Asil Report 1
Asil Report 1
A SEMINAR REPORT
on
“SPECIAL CONCRETE-LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE"
Submitted by
Asil Khader 4SF19CV012
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the VIII Semester of
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
in
CIVIL ENGINEERING
at
SAHYADRI
College of Engineering & Management
Adyar, Mangaluru – 575 007
2022-23
SAHYADRI
College of Engineering & Management
Mangaluru
CERTIFICATE
I extend our sense of gratitude to Dr. Rajesha S, Principal, Dr. D.L Prabhakar, Director,
and Dr. Manjunath Bhandary, Chairman, for extending support and co-operation which
helped in completion of the Technical seminar.
I are indebted to Prof. Hemantha Prabhu B, Professor and Head of the Department for
providing all the necessary facilities and for his constant support for the successful
completion of the Technical seminar.
I take this opportunity to express our gratitude and profound thanks to our guide, Prof.
Hemantha Prabhu B Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, for his
invaluable help and constant support for the successful completion of the Technical
Seminar.
I express our heartfelt gratitude to the Technical seminar Mrs. Ramya K, Assistant
Professor, Civil Engineering Department who has extended his wholehearted support,
guidance and assistance for the successful completion of the Technical seminar.
I heartily thank all the lecturers and staff of the Department of Civil Engineering, for
their advice, kind co-operation and help during the development of this Technical
seminar 1. We also thank all laboratory administrators and assistants who have helped us
in making this a successful one.
ASIL KHADER
4SF19CV012
ABSTRACT
Lightweight concrete can be defined as a type of concrete which includes an expanding agent in
that it increases the volume of the mixture while giving additional qualities such as nailbility and
lessened the dead weight. It is lighter than the conventional concrete. The use of lightweight
concrete has been widely spread across countries such as USA, United Kingdom and Sweden. The
main specialties of lightweight concrete are its low density and thermal conductivity. Its
advantages are that there is a reduction of dead load, faster building rates in construction and lower
haulage and handling costs. Lightweight concrete maintains its large voids and not forming
laitance layers or cement films when placed on the wall. This research was based on the
performance of aerated lightweight concrete. However, sufficient water cement ratio is vital to
produce adequate cohesion between cement and water. Insufficient water can cause lack of
cohesion between particles, thus loss in strength of concrete. Likewise, too much water can cause
cement to run off aggregate to form laitance layers, subsequently weakens in strength. Therefore,
this fundamental research report is prepared to show activities and progress of the lightweight
concrete. Focused were on the performance of aerated lightweight concrete such as compressive
strength tests, water absorption and density and supplementary tests and comparisons made with
other types of lightweight concrete.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER-1 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 GENERAL 1
1.2 BASIC CHARACTERS 2
1.3 HISTORY OF LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE 4
CHAPTER-2 6
LITERATURE REVIEW 6
1. Pragati J, Mayuri R & Sheikh Shahebaz Sheikh Murtuja (2020) 6
2. A S Banawair, G.M Qaid & Z.M. Adil (2017) 6
3. Abhijit Mandlik, Tarun Sarthak Sood & Shekhar Karade (2013) 6
4. Karl-Christian Thienel, Timo Haller & Nancy Beuntner (2020) 7
5. Abdulkadir Kan & Ramazan Demirboga (2009) 7
CHAPTER-3 8
LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE 8
3.1 PRINCIPLES BEHIND LWC 8
3.2 TYPES OF LWC 8
3.3 CLASSIFICATION OF LWC 11
3.4 APPLICATIONS OF LWC 11
3.5 ADVANTAGES 12
3.6 DISADVANTAGES 13
3.7 THE USE OF LWC 13
3.8 NEW OPPURTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES 13
CHAPTER-4 15
METHODOLOGY 15
CHAPTER-5 17
CASESTUDY 17
CHAPTER-6 19
CONCLUSION 19
REFERENCES 20
LIST OF FIGURES
5.2 Pumice 16
LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE 2023
CHAPTER-1
In Japan, lightweight concrete is used to support the building foundation against the
earthquakes. Lightweight concrete technology is quite friendly with the environment by reducing
five times the amount of carbon dioxide of the production from the raw material process till the
recycle wastes process.
Since the born of lightweight concrete in building industry, baked bricks (made from
natural clays) in developed countries are banded to protect the environment and national resources.
On the other hand, lightweight concrete with the gas bubble’s structure (up to ⅛ inch in diameter)
is applied popularly by developed countries with high technologies such as United States of
America, Germany, France, Japan, etc. in handling multiple geography technical issues such as
making the foundation for highways, anti-slip subsidence in the mountainous areas or weak land
areas to bring back huge economic benefits.
