes whereas, FI lower than 0.8
indicate fresh concrete with fluidity not satisfying requirements of SCC. The proposed method can
be performed either at laboratory or at field with and without sampling. Moreover, it can be directly
adapted to the cast concrete in structural members provided that there is no obstruction for pene-
tration. The direct proportion between FI and the slump flow test results indicated its viability to
evaluate the fluidity of both FR-SCC and SCC mixtures.
Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Housing and Building National Research Center.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/4.0/).

Introduction

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) has been developed for use in si-

* Corresponding author. tuations where vibration is difficult and reinforcing steel is
E-mail addresses: drmet2828@yahoo.com (M.A.A. Abd Elaty), highly congested. This type of concrete was developed in Japan
dr.mariamghazi@yahoo.com (M.F. Ghazy). in the 1980s to assure the achievement of a durable well com-
Peer review under responsibility of Housing and Building National pacted concrete regardless the shortage of skilled workers [1].
Research Center. SCC is characterized by its special properties in fresh state,
namely, flow ability, viscosity, blocking tendency, self-leveling
and stability of mixture. These workability parameters are
grouped into three key properties: filling ability or deformabil-
Production and hosting by Elsevier ity, passing ability and stability [2].
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hbrcj.2017.04.003
1687-4048 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Housing and Building National Research Center.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Fluidity evaluation of fiber reinforced-self compacting concrete based on buoyancy law 369

Numbers of tests have been suggested to evaluate the prop- upward force on the object equal to the weight of the fluid dis-
erties of fresh SCC. Based on the final report entitled Guideli- placed by the object”. The resultant force acting on the object,
nes for testing fresh self-compacting concrete [3], four tests then, is equal to the difference between the weight of the object
were recommended for European standardization such as ref- (down force) and the weight of displaced liquid (up force).
erence method as: Equilibrium, or neutral buoyancy, is achieved when these
two weights (and thus forces) are equal as given Eq. (1).
– Slump flow test (total spread and T500 time): primary to
Weight of the object ¼ weight of fluid displaced by the object
assess filling ability, suitable for laboratory and site use.
– L-box test: primarily to assess passing ability, suitable for ðArchimedes’ lawÞ ð1Þ
laboratory use. Fig. 1 illustrates Archimedes’ Principle as given in Eq. (1).
– J-ring test: primarily to assess passing ability, suitable for Considering fresh concrete, and when an object penetrates
laboratory and site use. it, the object will be in case of equilibrium as the down force
– Sieve stability test: to assess segregation resistance, suitable equals to the sum of the upward forces. The upward forces
for laboratory and site use. are the sum of the upward buoyant force as well as the exerted
resistance force due to the nature of fresh concrete resulting
On the other hand, three other tests were recommended for from (viscosity, internal friction and resistance to flow). Thus,
standardization such as alterative methods as [3]. the case of equilibrium in this case in vertical direction is given
V-Funnel test: partially indicates filling ability and block- as follows;
ing, suitable for laboratory and site use.
Orimet test: partially indicates filling ability and blocking, Weight of the penetration object
suitable for laboratory and site use. ¼ Buoyant force þ Resistance force ð2Þ
Penetration test: to assess segregation, possibly used in
combination with the sieve stability test. Dividing both sides by the term, Weight of the penetration
In the 2006 edition of the ASTM testing methods, three object, thus;
tests for SCC have been standardized. These tests include the Buoyant force
J-ring test for passing ability, the slump flow test for flow abil- 1¼
Weight of the penetration object
ity, and the column technique for segregation resistance [4].
Resistance force
New methodologies were introduced to investigate fresh þ
Weight of the penetration object
properties of fiber reinforced concrete based on penetration
test [5]. On the other hand, principles of cone penetration test or;
were adopted to evaluate a wide range of workability of fresh Buoyant force
concrete [6]. Whereas, yield strength was the key factor to
Weight of the penetration object
assess the flow properties of fresh concrete in a previous study
[7]. Resistance force
¼1
To enhance both mechanical as well as time dependent Weight of the penetration object
properties of SCC, different types of fibers could be used to The right hand side will be called fluidity index (FI) as;
produce FR-SCC. Tensile strength, flexural strength, tough-
Buoyant force
ness, fracture properties, shrinkage, creep, etc are being exam- FI ¼
ples for the target properties to be enhanced. Weight of the penetration object
Field of SCC still needs simple methods to assess its prop- Resistance force
¼1 ð3Þ
erties in fresh state especially when fibers are added to produce Weight of the penetration object
FR-SCC. Applying most of existing methods for evaluating
where Buoyant force = Weight of the concrete displaced by
fresh properties of FR-SCC is faced by some difficulties such
penetration tool.
as blocking in J-ring and L-box tests. As a result, a modified
For completely fluid material like water, resistance to flow
J-ring setup by using 6 or 8 bars instead of 16 bars was pro-
is zero so FI = 1. Moreover as fresh concrete exerts some kind
posed. Moreover, the passing ability of FR-SCC can be
of resistance to flow of course due to the viscosity in addition
expressed as the ratio of diameter: height at the center of the
to the internal friction, FI will be smaller than unity and larger
J-ring test. The passing ability can also be evaluated using
than zero.
the L-box with a single bar instead of three bars [8].
In this study, FI is calculated based on Eq. (3).
Thus this work introduces a new test method through 
which the fluidity of both SCC and FR-SCC could be simply 1 Completely fluid concrete
FI ¼ ðDomain of FIÞ:
and rapidly evaluated. The proposed method is established 1 > X > 0 Range of fresh concrete
based on the buoyancy law. Moreover, the proposed method
can be adopted both at laboratory and field. It also could be
implemented directly to the cast concrete in the members with- Experimental program
out need to sampling.
The ability of using the cone penetration test to evaluate the
Establishing the relationship between fluidity and buoyancy law fluidity of FR-SCC was investigated in this experimental
study. The program included fifteen concrete mixes with differ-
Archimedes’ Principle states that ‘‘When an object is com- ent thixotropy levels of fresh concrete. The fluidity levels for
pletely or partially immersed in a fluid, the fluid exerts an the conducted concrete mixes were evaluated by performing
370 M.A.A. Abd Elaty, M.F. Ghazy

