Lightweight concrete, Bend testing, Tensile testing, Mechanical testing, Lightweight aggregates, Concretes, Prefabricated parts, Test specimens, Test equipment, Testing conditions, Specimen preparation, Reports, Formulae (mathematics)

Concretes, Lightweight aggregates, Open, Compression testing, Test specimens, Sampling methods, Specimen preparation, Curing (concrete), Compressive strength

Author Biography: Dr. Mohammad Abdul Mannan was born at a simple family of a small village, Aktarpur, Rangiarpota, Jibonnagar, Chuadanga, Bangladesh. He has obtained B.Sc. (Civil Engineering) degree with first class, MSc in Civil Engineering and PhD in Concrete technology. He has started carrier as lecturer at BIT Rajshahi (now RUET), Bangladesh followed by AJP consulting firm, then Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and is now a Professor of Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia. He is the inventor of few construction products. Based on 30 years of experience in teaching, professional practice and research, his vision is to be excellence in research on Innovative Construction Material and Structure. Book Description: Due to a high demand in construction and furniture industries worldwide, natural resources such as stones and wood as non-renewable resources are being depleted. Thus, researchers are focusing on renewable resources as alternative materials. As such, the utilisation of abundant solid wastes and byproducts, which are discharged from agriculture, industry and municipalities present an alternative to the conventional materials for the construction and furniture industries. These solid wastes and byproducts, when properly processed have shown to be effective and can readily meet design specifications. Agricultural solid wastes from oil palm distributors such as Oil Palm Shell (OPS) and Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB), which are abundant in agro-based countries, present an interesting alternative to the conventional aggregate in lightweight concrete and artificial plank production, respectively. At present, palm oil producing countries are Barkina Faso, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, C�te d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Venezuela and others. In Malaysia, oil palm plantations cover over 5 million hectares, and annual production of OPS as solid waste from 450 oil palm mills is more than 6 million tons. This large amount of OPS as a renewable green aggregate can contribute to overcoming the over dependence on depletable resources for concrete production. The civil engineering projects are of a larger scale; they need sustainable materials in order to gain a greater momentum of growth. The major technical characteristics of OPS solid waste must be primarily understood before each particular use. Therefore, there is a need to highlight the importance of OPS to be used in the construction industry.

Concrete made using mineral cements, the raw materials which on earth are practically endless, is known as one of the oldest building materials and during the last decades of the twentieth century has become a dominant building material for general use. At the same time, the requirements of the quality of concrete and its performance properties, in particular compressive strength, durability, economical efficiency, and low negative impact of its manufacture on the environment have not yet been completely met. Bearing these requirements in mind, researchers and engineers worldwide are working on how to satisfy these requirements. This book has been written by researchers and experts in the field and provides the state of the art on recent progress achieved on the properties of concrete, including concrete in which industrial by-products are utilized. The book is dedicated to graduate students, researchers, and practicing engineers in related fields.

In spite of the increasing use and demand for lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC), there is still a lack of adequate explanations to understand the mechanisms responsible for the strength and durability properties of LWAC. This book is written to give an overall picture of LWAC, from the historical background, aggregate production, proportioning and production of concrete, to applications in structures. Physical properties and chemical durability are described in detail. The physical properties include density, strength, shrinkage, and elasticity. Chemical durability includes resistance to acids, chloride ingress, carbonation, and freeze-thaw resistance. Fire resistance is also included, which is seldom considered, but is a very important aspect of the safety of the structure. Microstructure development and its relation to the durability properties of LWAC generally are not highlighted in the literature. The development of bonds, the microstructure with different binder systems, and different types of lightweight aggregates are explained. They show how lightweight aggregate concrete differs from normal weight concrete. The chapters on chloride ingress and freeze-thaw resistance are detailed because of the use of LWAC in offshore construction. The economical aspects of using LWAC are also reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the fact that although the cost of LWAC is high, the total cost of construction has to be considered, including the cost of transport, reinforcement, etc. When these are considered then LWAC becomes cheaper and attractive. The life cycle cost of the concrete is another consideration for calculating long-term savings on maintenance costs.

"In 1993, the CEB Commission 2 Material and Behavior Modelling established the Task Group 2.5 Bond Models. It's terms of reference were ... to write a state-of-art report concerning bond of reinforcement in concrete and later recommend how the knowledge could be applied in practice (Model Code like text proposal)... {This work} covers the first part ... the state-of-art report."--Pref.