Abstract: To evaluate the filling performance of self-compacting mortar in rock piles, a L-B model is constructed and a filling experiment is conducted, using convex polygonal blocks of varying grain sizes randomly arranged to create a complex and irregular void channel. This L-B experiment is numerically simulated using the volume of fluid method and taking self-compacting mortar as Bingham fluid; the relationship is examined between the rock-fill rate and the filling performance of the mortar. We demonstrate the feasibility of characterizing the rheological properties of self-compacting mortars using the Bingham model, the volume of fluid method’s capability of simulating appropriately the mortar flow process, and its filling results for rock piles with irregular boundaries. The mortar filling performance increases and then decreases as the rock-fill rate increases in the range of 45% ~ 60%, with the optimal rate of 50%. This study offers a convenient simulation method for examining the filling performance of self-compacting concrete in rock piles for practical construction.

Key words: hydraulic structure, filling property, volume of fluid method, self-compacting mortar, rock-fill rate, rock filled concrete, numerical simulation