Flexural Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Beam Embedded with Different Alignment of Polystyrene

Abstract

This study investigates the flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete beam embedded with different alignments of polystyrene blocks. Understanding of its behavior would improve beam by maximising reduction of dead load due to concrete volume. Three beams of dimension 1600 mm x 175 mm x 300 mm were tested under the four-point load setup. These specimen had three different alignments of polystyrene block located below the neutral axis. The first specimen with a singular rectangle polystyrene block was used as a reference specimen to investigate the presence of spacing between the polystyrene blocks, and the presence of a mid-span spacing with concrete strut at the sides of the beam. The beams failed due to crushing of concrete at the top with major flexural cracks. The result from the test showed the effects of the alignments of the polystyrene blocks on the beam. The presence of spacings decreases the ultimate capacity per unit volume while increases its ductility. The presence of mid-span spacing and concrete struts improves the ultimate capacity per unit volume but decreases its ductility. Further studies may involve width of the spacings and layout of polystyrene blocks.

Structural Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Beam with Embedded Polystyrene Spheres

“…Polystyrene spheres [20] Polystyrene block [21][22][23][24] Foamed concrete infill [25] Polypropylene Plastic Sheet [26] There were studies on beams embedded with various lightweight materials, but only a limited number involved polystyrene spheres (Table 1). Most studies compared the beam's strength with that of the solid beams, but not many looked into the material efficiency, which is the strength per unit of concrete.…”