Material Design Methods for Lightweight Cement-Based Composites and Its Application

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose a material design method of lightweight cement-based composites that reduces the mass of building components and provides them with better insulation. To achieve this purpose, a number of special lightweight aggregates were tested. Furthermore, material design methods based on the packing density models and the void system model for lightweight porous mortar (LWPM) were applied. A series of experiments was carried out in order to investigate the mechanical properties and to examine the thermal conductivity of various types of lightweight mortar. The study identified that the adopted material design methods were effective in reducing the density of lightweight mortar and in obtaining sufficient insulation performance. Furthermore, compressive strength sufficient for required structural performance was also achieved in certain types of lightweight mortar. Finally, lightweight insulation block (LWIB) was developed by combining the packing density model and the void system model for achieving both of sufficient bearing capacity and high insulation performance.

Influence of Curing Conditions on Properties of Normal and High Strength Concrete with and without Pre-Wetted Lightweight Aggregates

“…The proper curing to ensure water supply for assisting the hydration of cement and induced supplementary cementitious materials in concrete, e.g. fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF) or ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), is essential to achieve acceptable strength and durability-related properties due to the pozzolanic reaction and their role as a micro-filler Kwon et al 2015). Thus, an adequate curing condition plays a crucial role in obtaining an optimum mechanical performance and durability of concrete structures (El-Dien et al 1999;Güneyisi and Mermerdaş 2007;Radlinski and Olek 2015).…”