Because of its advantages, lightweight has taken an important part of developed countries
such as Europe, North America, and North Asia as well as the attention of some developing
countries in replacing its traditional building material which is red brick, regular concrete and clay
block.
While not approved for many structural applications, nonstructural lightweight concrete is
used where normal or a more dense structural lightweight mix would be impractical. Roof tiles
made of lightweight concrete are lighter and require less robust truss systems. The combination of
strength, weather resistance, and reduced weight often makes lightweight aggregate concrete mix
and lightweight blocks a good choice for non-traditional residential buildings
Aggregates used to make lightweight aggregate concrete vary. Expanded shale, slate, and
clay, often fired in a kiln to increase porosity, are among aggregates used for structural lightweight
concrete. Other porous material, such as air-cooled blast furnace slag, is often used.
The use of lightweight (LWAC) can be traced to as early as 3,000BC, when Mohenjo-Daro
and Harappa were built during the Indus Valley civilization. In Europe, the use of LWCA occurred
2,000 years ago when the Romans built Pantheon, the aqua ducts, and the Coliseum in Rome. The
pumice is still used today in certain countries, such as Germany, Italy and Japan. In some places
like Malaysia, palm oil shells are used for making LWAC.
Today, lightweight aggregates are produced in a very wide range of densities varying from
50kg/m3 from expanded perlite to 1000kg/m3 for clinkers. It is possible to make LWAC of 80Mpa
compressive strength
Nearly all LWACs are fire resistant. In addition, depending upon the densities and strength, the
concrete can be easily cut, nailed, drilled, and chased with ordinary wood working tools.
CHAPTER-2
LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER-3
LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE
The basic principle behind the making of lightweight concrete is by inducing the air in concrete
Listed below are several types of LWA suitable for structural reinforced concrete: -
i. Pumice – is used for reinforced concrete roof slab, mainly for industrial roofs in Germany.
ii. Foamed Slag – was the first LWA suitable for reinforced concrete that was produced in large
quantity in the UK.
iii. Expanded Clays and Shales – capable of achieving sufficiently high strength for prestressed
concrete. Well established under the trade names of Aglite and Leca (UK), Haydite, Rocklite,
Gravelite and Aglite (USA).
iv. Sintered Pulverized – fuel ash aggregate – is being used in the UK for a variety of structural
purposes and is being marketed under the trade name Lytag.
Aerated concrete is a lightweight, cellular material consisting of cement and/or lime and sand or
other silicious material. It is made by either a physical or a chemical process during which either
air or gas is introduced into a slurry, which generally contains no coarse material. Aerated concrete
used as a structural material is usually high-pressure steam-cured. It is thus factory-made and
available to the user in precast units only, for floors, walls and roofs. Blocks for laying in mortar
or glue are manufactured without any reinforcement. Larger units are reinforced with steel bars to
resist damage through transport, handling and superimposed loads. Autoclaved aerated concrete,
which was originally developed in Sweden in 1929, is now manufactured all over the world.
in filling walls, in framed structures, but sometimes as filling below solids ground floors and for
roof screeds.
No-fines concrete is thus an agglomeration of coarse aggregate particles, each surrounded by a
coating of cement paste up to about 1·3 mm (0·05 in.) thick. There exist, therefore, large pores
within the body of the concrete which are responsible for its low strength, but their large size
means that no capillary movement of water can take place. Although the strength of no-fines
concrete is considerably lower than that of normal-weight concrete, this strength, coupled with the
lower dead load of the structure, is sufficient in buildings up to about 20 storeys high and in many
other applications.
An emerging start-up called Pavegen has installed such squares of energy- generating pavement in
London. In an effort to keep the production of the pavement as green and sustainable as possible,
Pavegen partnered with Ryburn Rubber Limited and Advanced LEDs (which has also invested in
the idea) to make sure that its components create as small an environmental impact as possible.
The average square of pavement produces about 2.1 watts of electricity. And according to
Pavegen, any one square of pavement in a high-foot traffic area can see 50,000 steps a day. Based
on this data, only five units of Pavegen pavement can be enough to keep the lights on at a bus stop
all night. And while the power producing platform is over crowded with moving population,
energy is produced at larger levels. Pavegen isn’t targeting its product exclusively at
municipalities. One of its big ideas is to have stores located on busy sidewalks install them in front
of their locations to power their signage or any internal electronics. To encourage this adoption, the
company says it will brand its slabs for its commercial customers. The slabs installed in East
London happen to be green (thus suggesting its clean-tech solution) but they come in a variety of
colours. The company believes the embedded lamp is important to inform passer-by of their
contribution to the clean energy movement.
