Mechanical Properties of Lightweight Foamed Concrete Reinforced with Raw Mesocarp Fibre

Lightweight foamed concrete (LFC) is recognised for its high flowability, minimal utilization of aggregates and superior heat insulation properties. LFC is excellent under compression but poor in tensile stress, as it produces multiple microcracks. LFC cannot withstand the tensile stress induced by applied forces without additional reinforcing elements. Hence, this study was conducted to examine the potential utilisation of oil palm mesocarp fibre (OPMF) reinforced LFC in terms of its mechanical properties. Two densities, 600kg/m3 and 1200kg/m3, were cast and tested with six different percentages of OPMF, which were 0.15%, 0.30%, 0.45% and 0.60%. The parameters evaluated were compressive strength, flexural strength and tensile strength. The results revealed that the inclusion of 0.45% of OPMF in LFC helps to give the best results for the compressive strength, flexural strength and splitting tensile strength. The OPMF facilitated to evade the promulgation of cracks in the plastic state in the cement matrix when the load was applie

Potential of Using Lightweight Foamed Concrete in Composite Load-Bearing Wall Panels In Low-Rise Construction

This paper will look at the potential of using lightweight foamed concrete (LFC) in composite load-bearing wall panels in low-rise construction. From the experimental verification, as expected the mechanical properties of LFC were reasonably low when compared to normal strength concrete. Nonetheless there was a potential of using LFC as fire resistant partition or as load-bearing walls in low-rise residential construction. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of this proposal, this paper presents a preliminary feasibility study on its fire resistance and structural performance of LFC based system. The objectives of this feasibility is two-fold; to investigate the fire resistance performance of LFC panels of different densities when exposed to fire on one side for different fire resistance ratings based on insulation requirement and to examine whether the composite walling system had sufficient load carrying capacity, based on compression resistance at ambient temperature

Effective thermal conductivity of foamcrete of different densities

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the thermal conductivity of foamed concrete. Various densities of foamed concrete samples ranging from 650, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100 and 1200 kg/m3 with constant cement-sand ratio of 2:1 and water-cement ratio of 0.5 were produced. This study was limited to the effect of density, porosity and pore size on thermal conductivity of foamed concrete. Hot-guarded Plate method was used to obtain the thermal conductivity of foamed concrete at different densities. The porosity value of foamed concrete was determined through the Vacuum Saturation Apparatus. In turn to examine the effect of pore size on thermal conductivity of foamed concrete, pore size measurements were made under a microscope with a magnification of 60x. Lower density foamed concrete translates to lower thermal conductivity. The density of foamed concrete is controlled by the porosity where lower density foamed concrete indicates greater porosity. Therefore, thermal conductivity changes considerably with the porosity of foamed concrete because air is the poorest conductor compared to solid and liquid due to its molecular structure

Elastic Modulus of Foamcrete in Compression and Bending at Elevated Temperatures

This paper will presents the experimental results that have been performed to examine and characterize the mechanical properties of foamcrete at elevated temperatures. Foamcrete of 650 and 1000 kg/m3 density were cast and tested under compression and bending. The tests were done at room temperature, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600°C. The results of this study consistently demonstrated that the loss in stiffness for cement based material like foamcrete at elevated temperatures occurs predominantly after about 95°C, regardless of density. This indicates that the primary mechanism causing stiffness degradation is microcracking, which occurs as water expands and evaporates from the porous body. As expected, reducing the density of LFC reduces its strength and stiffness. However, for LFC of different densities, the normalised strength-temperature and stiffnesstemperature relationships are very similar

Distinctive Structural and Non-Structural Building Defects and Failures in Educational Buildings

Although the maintenance-free building may be a theoretical possibility, all buildings are subject to the vagaries of defects, failures, deterioration and variation. The examples of these problems are fungus growth, peeling paint, termite attack, dampness, defective rainwater goods, roof defects, harmful growth, settlement, foundation failure, roof collapse and others. There are a great number of building defects and failures arose and being reported officially by mass media, especially problems with educational buildings. Theoretically, all buildings tend to deteriorate over period of time due to aging or other factors, regardless the types of buildings. There are several main factors can be taken into account such as design fault, poor maintenance, poor workmanship, building age and location of building. This paper will discuss on distinctive structural and non-structural building defects and failures than frequently happened in educational buildings. This paper is noteworthy to render varies of problems generally faced by Malaysian educational buildings to the public. As such, the awareness among them can be raised or improved. Furthermore, the public will concern, especially the government authorities should emphasize the laws and regulations to enforce the safety of construction work as well as the procedure in giving approval to the occupation of educational buildings

Consideration of Active Fire Protection and Coating for Commercial Buildings

For buildings and other constructions, fire protection is a must. The fear of uncontrolled fires and the desire to avoid their consequences is as ancient as human civilization. This fear has obvious enduring roots: unwanted fire is a destructive force that takes many thousands of human lives and destroys large quantities of asset. The primary objective of fire protection is to limit loss of properties and lives in the event of unexpected fires. Active fire protection is effective and efficient in most situations. However, passive fire protection, which includes the use of fire-proofing materials, provides an on-site fire resistance measure to prolong the longevity of load-bearing structures. Certainly, the nature, causes and scope of such events have changed considerably over millennia but fear and avoidance have remained as a primary human reaction and as an important human objective, respectively, for virtually every society. This paper will discuss on risk posed by fire, the passive fire protection components, conventional protection materials and thermally reactive materials. From the review, it can be concluded that active fire protection is effective and efficient in most situations passive fire protection, which includes the use of fire-proofing materials, provides an on-site fire resistance measure to prolong the longevity of load-bearing structures

The culture changes among Kelantan community before and after flood disaster in Kelantan, Malaysia

Flood is a natural phenomenon. However, flood disaster is able to cause bad physical and mental damages. For instance, 2014 flood disaster in Kelantan has given a huge effect for Kelantan people. This research will study about culture comparison of Kelantan community between before and after the flood disaster. In order to conduct the research, a qualitative method research which involves content analysis is the most suitable approach. At the end of this research of cultural study, it is believed to be able to show the differences of culture between before and after flood 2014. This is important in order to understand the effect of disaster upon culture of a community, which directly able to increase the preparedness of that particular community to face the upcoming disaster again