Lightweight Aggregate Concrete (LWAC) is typically defined as concrete having a density smaller than or equal to 2200kg/m3 and can be obtained by mixing natural or artificial lightweight aggregates. There is a general scepticism regarding the use of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) for structural applications. This concern is attached to the more brittle material behaviour which leads to lower ductility. This article presents a numerical parametric analysis of the behaviour of the reinforced LWAC cross-sections under the immediate load taking into account the density of the LWAC concrete, concrete strength and tensile reinforcement ratio. Numerical analysis of  the beams was conducted in OpenSees, an open–source nonlinear finite element method framework. One-dimensional elements, with three degrees of freedom at each end, were used. Bending stiffness in the integration points was calculated based on the sectional moment – curvature relationship. The analysis showed that there is a relationship between the ductility of the cross-sections made of lightweight concrete and its density class. It is associated with limited compressive strains and the brittle behavior of LWAC. The limited rotation capacity of the reinforced concrete sections made of LWAC also affects the ability of redistribution of internal forces in statically indeterminate beams

This research study aimed to investigate the effect of the lightweight aggregate concrete and steel reinforcement interaction on the behaviour of continuous beams compared to the normal concrete of the same strength. This paper presents six full-scale, double-span beams with a rectangular cross-section made of both lightweight and normal concrete. The study confirmed that beams made of lightweight aggregate concrete achieve comparable flexural capacities to those made of NWC but their deformability and ductility are lower. Although the redistribution of internal forces depends mainly on the longitudinal reinforcement ratio, the influence of ultimate compressive strains of concrete is also noticeable. The ultimate compressive strains in LWAC are generally lower than in NWC. The lower rotational capacity of LWAC results in smaller degrees of moment redistribution in beams made of this concrete compared to normal concrete beams.

The paper presents a numerical analysis of deformability and load-bearing capacity of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) elements subjected to bending with axial force. The nonlinear material model of LWAC presented in Eurocode 2 (EC2) was assumed. Several different densities and compressive strengths of concrete were taken into account. The investigations included the comparison of the sectional capacity and the behaviour of slender elements made with normal and lightweight aggregate concrete. It was observed that density-dependent mechanical properties of concrete affect the obtained values of the maximum axial force and the bending moment despite the same mean compressive strength. In every case, the capacity of the RLWAC section was lower than the one of normal weight, which was caused by a linear characteristic of the LWAC. Other important factors were the modulus of elasticity and the ultimate strain of concrete. LWAC with the higher density and the lower ultimate strain gave greater stiffness to slender columns but reduced the cross-sectional capacity. It was concluded that the elastic modulus and the peak strain of LWAC which are applied in columns calculations should be verified experimentally.

W pracy przedstawiono analizę numeryczną nośności przekrojów i smukłych elementów z betonu lekkiego (LWAC) poddanych działaniu siły osiowej oraz momentu zginającego. Przyjęto nieliniowy model materiałowy betonu przedstawiony w Eurokodzie 2 (EC2) [1]. Średnia wytrzymałość betonu na ściskanie przyjęta w obliczeniach wynosiła 53 MPa. Rozważano kilka różnych gęstości betonu. Zaobserwowano, że właściwości wytrzymałościowe betonu zależne od gęstości wpływają na uzyskiwane wartości maksymalnej siły osiowej i momentu zginającego pomimo tej samej średniej wytrzymałości na ściskanie. W każdym przypadku nośność przekroju z betonu lekkiego była niższa niż betonu zwykłego. Ponadto wprowadzenie LWAC o większej gęstości i niższym odkształceniu granicznym oznaczało większą sztywność smukłych słupów, ale wiązało się z redukcją nośności samego przekroju. Wyniki analizy nieliniowej posłużyły do weryfikacji uproszczonych metod obliczeń II rzędu zawartych w EC2 pod kątem wpływu właściwości materiału na zgodność uzyskanych wyników z metodą ogólną. Wykazano, że wyniki w niektórych przypadkach są bardzo konserwatywne i nie uwzględniają innego poziomu odkształcenia w LWAC.