Lightweight concrete for masonry blocks experimental characterization and a proposal of mix design method
The use of infilling masonry units made with expanded clay lightweight concrete is increasing in Portugal. There are not too many studies concerning these specific types of concrete to be used in vibrocompressor system productions. In this paper the results of an experimental study are presented for different lightweight concrete masonry products, with samples obtained on real production conditions. For concrete densities between 850 kg/m3 and 1450 kg/m3, different properties of these types of concrete, like compression and tension strength, modulus of elasticity, shrinkage, water absorption by capillarity and immersion and thermal conductivity are presented and related. A mix design method for these concretes, developed for factories of precast products of lightweight concrete, that allows to define mix proportion and related properties is presented too.