Evaluation of the lightweight foamed concrete characteristics

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the properties of light weight foamed concrete. In this research, two phases are investigated. The first stage explored the characteristics of fresh and hardened foamed concrete using a foaming agent. The following parameters were employed in this study: foaming agent used as a volume of concrete mix by 10, 20, and 40%, fly ash used as a replacement of cement content by 10, 25, and 50%, and polypropylene fiber used with varied volume fractions of 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0%. Slump values are applied to evaluate the fresh properties. To evaluate the hardened concrete, the dry density and compressive strength at 7 and 28 days are computed. Furthermore, the 28-day tensile splitting strength and flexural strength are studied. The effect of a high temperature was evaluated. The second stage investigated the effects of polypropylene fiber on both fresh and hardened concrete. It was observed that foaming agents improve fresh characteristics while decreasing compressive strengths and dry density. Furthermore, utilizing fly ash improves the characteristics of both fresh and hardened foamed concrete. The fiber reduces the fresh characteristics while enhancing the toughened properties. Because of its low density, foamed concrete is being used for structural applications because of this study. Such as those utilized for thermal insulation, acoustic impedance, and fire breaks. Also used to create road foundations for roads built on soft soil.