A major requirement on self-compacting concrete (SCC) is the resistance to any kind of separation. In the presented studies the segregation behavior of aggregates was analyzed systematically. The rheology of selfcompacting mortars was dealt with at first. Following, the segregation of particles of different size, shape and density in various mortars was examined. The aim was to find an analytical relation to estimate the risk of sedimentation, using the characteristics of the particles and those of the mortars. The classification of the aggregates according to their potential segregation is rather simple. But the description of the segregation resistance of the mortar is much more difficult. It is not possible to evaluate a mortar solely based on the rheological properties. The mixture composition must always be considered as well. Tests on concrete samples were conducted additionally to determine the influence of the overall system of SCC on the sedimentation of the aggregates.
There is only sparse empirical data on the settling velocity of small, non-buoyant microplastics thus far, although it is an important parameter governing their vertical transport within aquatic environments. This study reports the settling velocities of 4031 exemplary microplastic particles. Focusing on the environmentally most prevalent particle shapes, irregular microplastic fragments of four different polymer types (9–289 µm) as well as five discrete length fractions (50–600 µm) of common nylon and polyester fibers were investigated, respectively. All settling experiments were carried out in quiescent water using a specialized optical imaging setup. The method has been previously validated in order to minimize disruptive factors, e.g. thermal convection or particle interactions, and thus enable the precise measurements of the velocities of individual microplastic particles (0.003–9.094 mm/s). Based on the obtained data, ten existing models for predicting a particle’s terminal settling velocity were assessed. It is concluded that models, which were specifically deduced from empirical data on larger microplastics, fail to provide accurate predictions for small microplastics. Instead, a different approach is highlighted as a viable option for computing settling velocities across the microplastics continuum in terms of size, density and shape.