Fig. 1 Principles of Archimedes’ law for buoyancy.

the well known tests for SCC. The main parameters of this
study comprise.
Different types of fibers as well as dosages used (steel fibers
(SF), polypropylene fibers types 1, 2 and 3 (pp1, pp2, and pp3
(and glass fibers (GF)).
Mass of the used cone in addition to the attached mass as
given in Table 1.
Different apex angles for the used cones (20, 30, 40 and 45°)
that are denoted as 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively as shown in
Table 1 and Fig. 2.

Materials

Cement
Portland cement CEMI of grade 42.5 N was used in this inves-
tigation. Eighty minutes and two hundred and seventy minutes Fig. 2 The used hollow cones with apex angles (20°, 30°, 40° and
were the initial and finial setting times, respectively. The used 45°).
cement is conformed to the requirements of the Egyptian stan-
dard specifications ESS (4756-1/2013).

Fine aggregate Water

Medium well-graded sand of fineness modulus 2.79 was used. Clean water from water supplier tap was used for both mixing
and curing concrete mixes and samples in this study.

Coarse aggregate Mineral admixtures

Crushed dolomite of 20 mm maximum grain size was used in Properties of mineral admixtures (according to the manufac-
this study. Both fine and coarse aggregates are conformed to turer) that include Fly ash and silica fume used in this study
the requirements of the ESS (1101–2002). Fig. 3 presents the are presented in Table 2.
grading of the used aggregates.

Table 1 Details of the used cones as well as the attached masses.

Cone number Apex angle, ° Total height, mm Own weight, g Attached mass, gm
1 20 180 130 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200
2 30 170 275 0, 150, 250 and 500
3 40 170 295 0, 250, 500, 750 and 1000
4 45 180 400 0. 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1500 and 2000
Fluidity evaluation of fiber reinforced-self compacting concrete based on buoyancy law 371

100 Concrete mixes

UL
Used sand
80 Fifteen concrete mixes were investigated in fresh as well as
UL
hardened states. The details of the conducted concrete mixes
Passing, %

60 are given in Table 4.

