FLEXURAL BEHAVIOR OF REINFORCED LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE BEAMS MADE WITH ATTAPULGITE AND ALUMINUM WASTE

Abstract

Lightweight concrete reduces the total dead load of structural elements and seismic loads significantly. This paper presents the production Attapulgite Lightweight aggregate concrete (ALWAC) and its effect on the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams. Attapulgite was treated with sodium hypochlorite of 6% concentration for 24 hours. The variable considered was the aluminum waste (AW), used as a fiber, of fraction (0, 0.5 and 1%) by concrete volume. Behavior was investigated in terms of cracking and ultimate load, load-deflection relationship, failure mode, crack patterns and flexural ductility. The mechanical properties of the ALWAC were studied. It was observed that, Attapulgite improves the mechanical properties of concrete when comparing the experimental value with theoretical ones for the reference mixture. AW has a disparate effect on the mechanical properties of ALWAC. The increase in the proportions of AW showed an increase in the cracking load and decrease in the ultimate load by 37.14% and 22.45 %, respectively, at AW of 1%. Experimental value of ultimate load in all beams was higher than the theoretical value (ACI simplified method). AW increases the deflection at the same magnitude of applied load, and reduces the number and propagation of the flexural cracks in beams. All beams exhibited a typical tension failure mode and failed in ductile manner.