An investigation on the strength performance of 1400 kg/m3 foamed concrete with calcium stearate

Lee, Ju Sien (2022) An investigation on the strength performance of 1400 kg/m3 foamed concrete with calcium stearate. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

Concrete is an essential element in the building and construction sector. Numerous types of concrete have been developed over time in response to changing requirements from the construction sector. One of the types is named lightweight foamed concrete (LWFC). The unique characteristic of LWFC is the interior of the concrete with the presence of multiple air bubbles added to the mortar mix and present with a high percentage of porosity. As a result, dangerous elements can penetrate LWFC, affecting its general durability and intended use. Therefore, calcium stearate (CS) as water repellent is applied to LWFC throughout this research and its influence on different strength performant of LWFC are researched. The three main study objectives are to produce LWFC with a density of 1400 kg/m3, determine the optimal water to cement (W/C) ratio for LWFC and investigate the impact of CS on the mechanical characteristics of foamed concrete. The optimal W/C ratio is used to analyse the strength performance of the hardened concrete on the different percentages of CS added. Two primary research phases are made up in this study. The optimum W/C ratio for LWFC without adding water repellents was achieved in the first phase at 0.54. In order to analyse the effects of 0.0 % to 1.0 % CS on the hardened concrete's qualities of LWFC, the research was carried out using the best W/C ratio that was determined in the first phase of the study. The addition of CS affected the mechanical parameters of LWFC, including compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength. The final results of the highest strength performance obtained from the different percentages of CS added were determined at 0.4 % by cement weight in order to avoid the adverse effects of an excess of water repellents. Finally, the 28-days compressive strength rose by 30.85 %, from 8.80 MPa for the control mixture to 18.79 MPa for 0.4 % of CS added.

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