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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Behavior of Structural Lightweight Polystyrene Foam Concrete Flat Slabs When Exposed to Fire

The Open Construction and Building Technology Journal 30 Nov 2018 RESEARCH ARTICLE DOI: 10.2174/1874836801812010362

Abstract

Background:

Reinforced concrete flat slab is used in a wide range of applications. In addition, reduction of the weight of the concrete used increases the advantages of the flat slab.

Objective:

The main objective of this work is to study the performance of structurally reinforced foam concrete flat slab exposed to fire under eccentric and concentric loads.

Methods:

The experimental specimens included eleven tested square slabs with typical dimensions of 150 mm thickness and 1750 mm total length. The column cross section was 200 × 200 mm at the center of the slab. The density of the used lightweight polystyrene foam concrete was 1820 kg/m3. The crack patterns, load-deflection curves, steel strains, deflection during the fire, reduction in deflection during cooling by air, and residual deflection after fire and cooling were investigated.

Results:

The experimental results showed that the cracking load and maximum load of the tested slab with foam concrete were reduced compared to those of normal concrete.

Conclusion:

From the analysis of the results, it was found that the fire caused a reduction in the ultimate loads in the case of tested foam concrete slabs compared to that of normal-weight concrete slab. And also, the deformation of the tested foam concrete slab during the fire was increased comparing with normal-weight concrete slab. In a theoretical study, the modification factor for calculating the maximum allowable punching force was evaluated according to the ACI-318 and BS-8110 codes, and the reduction factors of compressive strength during the fire was done.

Keywords: Lightweight concrete, Foam concrete, Flat slab, Fire condition, Reinforced concrete, Polystyrene.
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