1. What is a BAP?

Self-compacting concrete is a highly fluid concrete that can be placed without vibration (compaction is achieved by gravity alone) and, once hardened, produces a compact, homogeneous material. Conventional concretes are subject to a certain amount of expansion during transport and placement, and generally require energy input (in the form of internal or external vibration) to evacuate the air trapped in the material.

Traditional concretes with a fluid consistency can, in some cases, be used without vibration (as in the case of pile concretes or cast wall concretes), but the regulations then take into account a reduced quality in the hardened state.

What really sets BAPs apart from fluid concretes is their ability to flow through formwork while maintaining homogeneity and compactness (figure