A Comprehensive Review on the Performance of Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete for Sustainable Construction

Abstract

Lightweight aggregate concrete is an innovative building material used to reduce the self-weight of a high-rise building. Recently, the use of lightweight aggregate in construction is increasing immensely due to its performance during an earthquake. Lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) is a solution for the achievement of sustainability in the construction sector, which helps us cut down the overall cost of a project in massive construction work (tall buildings and bridges). Additionally, using various industrial by-products and waste instead of natural aggregate allows us to reduce the negative impact on the environment. The development of lightweight aggregate concrete with its relevance is still prominent. The performance of lightweight aggregate on various properties of concrete is explored in this study. This study shows that the lightweight aggregate and waste materials of less density can be used for structural applications with a strength equivalent to that of normal weight concrete. The application and advantages of LWAC are also discussed in this study. The paper’s overall finding reveals that LWAC can be used in sustainable construction growth and reduce waste by using it as natural aggregate in concrete to maintain environmental sustainability.

Artificial Lightweight Aggregates Made from Pozzolanic Material: A Review on the Method, Physical and Mechanical Properties, Thermal and Microstructure

“…Application of LWA in concrete will enhance thermal insulation characteristics, decrease structural dead load, allowing larger structures to be built with the same foundation size, and lead to lower CO 2 emissions [ 24 ]. Furthermore, LWA is a critical component in the construction of earthquake-resistant buildings [ 25 ]. Due to the larger amount of internal pores in lightweight aggregate, absorption of moisture from cement paste is more rapid than in normal-weight aggregate, which makes the concrete less workable and lower in strength performance than the concrete prepared with normal aggregate [ 26 ].…”

Mechanical properties of lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) concrete

“…The dry density of LWC ranges from 300 to 1,840 kg⋅m -3 , and it weighs 23-80% less than conventional weight concrete. When compared to conventional weight concrete, which has a unit weight of 2,400 kg⋅m -3 , the unit weight of LWC for structural usage ranged between 1,400 and 2,000 kg⋅m -3 (Agrawal, Gupta, Sharma, Panwar & Siddique, 2021). Lightweight aggregate has many advantages when used in producing the concrete such as reducing a dead load of a structure elements that may result in reduced foundation size and large area availability due to reduction in the dimensions size of columns, slabs, and beams, high thermal and sound insulation, enhanced fire resistance (El--Sayed, Heniegal, Ali & Abdelsalam, 2013).…”

Mechanical and Electrical Characteristics of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Reinforced with Steel Fibers

“…A representative method for reducing the weight of structures is to utilize lightweight aggregates, and many studies on lightweight aggregate concrete have been conducted [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. However, lightweight aggregates are not only vulnerable to external forces because of the numerous pores distributed inside them but they also absorb mixing water from concrete, reducing the concrete's fluidity [16,[22][23][24][25][26]. Consequently, the porous nature of lightweight aggregates reduces the concrete's strength, owing to degradation in quality.…”