Certification of SRM 2497: Standard Reference Concrete for Rheological Measurements

Published

April 22, 2019

Author(s)

Nicos Martys, Max A. Peltz, William L. George, Blaza Toman, Edward J. Garboczi, Chiara Ferraris

Abstract

Rotational rheometers are commonly used to determine the rheological properties of fluids such as viscosity and yield stress [Fer12]. Manufacturers generally recommend the use of a standard oil of known viscosity to verify that the instrument is operating correctly. These oils are Newtonian fluids and are not representative of the flow of concrete, mortar or paste which behave as a Bingham or power-law fluid. Also, oils are expensive, and would be cost prohibitive because large volumes of the reference material would be needed to calibrate concrete rheometers. Therefore, a relatively inexpensive, well characterized reference material, with properties similar to concrete, e.g., non-Newtonian and incorporates aggregates, similar in dimension to that in concrete for testing in concrete rheometers. The development of this new Standard Reference Material (SRM) is based on a three-step approach. The first step was development of a paste reference material (SRM2492) [liv12], the second step involved creation of the mortar SRM2493 [Oli]. The final step involved development of SRM 2497 which is similar to a concrete material. The purpose of this report is to describe the process used to certify SRM 2497, a “Standard Reference Concrete for Rheological Measurements”. All measurements used for the development of the rheological characteristics are provided along with statistical analysis. A description of the computational model that was utilized to predict the behavior of the SRM is also provided. The data analyzed in this study serve to certify that the proposed models and values are valid.

Citation

Special Publication (NIST SP) - 260-194

Report Number

260-194

NIST Pub Series

Special Publication (NIST SP)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.260-194

Keywords

Rheology, Concrete, Mortar, SRM, viscosity, suspensions, cement based materials

Citation

Martys, N. , Peltz, M. , George, W. , Toman, B. , Garboczi, E. and Ferraris, C. (2019), Certification of SRM 2497: Standard Reference Concrete for Rheological Measurements, Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.260-194 (Accessed October 13, 2025)