LL
40 Methodology

20 Used dolomite
Fifteen concrete mixes were prepared and tested. The concrete
LL mixes were mixed in a drum concrete mixer with a maximum
0 capacity of 100 L. The water and cementitious materials as
0.15 0.3 0.6 1.18 2.36 4.75 9.5 19.5 well as the used admixtures were mixed for one minute to
Sieve size, mm ensure the uniformity of the constituents. Sand was simultane-
ously charged into the mixer and the mixing process was con-
Fig. 3 Grading for the used aggregate (fine and coarse). tinued for another one minute and then coarse aggregate was
added. After that, the total content was mixed for a period
of 2 min then, fibers were dispersed into the mixer and the mix-
Table 2 Properties of fly ash and silica fume according to the ing process was continued for additional 5 min. After mixing,
manufacturer. slump flow [9] and column segregation [4] tests were con-
ducted. The hollow cone attached with the applied mass inside
Property Percentage
it was lowered slowly till it touched the concrete surface to
Fly ash Silica fume measure FI. Then it was left to fall freely to statically penetrate
SiO2 52.53 90.2 the investigated concrete. The penetration depth was recorded
Al2O3 30.66 1.7 as shown in Figs. 4a and 4b. After that, the instrument was
Fe2O3 3.34 0.4 shifted to another position and the attached load was
SO3 1.71 0.5 increased, then the penetration depth (h) was measured. Dif-
P2O3 0.31 0 ferent cones with different apex angles as well as load values
TiO2 0.84 0 were used for each concrete mix and the corresponding pene-
Mn2O3 0.31 0
tration depths (h) were measured. Based on the measured pen-
CaO 3.04 2.1
etration depths and the corresponding load values, the
MgO 0.93 1.7
K2O 0 0.7 displaced volume rate cm3/g was calculated according to the
Na2O 3.07 0.7 Eq. (4) [6].
Loss on ignition % 3.26 2.0 1
Specific gravity 2.12 2.21 v ¼ ph3 tan2 h ð4Þ
3
Specific surface area, m2/kg 33.59 1500.00
where v is the displaced volume, cm3 and, h: is the penetration
depth, cm.
Chemical admixtures Moreover, compressive strength as well as flexural strength
at the age of 28-day were investigated for the conducted mixes
A high range water reducer meeting the requirements of
using 100  100  100 mm cube specimens and
ASTM C494 type F & G was used in this study.
100  100  500 mm prismatic specimens for compression
and flexural, respectively. The fresh concrete was cast in steel
Fibers
molds without compaction and their surfaces were finished
One type of steel fibers (SF), three types of polypropylene using trowel. After casting, the specimens were kept in their
fibers (PP1, PP2 and PP3) as well as one type of glass fibers molds for one day at (25 ± 2) °C and 50% Rh. Then, the spec-
were used in this study. The properties of the used fibers imens were removed from molds and immersed in clean water
according to the manufacturer are presented in Table 3. at 20 °C until the day of testing.

Table 3 Properties of the used fibers according to the manufacturer.

Property SF PP1 PP2 PP3 GF
Shape Crimped Tissue Tissue Straight (mono filament) Straight (strand)
Length, mm 30 6 18 18 18
Diameter, mm 1 0.05 0.05 0.018 0.013
Aspect ratio 30 120 360 1000 1384
Specific gravity 7.85 0.91 0.91 0.91 2.6
Tensile strength, MPa 1100 – – 550 1500
Static modulus, GPa 200 – – 6.5 73
Note: SF = Steel fibers, PP1 = Polypropylene fiber type 1, PP2 = Polypropylene fiber type 2, PP3 = Polypropylene fiber type 3 and
GF = Glass fibers.
372 M.A.A. Abd Elaty, M.F. Ghazy

Table 4 Compositions of the investigated mixes.

