M.H. Baluch, M.K. Rahman, and F. M. Mukhtar 1 Simulation of Flow and Formwork Pressure in Self Consolidating Concrete (SCC) M.H. Baluch 1 , M.K. Rahman 2 , and F. M. Mukhtar 3 1 Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia mhbaluch@kfupm.edu.sa 2 Associate Professor, Research Institute, King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia mkrahman@kfupm.edu.sa 3 PhD Student, Department of Civil Engineering, King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia faisalmu@kfupm.edu.sa ABSTRACT: Flowability, passing ability and stability are important properties to be considered while designing a robust self- compacting concrete (SCC). The simulation of SCC provides a useful tool for ensuring a robust SCC mix for construction and formwork design. Hence, this paper presents the results of a 2D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation carried out on the slump flow and L-box tests to evaluate the flowability and passing ability of an SCC made with limestone powder (LSP). The Herschel-Bulkley viscosity model is used for modeling the behavior of the fresh concrete. The result obtained shows a good correlation between the numerical simulation and the experimental results. Another phenomenon studied in the paper is the formwork pressure due to SCC. Application of a new finite element model developed by the authors is proposed here for studying the evolution of lateral pressure in self-compacting concrete, incorporating factors such as the casting rate and the evolution of rheological properties of SCC. The proposed finite element simulation of SCC formwork pressure shows a good correlation with available experimental results from the literature. Keywords: Formwork pressure; Self compacting concrete; Lateral stress; Thixotropy; Finite element model; Rheology; Flocculation. INTRODUCTION Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) is characterized by high flowability, resistance to segregation, ability to fill the formwork and can pass through restricted reinforcement sections without requiring any mechanical vibration for compaction (Lange et al. 2008). These attributes can be measured by a combination of tests that give an indication of the quality of the SCC. The filling ability (flowability) of SCC is generally measured in terms of spread using the slump flow test, whose value ranges from 455 to 810 mm depending on the requirements for its application. Another parameter obtainable from slump test is T 500 which gives a measure of the plastic viscosity of the SCC. L-box test is also used in practice to measure the filling and passing ability as well as blocking resistance of SCC (Thrane et al. 2004). The above mentioned tests in conjunction with many others such as V-funnel, J-Ring, U-Box and Visual Stability Index tests, etc. are used to study, in details, the likely behavior of SCC and hence its suitability to the proposed application. However, for more effective usage of SCC when planning the casting of concrete, rheological