State of workability design technology for fresh concrete in Japan

As high-performance concrete and various new types of concrete, such as self-compacting concrete and anti-washout underwater concrete, have been developed and put to practical use, it has become increasingly important to optimize the consistency of fresh concrete to attain high-quality and efficient concrete construction, which is called workability design of concrete. Up to the present, many scientists from all parts of the world have performed a lot of studies on the rheological properties, test method, and flow analysis of fresh concrete for realizing the workability design under various construction conditions. This paper gives a brief outline of the current situation, problems and prospects in the art of workability design of fresh concrete in Japan.