Investigation of Thermal, Mechanical and Transport Properties of Ultra-Lightweight Foamed Concrete (ULFC) Strengthened with Alkali Treated Banana Fibre
Abstract:Traditionally, Ultralightweight Foam Concrete (ULFC) is primarily used to replace filling excavations, ditch restoration and underground channels, because of their high porosity, water absorption and low strength. Yet, ULFC is characterized by excellent thermal properties and could be an alternative for sustainable energy-efficient building material. This study investigates the properties of an ULFC strengthened with alkali-treated banana fibre. The low density ULFC of 600kg/m3 was fabricated and strengthened … Show more
“…The inclusion of SF also contributes to the redistribution and development of a smaller uniform pore void, both of which are further explanations for the very low thermal conductivity of FC (Serri et al, 2014;AL-Rakhameen et al, 2022;Murad, 2022;Murad and Abdel-Jabar, 2022). The occurrence of this event led to the formation of a greater number of numerous isolated pore voids when compared to the control, which has no fibre addition (Nensok et al, 2021). The findings also showed that the SF has a significant amount of untapped potential for use in cement-based materials, in which it has the ability to play a vital part in lowering the thermal inducing property of manufactured concrete or increasing its heat transmission.…”
The use of foamed concrete (FC) in the construction sector has been rapidly growing over the past few years as a result of the several advantages it possesses in comparison to traditional high-strength concrete. FC, on the other hand, suffers from a number of deficiencies, such as brittleness, limited ductility, high porosity, excessive drying shrinkage, little resistance to cracking and deformation. To improve the tensile strength and fracture resistance of FC, engineers usually opt for steel fibre or polymer fibre as the reinforcement material of choice. Hence this research aims to investigate the potential utilization of synthetic twisted bundle macro-fibers (SF) in FC to enhance its durability, mechanical and thermal properties. The SF were included in the FC in varied amounts of weight fractions, including 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% respectively. FC was produced at three low densities, precisely 1,000, 1,300, and 1,600 kg/m3, which were all prepared. Compression, flexural, splitting tensile, flow table, porosity, water absorption and thermal conductivity tests were conducted to establish the thermal, mechanical and durability properties of SF-reinforced FC. The findings imply that the integration of SF into FC results in a significant enhancement of the material’s strength and thermal conductivity properties while simultaneously lowering the material’s capacity for water absorption and porosity. For the purpose of improving the material’s mechanical, durability and thermal properties, the weight percentage of SF that was ideal ranged from 3% to 4%. The incorporation of SF into FC resulted in a rise in the material’s ductility, and the specimens maintained their integrity from the loading stage to failure. The SF is able to lessen the cracks that were already present in the FC and prevent the formation of additional cracks in the FC.
“…The density of FM can be adjusted within the range of 400 to 1600 kg/m 3 [7]. It possesses various appealing attributes, including effective thermal and acoustic insulation, ease of manufacturing, and self-flowing properties [8][9][10]. Nevertheless, FM has low mechanical qualities in comparison to regular concrete.…”
Utilizing sawdust efficiently to produce construction materials can help safeguard the environment and decrease costs by minimizing the need for traditional resources and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Additionally, recycling sawdust plays an essential role in creating a sustainable ecosystem. Hence, this study aimed to examine the potential use of sawdust ash (SDA) as a partial cement replacement on foamed mortar (FM) properties, including its fresh, mechanical, transport, thermal, and microstructural properties. A variety of FM mixtures were tested for workability, density, consistency, intrinsic air permeability, porosity, split tensile strength, compressive strength, flexural strength, and thermal conductivity by replacing cement with SDA at varying percentages of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. The results revealed that FM’s workability was reduced by the introduction of SDA with a higher percentage cement replacement, while the density of the FM mixtures was reduced due to SDA’s specific gravity being lower than that of cement. A linear improvement was observed in the air permeability, sorptivity, and porosity of FM–SDA composites with an increased SDA percentage to 20%. It is notable that these properties started to deteriorate once the cement replacement by SDA surpassed 30%. A noticeable improvement of mechanical strength properties of the FM was found at 20% of SDA content, but they deteriorated when the SDA content was more than 30%. FM blends with higher SDA contents exhibited larger and more apparent voids, according to SEM analysis. In conclusion, incorporating sawdust into formulations emerges as a viable method for FM production. This approach not only mitigates the environmental impact of sawdust disposal but also reduces the need for extracting natural resources in construction material manufacturing.
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