Extension of the theory of particle mixtures to pastes, mortars and concretes

The commonly selected value for concrete trials and for reference purposes by the ready mixed concrete industry is 50 mm slump. Cement pastes of standard consistence in the Vicat test produce slumps in the order of 50 mm. Mortars and concretes of 50 mm slump simulated by the theory do not need major adjustment to account for aggregate contents estimated from loose bulk densities. For these reasons, 50 mm was selected as the reference slump for simulation of pastes, mortars and concretes. Adjustments for other slumps are dealt with in section 4.4.3.