Experimental study on lightweight concrete made with expanded clay aggregate and lime

Prefabricated panel walls have been widely used in building construction due to their excellent structural benefits over other construction methods. However, the heavyweight of thick wall panels is the main barrier for connecting, transporting, and handling prefabricated wall elements. Therefore, in this study, lightweight concrete was developed to apply for the construction of structural and non-structural wall panels. A total of 16 mixes using expanded lightweight clay aggregate was designed with limestone powder, which was divided into three groups such as Group-1 (lime and silica fume), Group-2 (cement and water-reducing admixture), and Group-3 (expanded clay and glass aggregate). The effect of each parameter on the compressive strength and density of the lightweight concrete was measured after 7 and 28 days of curing. In general, developed lightweight concrete reached at least 70% of the ultimate compressive strength within seven days. The concrete compressive strength ranged from 11.54 to 22.63 MPa, and density values ranged from 1345 to 1706 kg/m³ at 28 days. Experimental results indicated that the mixes containing a higher amount of limestone powder, cement content, and expanded clay aggregate could be used as structural concrete. The combined utilisation of expanded clay and glass aggregate mixes is suitable for the non-structural application. Finally, the strength and density of current concrete mixes were compared with previous research results, which indicates that most of the mixes of the current study present lower density with reasonably good strength compared to the previous results counterpart.