A Seminar Report

On

Light weight concrete

By

V.S.C.MOURYA
(Y7CE226)
INTRODUCTION:
Light weight concrete (LCM) is the one which has less weight than the normal
ordinary concrete. It has density of 300 to 2000 kg/m3. It can be prepared at the site as
ordinary concrete but the coarse aggregate or fine aggregate is replaced by light weight
materials. Light weight concrete may be prepared by the replacement of coarse aggregate
by oil palm shell or with foam or pumice aggregate etc. Or fine aggregate is replaced by
fly ash or rice husk ash etc. The following table represents the replaceable materials with
their density in lb/Cu.ft.
Table 1 Aggregates with their density

Aggregate type Density (lb/Cu.ft)

Normal weight aggregate 85-100
Sintered PFA 48-65
Brick rubble 47-70
Scoria 45-81
Volcanic slag 44-75
Furnace clinker and breeze 45-65
Expanded slag 44-61
Foamed slag 30-960
Pumice 30-55
Expanded slate 29-50
Sintered diatomite 28-50
Expanded shale and clay 20-60
Wood shavings and sawdust 20-30
Exfoliated vermiculite 04-10

Types of light weight concrete or

1. Ops concrete
2. Foam concrete
3. Structural light weight concrete
OPS CONCRETE:
OPS is hard in nature and does not deteriorate easily once bound in concrete and
therefore, it does not contaminate or leach to produce toxic substances. The bulk density
of OPS is about 500 to 600 kg/m3, producing concretes of about 1900 kg/m3 in density,
which makes them lightweight. OPS to be used as coarse aggregate in the production of
structural lightweight concrete especially for the construction of low cost houses.

OPS concrete beams showed good ductility behavior. The crack widths at service
loads ranged between 0.22 mm to 0.27 mm and this was within the maximum allowable
value as stipulated by BS 8110 for durability requirements. It has been found that OPS
concrete easily attains the strength of more than 17 MPa, which is a requirement for
structural lightweight concrete as per ASTM C330.

Material properties are shown in the following table

An experiment is conducted on six beams of three single reinforced beam and

three double reinforced beam. The mix proportion contains the

Cement = 510 kg/m3

sand (FA) = 838 kg/m3

OPS = 308 kg/m3

 w/c ratio = 0.38

Experiment results are shown in table

FOAM CONCRETE:
It is the concrete having mortar and foam instead of the Coarse aggregate. It has
the tendency of the free flowing due to absence of the coarse aggregate. This foam has no
chemical action in concrete. It only serves as a temporary wrapping material for the air
bubbles till cement mortar develops its own final set and strength. Hydrolysated protein
base is mix and mash into a concentrated liquid call LCM Foaming agent is used to make
the foam.

The high stability of LCM Foam prevents a loss of volume during mixing,
conveying (even pumping), pouring or during hardening process. The use of appropriate
mould release agent has substantial influence on the surface finish of face cast against the
mould. The curing of this concrete is as normal as it can be.

The entrained air with help of foam reduces density of concrete. The density would
naturally depend on the extent of foam injected in the slurry. Foaming Generator enables
accurate dozing of foam, thereby enabling production of wide range of controlled
densities from 300 kg/cu.m to 1,800 kg/cu.m. The water absorption of LCM is also very
low. It is in the range of 6.5% to 14% depending on the density.
USES OF THE FOAM CONCRETE:

ROOFING INSULATION - Low-density lightweight concrete has great thermal

insulation properties
TRENCH REINSTATEMENT - Lightweight concrete doesn't settle, requires no
compaction and has excellent load spreading.
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION (panels, blocks, partitions, etc.) - Lightweight
concrete density and therefore strength is adjustable during production and can be
adjusted to the customer's choice of form and size.
VOID FILLING - Lightweight concrete is very fluid and will fill every void,
even in the most inaccessible areas. Can be applied through a very small opening.
ROAD SUB-BASE - Lightweight concrete used in such purposes, prevents the
road from subsiding into the soft earth it was built on.
FLOOR CONSTRUCTION - Lightweight concrete levels, raises, isolates,
speeds up and reduces the cost of making floors.
FIRE BREAKS - Lightweight concrete is inflammable and therefore prevents fire
from spreading when used to fill spaces between floors and ceilings.
CONCLUSION:
 Density of light weight concrete is varies from 300 – 2000 Kg/Cu.m

 Coarse or fine aggregate are replaced with light weight materials based on the
required density of concrete.

 Beams with OPS is tested and results were given. It shows acceptable strength.

 Uses of foam concrete was discussed.

Reference:
 Technical report “Flexural Behavior of Reinforced Lightweight Concrete Beams
Made with Oil Palm Shell (OPS)” Delsye C. L. Teo, Md. Abdul Mannan and
John V. Kurian

 www.nrmca.org/aboutconcrete/cips/36p.pdf

 MBTC-2089 By Sreeram C. Marisetty Eric D. Bailey W. Micah Hale Ernest P.

Heymsfield

 “ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL LIGHTWEIGHT

CONCRETE” Kenneth S. Harmon, PE Carolina Stalite Company – United States

 www.greenhomebuilding.com/pumicecrete.htm

 www.ebrindia.com/