Self-compacting lightweight aggregate concrete: design and experimental study

Abstract

This study focuses on the production of self-compacted lightweight structural concrete. For this purpose, lightweight concrete was produced by replacing normal aggregate with pumice aggregate obtained from the Kayseri region. Three series of mixtures were prepared to obtain the proper self-compacting lightweight concrete (SCLC) mixture. The D series included normal-weight, self-compacting concrete (SCC) mixtures and the H series included SCLC mixtures having 100% lightweight coarse aggregate and different air contents. Fresh concrete test results obtained from these mixtures were used as a basis for the T series containing different amounts of lightweight and normal-weight coarse aggregate. Some mechanical and fresh concrete properties were obtained from the T series. It was found that the loss of strength owing to lightweight aggregate addition is higher than the decrease of unit weight of the mixture. Furthermore, the decrease in flexural tensile strength owing to addition of lightweight aggregate is less than the reduction in compressive strength and splitting tensile strength. The percentage of entrained air and paste content are important factors to avoid segregation problems in lightweight SCC mixtures. There is a good relationship between 28-day compressive strength and unit weight data obtained from the H and T series.