Mix Mix codea Cement Water Sand Dolomite SP Fly ash Silica Fiber type and volume fraction Unite
no. kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 Liter/ kg/m3 fume kg/ weight kg/
SF PP1 PP2 PP3 GF
m3 m3 m3
Vf% Vf% Vf% Vf% Vf%
1 SCC 420 162 727 727 9 120 60 – – – – – 2233
2 SFSCC0.5 420 176 718 718 9 120 60 0.5 – – – – 2259
3 SFSCC1.0 420 176 712 712 9.5 120 60 1.0 – – – – 2286
4 SFSCC2.0 420 176 700 700 10 120 60 2.0 – – – – 2338
5 GFSCC0.15 420 186 709 709 10.5 120 60 – – – – 0.15 2218
6 GFSCC0.4 420 210 673 673 12 120 60 – – – – 0.4 2169
7 PP1SCC0.25 420 174 724 724 9 120 60 – 0.25 – – – 2233
8 PP1SCC0.5 420 174 721 721 9 120 60 – 0.5 – – – 2229
9 PP2SCC0.25 420 174 724 724 9 120 60 – – 0.25 – – 2233
10 PP2SCC0.5 420 174 721 721 9 120 60 – – 0.5 – – 2229
11 PP2SCC0.75 420 180 708 708 10.5 120 60 – – 0.75 – – 2213
12 PP2SCC1.0 420 186 696 696 12 120 60 – – 1.0 – – 2199
13 PP3SCC0.25 420 174 724 724 9 120 60 – – – 0.25 – 2233
14 PP3SCC0.5 420 180 712 712 10.5 120 60 – – – 0.5 – 2219
15 PP3SCC0.75 420 228 650 650 12 120 60 – – – 0.75 – 2147
a
Mix code: SFSCC0.5 means SF (steel fiber), SCC (Self compacting concrete), 0.5 (Fiber volume fraction 0.5%)

the displaced volume rate is not a function of the value of cone

Fig. 4a Setup used in this study shows static equilibrium
resistance.
Results and discussions
Fresh properties
Effect of the apex angles on the displaced volume rate
A set of four cones was used to evaluate the influence of the
apex angle on the displaced volume rate (cm3/g). 20°, 30°,
40° and 45° apex angles were conducted. Fig. 5a presents the
relationship between the applied mass and the displaced vol-
ume for the conducted four apex angles performed on control
mix SCC (slump flow 750 mm). The displaced volume rates
were 0.395, 0.3697, 0.394 and 0.389 cm3/g with a correlation
coefficient approaches unity as presented in Fig. 5a. Collecting
these data in Fig. 5b the displaced volume rate was 0.408 cm3/g
with a correlation coefficient of 0.99. This result indicates that
apex angle.
Considering another mix containing 1% steel fiber volume
fraction, the displaced volume rate values were 0.43, 0.40, 0.40
and 0.43 cm3/g with correlation coefficients approaching unity
for the four conducted apex angles, respectively as shown in
Fig. 6a. On the other hand, Fig. 6b shows the negligible effect
of the apex angle. For this case, the displaced volume rate was
0.43 cm3/g which is close to the previous individual values for
the same mix with different apex angles.
For a concrete mix containing 2% steel fiber (SFSCC2.0),
Figs. 7a and 7b conclude the same tendency as the value of
cone apex angle does not influence the displaced volume rate.
Moreover, the displaced volume rate values as evaluated by
the same methodology as above for the fifteen concrete mixes
are given in Table 5 and in Fig. 8. Based on the calculated
results for the displaced volume rate, it can be simply noticed
that the displaced volume rates are increased with the more
fluid concrete mixes whereas, values were noticed to decreased
with less fluid concrete mixes. For example, PP3SCC0.75 mix
gave the smallest displaced volume rate as 0.28 cm3/g whereas,
SFSCC0.5 and PP2SCC0.25 mixes gave the highest displaced
volume rate as 0.44 cm3/g. The displaced volume rates were
independent on the apex angle values of the used cones.
This concept is agreed well with the Archimedes’ Principle
since it does not specify either the shape or the geometry of
the immersed object. Thus, for SCC and FR-SCC, the dis-
placed volume rate does not depend on the apex angle of the
used cone. It depends on the fluidity level of the concrete mix.
Fresh properties of mixes by traditional methods
Common workability test methods including slump flow test
(D max and T500) and column segregation test were con-
ducted. Moreover, FI test that introduced in this work was
conducted.
Slump flow test results
Figs. 9 and 10 show the results of slump flow test (D max and
T500) for the investigated mixes, respectively. As shown in
Fluidity evaluation of fiber reinforced-self compacting concrete based on buoyancy law 373

