The Behaviour of Fresh Concrete with Varying Coarse Aggregate Content at the Concrete-Steel Wall Interface

Abstract

The interaction between concrete and steel occurs during concrete mixing and finishing processes, during filling of concrete moulds, formwork, composite columns and during pumping of concrete mixtures. More experimental investigation is required to predict variations in interface friction, as a result of the composition of the lubrication layer which depends on the composition of concrete. This study provides experimental results to allow for a better understanding of friction at concrete-steel interface, with changes in the coarse aggregate (CA) content in the aggregate mixture (AM). Friction tests on fresh concrete have been carried out using the BTRHEOM tribometer (Nantes, France) and the interface parameters were calculated on the basis of the interface friction between the concrete and the steel wall, through the ADRHEO software. The roughness parameters were measured along the length of the rotary steel cylinder of the tribometer. In addition, the roughness of new and modified metal form-lining in steel composite columns was also measured. Variations in the CA content in the AM in the 42 to 52% range had minimal effects on the yield stress of the interface. The viscous constant of the interface as measured with a tribometer decreased, when the roughness parameter Rt values of the rotary cylinder wall, which refer to the absolute vertical distance between the maximum profile peak height and the maximum profile valley depth along the sampling length, were in the 17.10 to 28.73 μm range. The roughness profile peaks’ asperity recorded, was higher for the worn metal form-lining and for the steel composite columns with the inner surface covered in rust, when compared to the rotary cylinder roughness profile. The hypothesis is based on the principle that a sufficient lubrication layer, with the required thickness of fine mortar is created at the interface between the concrete and the metal form-lining or steel composite column wall, when the CA content in the AM varies in the range from 42 to 52% and the wall roughness parameters (Rt) of these elements varies in the 15.00 to 30.00 μm range.