THE EFFECT OF REINFORCEMENT ON THE STRENGTH OF FOAM CONCRETE

Foam concrete is a type of lightweight concrete. The main characteristics of foam concrete are its low density and thermal conductivity. This paper was conducted to investigate the compressive strength of reinforced foamed concrete. The use of fly ash and polystyrene (EPS) were also included in the production of foamed concrete. The reinforcements used to reinforce the concrete were plastic and wire mesh. Physical failure mode and compressive strength of samples were compared and analysed. The replacement percentages for both fly ash and EPS were varied between 0-50% and 0-40% respectively. The study showed that it is feasible to reinforce foam concrete and the best results was obtained from steel wire mesh reinforcement. The optimum replacement level for both fly ash and EPS was 30% based on compressive strength results.