Analysis of the functional efficiency of enclosing structures made of expanded clay concrete

Abstract

The introduction discusses the main advantages and disadvantages of the use of structural and structural insulated lightweight concrete in the manufacture of load-bearing structures of buildings based on an analytical review of the work of various researchers. It is demonstrated that in the Republic of Belarus there is a sufficient production base for the mass production of expanded clay and expanded clay concrete products. For the special case of designing load-bearing walls made of expanded clay concrete blocks considered in the article, the features of their design are given (for example, reinforced concrete belt, reinforcement of masonry with grids). In the main part, on the example of the design of load-bearing external walls of a warehouse building, the achieved economic effect is demonstrated by the calculation method based on variant design. The results of the practical calculation performed within the framework of the variant design of the enclosing load-bearing walls of the building are presented. Two options are considered: the traditional solution is a masonry of silicate bricks with a thickness of 380 mm, an alternative option is a masonry of expanded clay concrete blocks with a thickness of 300 mm. It is established that the economic effect of the use of expanded clay concrete blocks is 9.3 % per 1 cubic meter. walls compared to the masonry of silicate bricks without taking into account the positive effect in the selection of foundation blocks and slabs, which is achieved as a result of reducing the own weight of the walls. The ways to improve the physical and mechanical characteristics of expanded clay concrete are proposed: the use of expanded clay gravel as a coarse aggregate, increase the strength of expanded clay gravel at the stage of its production, the use of expanded clay fraction up to 10 mm, and fiber reinforcement by polypropylene fiber. In conclusion, it is stated that the use of expanded clay concrete products made of structural and heat-insulating concrete can improve the indicators of the functional efficiency of building structures.