HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE WITH EXPANDED CLAY AND LATEX GLUE ADDITION

Abstract

Abstract: Lightweight concrete emerges as an innovative and alternative material to conventional concrete, aiming at improvements to productivity in concrete structures. The use of expanded clay presents satisfactory results regarding the specific mass reduction, which is the main characteristic of light concrete. Another important factor is the decrease in the compressive strength of light concrete using expanded clay when compared to conventional concrete. The study aims to improve the physical and mechanical properties of light concrete in the fresh and hardened state, making it a high performance lightweight concrete. For the experimental procedure there will be the replacement of the large aggregate by two diameters of light aggregate together the addition of latex. The analyses will be divided into two stages: definition and characterization of material aggregates and analysis of the physical and mechanical properties of concrete. The light concretes will be analyzed by means of axial compressive strength tests and diametriccompression tensile strength at 7 and 28 days of age, tensile strength in flexion, modulus of elasticity and absorption at 28 days of age. The adopted trait will be 1:0.42:0.49:0.49, starting for the elaboration of an initial trait, only with expanded clay, and two more traces with percentages of addition of latex glue with 2.5 and 7.5%, respectively, in relation to cement mass. It is expected that after the tests, it is possible to analyze the influence of latex together the active silica and the plasticizing additive in the improvement of the physical and mechanical properties of light concrete.

Keywords: Building materials. Modified concrete with polymers. Structural light concrete.