Md Azree Othuman Mydin, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri Abdullah, Rafiza Abdul Razak, Mohd Nasrun Mohd Nawi, Puput Risdanareni, Poppy Puspitasari, Andrei Victor Sandu, Madalina Simona Baltatu, Petrica Vizureanu
Recent industrial developments have focused more and more on the applications of lightweight foamed concrete (LFC) in the construction industry, having advantages over normal-strength concrete. LFC, however, has several drawbacks including brittleness, high porosity, excessive drying shrinkage, rapid cracking, and low deformation resistance. Practical engineering typically chooses steel fiber or polymer fiber to increase the tensile and fracture resistance of LFC. The polypropylene twisted bundle fiber (PTBF) was added to the LFC with varying weight fractions of 0.0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5%. Three low densities of LFC were prepared, specifically 500 kg/m3, 700 kg/m3 and 900 kg/m3. The mechanical and durability properties of PTBF-reinforced LFC were determined through compression, flexural, splitting tensile, flow table, porosity, and water absorption tests. The results show that the addition of PTBF in LFC significantly improves the strength properties (compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strengths) and reduces the water absorption capacity and porosity. The optimal weight fraction of PTBF was between 1.5 and 2.0% for mechanical properties enhancement. The inclusion of PTBF increased the ductility of LFC, and the specimens remain intact from loading to failure. The PTBF reduces the original cracks of the LFC and inhibits the development of further cracks in the LFC. © 2023 by the authors.
School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, Penang, 11800, Malaysia; Centre of Excellence Geopolymer and Green Technology (CEGeoGTech), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Perlis, Arau, 01000, Malaysia; Faculty of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Perlis, Arau, 01000, Malaysia; Disaster Management Institute (DMI), School of Technology Management and Logistics, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, 06010, Malaysia; Engineering Faculty, Universitas Negeri Malang, Semarang St. No. 5, East Java, Malang, 65154, Indonesia; Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, 41 D. Mangeron St, Iasi, 700050, Romania; Romanian Inventors Forum, Str. Sf. P. Movila 3, Iasi, 700089, Romania; National Institute for Research and Development in Environmental Protection INCDPM, Splaiul Independentei 294, Bucharest, 060031, Romania; Technical Sciences Academy of Romania, Dacia Blvd 26, Bucharest, 030167, Romania