Adding sustainable raw materials to Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) modifies its flowability
behavior. Furthermore, the use of these raw materials may at the same time even improve one
fresh property while worsening another. An accurate flowability description of SCC containing
sustainable raw materials therefore requires a multi-parametric classification that simultaneously
covers all fresh properties (slump flow, viscosity, and blocking ratio) for an accurate description
of its potential applications. Existing classifications consider each fresh property independently.
In this paper, a multi-parametric flowability classification of SCC containing sustainable raw
materials is proposed. The effects of multiple sustainable raw materials on SCC flowability are
compiled in a dataset serving as a knowledge base with information on 663 SCC mixes containing
sustainable aggregates and binders. The statistical analysis of the dataset led to the definition of
three types of flowability zones. Firstly, the overall-flowability zones, in which SCC flowability is
described in absolute terms: the better the in-fresh properties, the better the overall-flowability
zone. Secondly, the flowability-balance zones reflect the balance between free flow (slump
flow and slump-flow viscosity) and flow around obstacles (V-funnel emptying time and L-box
blocking ratio). Finally, SCC is classified within flowability-predominance zones, which define the
main characteristic of SCC flowability, rate of flow (viscosity) or uniformity of flow (spreading).
The variability of the effect of each sustainable raw material on the flowability of SCC makes this
classification useful, in so far as it offers a complete picture of the fresh behavior of SCC in which
all fresh properties are simultaneously considered. Furthermore, based on the description in the
proposed classification of overall flowability and the balance between free flow and flow around
obstacles, the application fields are defined for which the use of each SCC mix with sustainable
raw materials is recommended.
