Structural Characteristics of Lightweight Ferrocement Beams with Different Core Material

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to investigate experimentally the viability and effectiveness of the proposed ferrocement permanent forms and the effect of the test parameters on the behavior of the reinforced concrete ferrocement beams. And investigate the viability of using lightweight materials for the core with the aim of producing light weight structural system. The experimental program comprised casting and testing of eleven reinforced concrete beams of dimensions 200x100x2000mm.These beams are organized in four groups. Group one is the control group in which beams are cast using ordinary formwork and ferrocement. The beams in this group were reinforced with two steel bars of 10 mm at the top and12mm bottom of the beams.  The beams in the other three groups were cast using Ferrocement beams. The core of these beams was reinforced with two steel bars of 10 mm diameter at the top and12 mm bottom of the beam. Two types of steel mesh used to reinforce the ferrocement beams namely expanded steel mesh, and welded wires mesh. Single mesh and double layers consisting of mesh together with a strip steel mesh were studied. Three types of core material were investigated:  light brick, foam, and light weight concrete admixture with perlite. The test specimens were cast and tested until they failed under flexure load. The performance of the test beams in terms of strength, cracking behavior, ductility, and energy absorption properties was investigated. The use double layer of expanded steel mesh as the additional reinforcement of the main steel can achieved the best performance of the Light weight of ferrocement beams. The results of this research showed that ferrocement beams of light weight cores may be promising as an alternative to conventional beams and may be viable alternatives especially for low-cost residential buildings.