Improving energy absorption capacity of foam concrete with gradient and layered architecture. (14th February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhou, Hongyuan; Zhang, Xuejian; Wang, Xiaojuan; Zhang, Hong; Song, Tianyi
• Is Part Of: Construction & building materials. Volume 319(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-02-14
• Subjects: Foam concrete -- Energy absorption -- Failure mode -- Height-diameter ratio -- Layered architecture; Building materials -- Periodicals; 624.18
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.126140
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-0618

Abstract

Highlights: Density and height-diameter ratio determine the failure modes and FC performance. Sufficient density difference change failure mode by mitigating crack propagation. Steel plate stops through cracks propagation and improve FC performance. Layered architecture cannot improve FC performance due to splitting failure. Synergy of density gradient and split plates enables superior energy absorption. Abstract: The mechanical properties of foam concrete are significantly affected by its failure mode, closely related to its density and height-diameter ratio, and unfavorable failure mode would inevitably adversely affect its mechanical performance. To investigate the effect of density and height-diameter ratio on the failure modes, firstly a quasi-static compression test is carried out on the specimens with four densities (400, 600, 800, and 1000 kg/m 3 ) and four height-diameter ratios (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0). Most specimens exhibit unfavorable splitting failure, while only the specimens with low densities or small height-diameter ratios undergo crushing or shear failure. To improve the mechanical performance of foam concrete, especially the energy absorption capacity, measures including layered architecture, density gradient, and split plate are proposed and experimentally examined in the present study. The results show that sufficient density difference between adjacent foam concrete layers is able to effectively mitigate the propagation of cracks so as to significantly improve its mechanical performance. Moreover, steel split plate at the interface of adjacent foam concrete layers is capable of successfully stopping crack development among different layers, demonstrating superior energy absorption capacity. In addition, layer by layer crushing failure mode can be achieved through the synergy of density gradient and split plates to fill the demand of multi-level protection for important structural members.