Experimental evaluation of the properties of lightweight breathable concretes

Osman Wasfi*, Mohammed Imbabi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Breathable concrete is a novel construction material that is being developed at the University of Aberdeen. The advantages of this new material are its light weight, resource efficiency through reduced use of cement and aggregates, improved thermal insulating properties, and permeability to air flow. New variants of breathable concrete, made using lightweight and synthetic aggregates (as opposed to natural, normal density aggregates), are presented. Breathable concretes made using lightweight aggregates have better thermal insulation properties due to the presence of air voids, lower thermal conductivity of aggregates, and lower specific density. With that come lower structural dead loading, smaller structural members, reduced material demand, reduced embodied energy, and a more sustainable construction. In this paper, we introduce lightweight aggregate breathable concretes, and present the results of experimental tests to determine selected physical properties for a range of mix designs of this sustainable material.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)225-229
Number of pages5
JournalAdvances in Applied Ceramics
Volume116
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 May 2017

Keywords

  • Breathable concrete
  • compressive strength
  • lightweight aggregate
  • permeability
  • thermal conductivity

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