Flowability and Cracks Patterns of Lightweight Concrete Subjected to Compression and Tension Loading

Concrete is one of the most widely used buildings materials in construction. One of the concrete types used is foam concrete which is produced by adding liquid foam (a foam agent) to water in the concrete design mix. The purpose of the foam agent is to stabilize air bubbles during the concrete hardening process. This study aims to analyse the flowability and crack patterns of lightweight concrete subjected to compressive and tensile loadings. A lightweight concrete specimen was made using foam, fine aggregate, and Portland Composite Cement. Foam agent and water are combined in a 3:10 ratio to produce lightweight concrete. There were three different foam volume variations namely 15.7 litres, 25.12 litres, and 37.68 litres. The specimens were prepared using cylinders with dimensions of 10 cm by 20 cm. Flowability testing was carried out when lightweight concrete is still in fresh condition. Cracks in foam concrete were examined after compressive and tensile strength tests were performed at 3, 7, and 28 days of age. The research results show that the fresh lightweight concrete mixture from each mixture is sticky, which could prevent the segregation or bleeding. The crack patterns for the compressive and indirect tensile strength tests were essentially identical; namely parallel to the load direction at the age of 3, 7, and 28 days. The cracks were categorized as columnar crack patterns. It could also be noted that the concrete became more resistant as it ages, as the number of cracks decreased.