Experimental Study on Flexural Behaviors of All-Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Beams and Slabs

Abstract

The use of lightweight and energy saving materials is the main trend of modern building and construction technology. All-lightweight aggregate concrete, which is a new type of lightweight aggregate concrete, not only has all the advantages of light weight concrete but also a lower apparent density of 600kg/m3. At present, the commonly-used energy-saving organic insulation materials include the EPS insulation and polyurethane insulation. The paper presents a new type of all-lightweight inorganic aggregate concrete by replacing organic material, in order to obtain a lightweight, energy-efficient building structure which synthesizes the load-bearing capacity, lightweight and energy-saving. Tests on the flexural behaviors of 11 all-lightweight aggregate concrete beams and 6 slabs were conducted. The effects of steel reinforcement ratio and loading distribution on the flexural and shear behaviors and method to calculate the load carrying capacity were carried out. The feasibility of application of all-lightweight aggregate concrete on multi-story buildings and to replace common reinforced concrete members in bending was discussed. The experimental study in the paper can provide a basis of the lightweight and energy-saving multi-story structure.