An emerging technology in the industry is the footfall energy harvesting floor, which generates
energy from the routine human activities, such as walking, running, jumping, dancing etc. The
technology works on the basic principle of converting kinetic energy, obtained from the pressure
applied on the floor surface, into electrical energy. The “footfall energy harvesting floor”
comprises a floor covering that encloses a transducer mechanism for converting the applied
pressure into electrical energy and a means for transmitting the electrical energy for storage or load
consumption. Among the other technologies that promote sustainable energy, energy harvesting
floor is considered to be the most productive as it does not depend on any of the natural resources,
such as wind, water or sun that are not consistently available. Energy harvesting floors, which take
input from human footsteps without affecting pedestrians’ normal life, are easy to install,
1. By using porous lightweight aggregate of low apparent specific gravity, i.e. lower than 2.6.
This type of concrete is known as lightweight aggregate concrete.
2. By introducing large voids within the concrete or mortar mass; these voids should be
clearly distinguished from the extremely fine voids produced by air entrainment. This type
of concrete is variously knows as aerated, cellular, foamed or gas concrete.
3. By omitting the fine aggregate from the mix so that a large number of interstitial voids is
present; normal weight coarse aggregate is generally used. This concrete as no-fines
concrete.
LWC can also be classified according to the purpose for which it is to be used: it can distinguish
between structural lightweight concrete (ASTM C 330-82a), concrete used in masonry units
(ASTM C 331-81), and insulating concrete (ASTM C 332-83). This classification of structural
lightweight concrete is based on a minimum strength: according to ASTM C 330-82a, the 28-day
cylinder compressive strength should not be less than 17 MPa (2500 psi). The density (unit
weight) of such concrete (determined in the dry state) should not exceed 1840 kg/m³ (115 lb/ft³),
and is usually between 1400 and 1800 kg/m³ (85 and 110 lb/ft³). On the other hand, masonry
concrete generally has a density between 500 and 800 kg/m³ (30 and 50 lb/ft³) and a strength
between 7 and 14 MPa (1000 and 2000 psi).
4. As insulating materials to exterior walls in all types of buildings, especially in office and
industrial buildings.
3.5 ADVANTAGES
In framed structures, columns and beams have to carry loads of walls and floors. If
walls and floor are made of light weight concrete, the foundations also will be lighter,
resulting in considerable economy in the construction.
The thermal conductivity of light weight concrete is relatively low, which dampens the
heat transfer from roof and walls, resulting lower inside temperature of the building.
This lower temperature provides comfort to the inhabitants. The thermal conductivity
improves with decrease in density.
In case of buildings where air conditioning is to be installed, the use of light weight
concrete has been found advantageous from the point of view of thermal comfort and
lower consumption of power.
Easy to handle and hence reduces the cost of transportation and handling.
Good resistance to freezing & thawing action when compared to conventional concrete
3.6 DISADVANTAGES
When constructing buildings, especially high-rise building, the investor always tries to make the
structures sustainable and cost-effective. The way to acquire both of these two depends mostly on
the foundation of the building. However, the foundation depends on the geology and the total mass
of the whole project. Changing the geology is difficult, more feasible is to find ways to reduce the
loading capacity. Hence, the birth of light weight brick is considered as a revolution for the
construction industry. Light weight bricks are made from cement; thermal ash, synthetic fibers
(possible) and foaming agent to make the composition inside possess chambers forming as a
honeycomb. This helps the brick become porous and reduce the weight of brick from 600 kg/m3 to
900kg/m3 (D600 - D900) as ½ lighter than common brick, and easier to drill, cut or nail directly
onto the tile surface. The brick can even float on water.
There are various kinds and sizes of lightweight concrete to be used widely from small
projects to high rise buildings. The costs also suit each project. Lightweight concrete is a great
construction material. It is not only low derivative, high thermal resistant, environmental protected
but also energy-cost saving compared to traditional materials. Producing traditional materials
waste industrial land, coal and in the same time, causes greenhouse effect by eliminating millions
tons of CO2. Conversely, lightweight concrete limits environmental bad impacts and recycles a
significant amount of industrial waste, turning waste into useful materials.
Due to its benefits, lightweight concrete has become the general trend of the world. In
China, the new type of building materials accounts for more than 55% in 2010. In Brit-ain,
lightweight concrete is about 70%
of the total building materials. With the global trend, Vietnam Government is trying to take full
advantage of lightweight concrete as well by approving the Decision No. 121/2008/QD-TTg dated
29/08/2008 of the Prime Minister. The Decision shows the master plan and route for developing
materials in Vietnam till 2020: lightweight concrete in 2010 will account for 10% to 15% and in-
crease from 20% to 25% in 2015 and in 2020 the rate will reach 30% to 40%. Under-standing the
great opportunity, Thien Nam Phuong Co., Ltd is established to manufacturer lightweight concrete
with development objective not only to cover South Market of Vietnam but also the whole
domestic market and export to other countries in the near future. The company’s goal is to produce
and sell 150,000 m3 / year. Although using lightweight concrete provides much economical and
technical efficiency, there are still a lot of challenges that Government and manufacturer have to
confront.