Fig. 4b Case of equilibrium of the used setup.

400
Apex angle 1 : y = 0.3953x - 27.895
350 R2 = 0.969

Apex angle 2 : y = 0.3966x - 28.179

300
R2 = 0.9983
Displaced volume, cm3

250 Apex angle 3 : y = 0.3942x - 9.2632

R2 = 0.9915
200 Apex angle 4 : y = 0.3893x - 15.772
R2 = 0.9996
150

100
1 2 3 4
50

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Applied mass, g

Fig. 5a Relationship between applied mass and displaced volume for SCC mix for different cones with different apex angles.

400

350 y = 0.4081x - 27.818

R2 = 0.9924
300
Displaced volume, cm 3

250

200

150

100
1 2 3 4 all
50

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Applied mass, g

Fig. 5b Relationship between applied mass and displaced volume for SCC mix for different cones with different apex angles.

Fig. 9, the values of slump flow satisfy the requirements of
SCC [3] except for mixes GFSCC0.15, GFSCC0.4,
PP2SCC1.0, PP3SCC0.5 and PP3SCC0.75 for which the mea-
sured D max values are below the lower limit of SCC require-
ments as shown in Fig. 9.
On the other hand, T500 test results for the investigated fif-
teen mixes are presented in Fig. 10. It can be simply noticed
that the above mentioned mixes that are not satisfying the
lower limit of slump flow give T500 values higher than the
upper limit for SCC as mentioned by the European [3]. The
374 M.A.A. Abd Elaty, M.F. Ghazy

Fig. 6a Relationship between applied mass and displaced volume for 1% SF-SCC mix for different cones with different apex angles.

Fig. 6b Relationship between applied mass and displaced volume for 1% SF-SCC mix for different cones with different apex angles.

Fig. 7a Relationship between applied mass and displaced volume for 2% SF-SCC mix for different cones with different apex angles.
Fluidity evaluation of fiber reinforced-self compacting concrete based on buoyancy law 375

Fig. 7b Relationship between applied mass and displaced volume for 2% SF-SCC mix for different cones with different apex angles.

Table 5 FI calculations and hardened properties for the investigated mixes.

Mix no. Mix code Unit weight (g/cm3) Displaced volume rate v (cm3/g) FI Eq. (3) Fcu MPa Fr MPa
1 SCC 2.233 0.41 0.916 60 9.2
2 SFSCC0.5 2.259 0.44 0.994 59 9.95
3 SFSCC1.0 2.286 0.43 0.983 61 11.07
4 SFSCC2.0 2.338 0.42 0.982 64 11.94
5 GFSCC0.15 2.218 0.34 0.754 43 9.5
6 GFSCC0.4 2.169 0.3 0.651 50 9.7
7 PP1SCC0.25 2.233 0.41 0.916 33 11.97
8 PP1SCC0.5 2.229 0.4 0.892 40 12.6
9 PP2SCC0.25 2.233 0.44 0.983 54 9.65
10 PP2SCC0.5 2.229 0.37 0.825 55 10.45
11 PP2SCC0.75 2.213 0.405 0.896 61 10.8
12 PP2SCC1.0 2.199 0.35 0.770 64 11.2
13 PP3SCC0.25 2.233 0.41 0.916 52 9.9
14 PP3SCC0.5 2.219 0.3 0.666 67 10.5
15 PP3SCC0.75 2.147 0.28 0.601 71 12.8

Fig. 8 Relationship between FR-SCC mixes and displaced volume rate.

