Stress-Strain Behaviour of Structural Lightweight Concrete under Confinement

Abstract

In this study, stress-strain behavior of structural lightweight concrete is studied under unconfined and confined conditions. To this end, the use of naturally occurring perlite material as lightweight aggregate and cement replacement material is considered. Although there are several studies on the confinement effects on normal weight concrete, there is lack of data on the confinement behavior attained for structural lightweight concrete by spiral or stirrup reinforcement. In order to evaluate the performances of structural lightweight concrete and normal weight concrete in a reliable manner, an experimental study is conducted. Through the experimental study on cylinder specimens that are unconfined and confined in different percentages by spiral reinforcement, the elastic and inelastic, namely post-peak behavior of structural lightweight concrete is recorded by the use of displacementcontrolled testing machine. The results indicate that concrete produced from perlite as lightweight aggregate as well as through the use of cement replacement material provide significant energy absorption in the presence of spiral reinforcement.