Influence of Granulometry and Aggregates’ Proportion on Mechanical Properties of Lightweight Concrete Produced Using Brazilian Expanded Clay

Lightweight concrete has as its main advantage the possibility of reducing structures’ weight. In addition, the fact that they have a better-quality transition zone compared to traditional concrete makes these concretes an alternative to improve the durability of structures. Lightweight concrete is essentially made up of binder, aggregates, and water. Several studies have already shown that the granulometry of the aggregate and the water-cement ratio directly affects the strength of concrete. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of granulometry, water-cement ratio, and proportion of aggregates on tensile strength, compressive strength, and modulus of elasticity of lightweight concrete produced using Brazilian expanded clay. For all evaluated concretes, the same cement consumption was used, and the Reference curve method (Faury method) was used to find the best proportion between the solid materials in the mixture. The mechanical properties of tension and compression were evaluated through destructive tests, and the modulus of elasticity was obtained through non-destructive tests. The results showed that for the same cement consumption, the reduction of water consumption and the proportion of lightweight aggregates in the composition contribute to the improvement of the mechanical properties of the evaluated concretes, However, they reduce the workability and favor the gain of specific mass.