The growing interest in the use of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) for a wide variety of structural applications has initiated a reexamination of its properties and current construction practices and how they compare with those of conventional concrete. One property of interest is the formwork pressure of SCC and how it relates to that of conventional concrete. This work presents the results for three tall walls (28, 21.7, and 13 ft tall) cast slowly with SCC and a 10.6-ft-high column poured quickly by using the same concrete used in one of the walls. The research demonstrates that the pressure of SCC against the formwork drops quickly just after the concrete material is placed. Measurements from the walls poured slowly show that the maximum recorded pressure falls far below the hydrostatic pressure and is closely related to the pouring rate. The experiments also reveal that the formwork pressure exerted by SCC can be revitalized if the SCC is vibrated, even if stiffening is already in progress.
Development and applications of the intrinsic model for formwork pressure of self-consolidating concrete