Particle packing and the rheology of concrete

Mixtures of particles of different size are widely used in order to design concrete mixtures containing the maximum amount of solid particles possible that can be readily transported, placed and finished. This chapter provides an overview of the main results of the effects of particle properties on packing characteristics and presents three different models that aim to predict the packing density of a particle mixture. The dependence of the overall rheological properties of highly concentrated suspensions of polydisperse particles on the particle size distribution and particle blend composition is then investigated.