The American Concrete Institute (ACI) has released a paper which summarises an investigation into the bond and crack behaviour of Infra-lightweight concrete (ILC) as well as flexural behaviour of ILC beams.
AC says ILC is a high-performance lightweight-aggregate concrete with a dry density of less than 800 kg/m3 (50 lb/ft3). The low density means low thermal conductivity (increased thermal resistance [R-value] and allows for monolithic and fair-faced concrete structures without any additional heat insulation.
Structural Behaviour of Reinforced Infra-Lightweight Concrete (ILC) included experimental tests on 60 reinforced ILC specimens (plus reinforced normal concrete [NC] specimens for reference) for each type: pullout test; tension stiffening test; and beam test.
“Lightweight concrete (LC) with such low densities shows a linear-elastic behavior and is brittle. Research findings indicate rigid bond properties that bring about favourable crack behaviour,” ACI adds.
According to ACI, the paper describes the calculation models for bond, cracks and bending considering such material behaviour. The theoretical and experimental research presented herein also gives insight into the ductility of ILC beams.
This document was written by Alex Hückler and Mike Schlaich.
