Prediction of time-dependent flow behaviors of fresh concrete

The time-dependent performances of fresh concrete greatly affect the production and construction from mixing to casting. In this paper, the mechanism of the time-dependence was discussed, followed by proposing a new numerical approach to predict the time-dependent flow behaviors on the basis of the Discrete Element Method (DEM). In the proposed DEM model, both the effects of hydration and physical flocculation were taken into account. To validate the numerical method, the experimental results were compared to the numerical calculation of the gravity-induced funnel flow of fresh mortar at different times after mixing.