Prediction of compressive strength and elastic modulus of expanded polystyrene lightweight concrete

Abstract

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) lightweight concrete is composed of a plain concrete matrix and EPS beads. The aim of the study was to characterise the mechanical properties of EPS lightweight concretes containing various volumes of EPS (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% and 40%) and of two water/cement ratios (0·45 and 0·55). The test results indicate that the apparent density, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and elastic modulus of EPS concrete decrease when the content of EPS particles increases. Based on the experimental results and composite approach, a new simplified mathematical model is proposed for evaluating the compressive strength and elastic modulus of EPS concrete as a function of the mechanical properties of the plain concrete, the mechanical properties of the EPS and the percentage of EPS particles.