Structural Performance of Shear Loaded Precast EPS-Foam Concrete Half-Shaped Slabs

Abstract

Precast concrete elements provide a feasible way to expedite on-site construction; however, typical precast components are massive, making their use particularly undesirable at construction sites that suffer from low load-bearing capacity or have swelling soils. This research aims to develop an optimal lightweight expanded polystyrene foam concrete (EPS-foam concrete) slab through a consideration of various parameters. The precast EPS-foam concrete half-shaped slabs were prepared with a density and compressive strength of 1980 kg/m3 and 35 MPa, respectively. Quarry dust (QD) and EPS beads were utilized as substitutions for fine and coarse aggregates with replacement-levels that varied from 5% to 22.5% and 15% to 30%, respectively. The use of EPS beads revealed sufficient early age strength; at the same time, the utilization of quarry dust in EPS-foam concrete led to a more than 30% increase in compressive strength compared to the EPS-based mixtures. Two hundred and fifty-six trial mixes were produced to examine the physical and mechanical characteristics of EPS-foam concrete. Three batches of a total of four EPS-foam concrete half-shaped slabs with spans of 3.5 and 4.5 m and thicknesses of 200 and 250 mm were prepared. Findings showed that the ultimate shear forces for the full-scale EPS-foam concrete half-shaped slabs were approximately 6–12% lower than those of the identical concrete samples with a 2410 kg/m3 average density, and 26–32% higher than the theoretical predictions. Also, it was observed that the self-weight of EPS-foam concrete was reduced by up to 20% compared to the control mixtures. Findings revealed that the prepared precast EPS-foam concrete half-shaped slabs could possibly be applied as flooring elements in today’s modern infrastructure.

Enhancing Sustainability in Construction: Investigating the Thermal Advantages of Fly Ash-Coated Expanded Polystyrene Lightweight Concrete

“…While in other studies the EPS-foam concrete showed a reduction in self-weight of up to 20% [21], EPS concrete from this study achieved an almost 50% reduction. Therefore, the use of EPS can once again be considered as an option for the creation of a reliable lightweight concrete.…”

Thermal Behavior and Energy Efficiency of Modified Concretes in the Tropical Climate: A Systemic Review

“…Several factors affect the concrete thermal conductivity [55]. For instance, the type of aggregate [56,57], the properties of cementitious materials [58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66], moisture content [67,68], design buildup [69][70][71][72][73][74], temperature [75,76], concrete density [12,[77][78][79][80], etc. The measurement of concrete thermal conduction is divided into steady-state and transient methods [81].…”

A Sustainable Reuse of Agro-Industrial Wastes into Green Cement Bricks

“…To date, massive research has been conducted on structural OPS concretes [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], where the inclusion of palm oil industry wastes has shown excellent overall concrete properties and durability while incorporating extra advantages of load-carrying characteristics despite being low mass. Moreover, quarry dust (QD) from the mining industry has been identified as useful material for the concrete matrix, attributing to some research on its potential as an aggregate replacement [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ]. So, QD can be reused in concrete as a building material to reduce the by-product waste disposal into the surrounding environment since severe health issues can be one of the consequences [ 58 ].…”