376 M.A.A. Abd Elaty, M.F. Ghazy

Fig. 9 Relationship between FR-SCC mixes and D max.

Fig. 10 Relationship between FR-SCC mixes and T500.

Fig. 11 Relationship between FR-SCC mixes and column segregation test results.

results of slump flow test indicate that both of D max and
T500 values are in a good agreement.
Column segregation test results
The column segregation tests results for the investigated fifteen
concrete mixes are presented in Fig. 11. The test results are
ranged between 0 and less than 0.15. This satisfies the segrega-
tion resistance criteria for SCC mixes.
Fluidity index (FI) test results
FI values for the conducted concrete mixes are given in Table 5.
Moreover, Fig. 12 presents the relationship between the inves-
tigated mixes and the FI as calculated by Eq. (3). The values
are scattered between 0.601 and 1.0. On the other hand, the
correlation coefficient between FI and flow as measured by
D max is presented in Fig. 13. The results indicate that there
is a direct proportion between slump flow and FI with a corre-
lation coefficient (R2 = 0.86). Whereas, an inverse proportion
Fluidity evaluation of fiber reinforced-self compacting concrete based on buoyancy law 377

Fig. 12 The fluidity index FI for the investigated mixes.

Fig. 13 Relationship between D max and fluidity index FI.

Fig. 14 Relationship between T500 and fluidity index FI.

relationship between T500 and FI is presented in Fig. 14 with
correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.83). FI test results agree well
with the results of slump flow test which introduces this test
method for simply evaluating the fluidity of both SCC and
FR-SCC mixes. According to the FI test results, values
between 0.8 and 1.0 are the recommended range for SCC mixes
either with or without fibers as shown in Fig. 12.
Hardened concrete properties
Compressive strength (Fcu) as well as flexural strength (Fr) test
results are presented in Table 5 and Figs. 15 and 16, respec-
tively. As in traditional fiber reinforced concrete, adding fibers
to SCC mixes may increase the compressive strength with some
type of fibers such as steel fibers and may reduce the compres-
sive strength when some types of fibers are used such as glass
fibers in this study as well as some types of the investigated
polypropylene fibers with a specified fiber volume fractions
as shown in Table 5 and Fig. 15. On the other hand, flexural
strength of the investigated FR-SCC mixes are shown in
Table 5 and plotted on Fig. 16. For all the investigated mixes,
a remarkable enhancements in the flexural strength values over
the control mix were recorded. SFSCC2.0 and PP2SCC0.5
showed the best enhancement in flexural strength by about
30% and 37% over the control mix, respectively.
378
Fig. 15 The investigated mixes versus the compressive strength at 28-day age.
Fig. 16 The investigated mixes versus the flexural strength at 28-day age.
Conclusions
Based on the results of the present investigation, the following
conclusions could be drawn;
 A novel methodology based on the principals of Archi-
medes’ law is presented to evaluate the fluidity of SCC
mixes with and without fibers.
 A cone instrument with different apex angle values could be
used to evaluate the displaced volume rate for SCC as well
as FR-SCC mixes without affecting the measured values.
 A new terminology called fluidity index (FI) is proposed to
assess the fluidity of SCC mixes with and without fibers.
Range for values from 0.8 to 1.0 for FI is found to be the
acceptable criteria for SCC mixes as compared with the
accompanied results for slump flow test.
 For the present investigation and for the conducted mixes, a
good correlation between FI values and slump flow test
results was noticed.
 The proposed method is simple, efficient, and applicable for
both field and laboratory with and without sampling.
 The flexural test results indicated the benefits of using fibers
in concrete mix as enhancements have been achieved by
adding fibers to SCC mixes to produce FR-SCC mixes as
in traditional fiber reinforced concrete mixes.
Conflict of interest
The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.
M.A.A. Abd Elaty, M.F. Ghazy
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