Over the past decade, the rapid development of chemical admixtures and their increasing use in concrete industry has fundamentally changed the optimisation of concrete. Improvements have been made to workability of concrete during placement, stability during setting (bleeding, plastic shrinkage, ..), and long-term durability.  However, the dependence on powerful chemicals makes the rheology of concrete ever more sensitive to its composition, mixing and workmanship due to the compatibility between admixtures and cementitious materials. These facilities of rheology laboratory allowed to characterising, optimising and tailoring the rheology (or flow behaviour) of fresh cement-based systems to improve the concrete casting process and engineering performances and make it more cost-effective products.  

Shrinkage cone allows measurement of plastic shrinkage which can lead to cracks particularly in hot weather

Carbonation chambers enable exposure of specimens to accelerated carbonation testing with different levels of 5% CO₂ and 20^oC