This document is based on AFGC document “SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE – Interim Recommendations” (July 2000) and experience acquired during the French national project B@P, under the chairmanship of Yves Malier (Ecole française du Béton, a foundation to promote and support concrete research and innovation) and the technical direction of Michel Guérinet (Eiffage). The project has enabled us to answer the remaining unsolved questions and take self-compacting concrete (SCC) out of the laboratory and onto the worksite for the successful construction of high-quality buildings and civil engineering works.

Although most of the present applications are to be found in the field of building construction (see monograph drafted by B@P and published by CIMbéton), the revised text of Fascicule 65A is based on the draft version of these recommendations and now considers SCC to be on the same level as high performance concrete (HPC). The most important development is the introduction of SCC classes (depending on the application) which should make SCC more competitive on the ready-mixed concrete market (RMC).

This French approach has also been included in the project to extend standard EN 206 (EN 206-9) and, while the European project has not yet been published, its content appears to be sufficiently stabilised for these recommendations to be published without risking any major discordance.