Mechanical behaviours of cellular lightweight concrete using finite element analysis

Abstract

Cellular Lightweight Concrete (CLC) is a concrete brick with a density lighter than concrete bricks. The efficiency of the use and quality of CLC can be determined by analysing mechanical behaviour using the finite element method. The purpose of this study is to analyse the mechanical behaviour of lightweight concrete using the finite element method. Analysis of mechanical behaviour using LUSAS finite element software. The CLC model used admixture materials of silica foam, palm oil fly ash (POFA) and lime (CaCO3). The study resulted in the difference between the numeric and experimental analysis being less than 10%. The most considerable deformation occurred at the top of the CLC model based on the deformation contour distribution. The most significant stress and strain contours distribution occurred at the CLC model’s bottom. The controlled load of 6 kN to 60 kN causes an increase in the mechanical behaviour of CLC. The most considerable deformation occurred when the maximum load on the CLC model with a silica fume mixture was 9.239 mm. The stress of the CLC model is 1.148 N/mm2, and the most significant strain occurred in CLC with silica fume admixture with a CLC weight of 0.038. Thus, the finite element method can be used as a comparison of laboratory test results to determine the mechanical behaviour of CLC.