Simulation of the flow of self-compacting concrete in the V-funnel by SPH

The flow of self-compacting concrete (SCC) mixes through a V-funnel is simulated from the moment the gate is opened until the time when the light was first seen in the bottom opening through observation from the top (discharge time, tv-funnel). For this simulation, the three-dimensional mesh-less smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) computational approach is chosen in which the SCC mix is treated as a non-Newtonian Bingham-type fluid. The numerical simulation results for the discharge time agree very favourably with those recorded in the laboratory on a range of normal strength SCC mixes with cube compressive strengths from 30 to 80 MPa with a maximum size crushed coarse aggregate of 20 mm. In contrast, the two-dimensional simulation of the V-funnel test is found to underestimate significantly the discharge time. The statistics of the distribution of the coarse aggregate particles equal to or larger than 8 mm in the mix (this limit is set by the number of particles used in the SPH simulations) shows that the mix remains homogeneous with no settlement of the heavier particles during the flow and after the flow has stopped.