effects of different constituent materials on the properties of plastic concrete

having observed the costly failures of different cutoff walls, that had been constructed according to the mix design specified by reputable consultants in iran, a research programme was conducted to study the effects of constituent materials on the properties of plastic concrete. the main properties, such as compressive strength, biaxial and triaxial strains, permeability, and modulus of elasticity have been investigated using different mixes, obtained from prototype production line plant, situated on site, because it was realized that the site production line and the systems employed have major effects on the properties of plastic concrete. statistical analysis of the results, revealed the coefficients of influence of main constituent materials of plastic concrete namely cement, bentonite, aggregate and water on its compressive strength and modulus of elasticity. having realized the cancelling effects of bentonite and aggregates on the measured properties, some equations relating the quantities of cement and water to the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity are introduced. effects of clay and hydrated lime powder, as fillers were also investigated leading to the proposal of limits for their safe and economic use. since most of the cutoff walls are buried structures, failure strains under both uniaxial and triaxial tests, with values of cohesion and internal friction, are also presented in this paper.