CHAPTER-4
METHODOLOGY
In order to study the behavior of lightweight concrete, normal concrete testing was done to
determine the material and structural properties of each type of lightweight concrete and how will
these properties differ according to a different type of mixture and its composition. Once concrete
has hardened it can be subjected to a wide range of tests to prove its ability to perform as planned
or to discover its characteristics. For new concrete this usually involves casting specimens from
fresh concrete and testing them for various properties as the concrete matures.
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH:
Compressive strength is the primary physical property of concrete (others are generally defined
from it), and is the one most used in design. It is one of the fundamental properties used for
quality control for lightweight concrete. Compressive strength may be defined as the measured
maximum resistance of a concrete specimen to axial loading. It is found by measuring the highest
compression stress that a test cylinder or cube will support. There are three type of test that can be
use to determine compressive strength; cube, cylinder, or prism test. The ‘concrete cube test' is
the most familiar test and is used as the standard method of measuring compressive strength for
quality control purposes (Neville, 1994). Please refer appendix 1 for details. 11
WATER ABSORPTION:
These properties are particularly important in concrete, as well as being important for durability.
(J.H Bungey, 1996). It can be used to predict concrete durability to resist corrosion. Absorption
capacity is a measure of the porosity of an aggregates; it is also used as a correlation factor in
determination of free moisture by oven-drying method (G.E Troxell, 1956). The absorption
capacity is determined by finding the weight of surface-dry sample after it has been soaked for 24
hr and again finding the weight after the sample has been dried in an oven; the difference in
weight, expressed as a percentage of the dry sample weight, is the absorption capacity (G.E
Troxell, 1956). Absorption capacity can be determine using BS absorption test. The test is
intended as a durability quality control check and the specified age is 28-32 days (S.G Millard).
Test procedure as been describe by BS 1881: Part 122 is as listed in the appendix 2.
DENSITY:
The density of both fresh and hardened concrete is of interest to the parties involved for numerous
reasons including its effect on durability, strength and resistance to permeability. Hardened
concrete density is determined either by simple dimensional checks, followed by weighing and
calculation or by weight in air/water buoyancy methods (ELE International, 1993). To determine
the density of lightweight concrete sample, the simple method is preferred as listed in the
appendix 3.
CHAPTER-5
CASE STUDY
Pantheon, Rome
This famous building stands in the business district of Rome--much as it was built some 18
centuries ago. The Pantheon has been constructed using pumice, the most common type of
aggregate used in that particular year. From there on, the use of lightweight concrete has been
widely spread across other countries such as USA, United Kingdom and Sweden. The main
specialties of lightweight concrete are its low density and thermal conductivity. Its advantages are
that there is a reduction of dead load, faster building rates in construction and lower haulage and
handling costs. The building of ‘The Pantheon’ of lightweight concrete material is still standing
eminently in Rome until now for about 18 centuries as shown in Figure. it shows that the lighter
materials can be used in concrete construction and has an economical advantage.
Pumice:
Pumice is pyroclastic igneous rock that was almost completely
liquid at the moment of effusion and was so rapidly cooled that
there was no time for it to crystallize.
• The application on the ‘The Pantheon’ where it uses pumice aggregate in the
• lightweight concrete expands its uses. For example, in the form of perlite with its
fire ratings, reduces noise transmission, does not rot and termite resistant.
CHAPTER-6
CONCLUSION
The initial findings have shown that the lightweight concrete has a desirable strength to be
an alternative construction material for the industrialized building system.
The strength of aerated lightweight concrete is low for lower density mixture. This resulted
in the increment of voids throughout the sample caused by the foam. Thus, the decrease in
the compressive strength of the concrete.
The foamed lightweight concrete is not suitable to be used as non-load bearing wall as the
compressive strength is 27% less than recommended. Nevertheless the compressive
strength is accepted to be produced as non-load bearing structure.
By using 60% of light weight aggregate as a partial replacement to NCA the compressive
strength is promising.
The density of concrete is found to decrease with the increase in percentage replacement of
natural aggregate pumice aggregate.
The compressive strength of concrete is found to increase with the decrease in pumice
content.
With the addition of mineral admixtures, the compressive, split-tensile and flexural
strengths of concrete are increased. Light weight aggregate is no way inferior to natural
coarse aggregate and it can be used for construction purpose
Concrete with 60% replacement of pumice the compressive strength is comparable with
normal concrete.
This type of concrete can be utilized in wall panels of non load bearing type for use in
precast buildings.
REFERENCES
i. Mat Lazim Zakaria, Bahan dan Binaan, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (1978).