LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

CHAPTER ONE

TOPIC- LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION

IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Concrete is one of the most popular construction materials used since hundred
years ago. Because of its flexibility in usage it becomes more important and is
preferred compared to timber or steel. The combination of cement, coarse
aggregate, fine aggregate and water makes up a concrete. It is an acceptable fact
now that not only the strength of concrete which plays a main role, in deciding the
quality of concrete but what matters most is the durability at services stage. This
technological advancement forms a challenge to mankind to look into various
ways and means to improve concrete.

Aggregate is one of the important ingredients in term of strength and bonding in

concrete. In general, aggregate in concrete can be defined as those having
apparent specific gravity of 2.4 or above. Aggregate can be divided further
according to their particle shape such as rounded irregular, angular and flaky and
according to their surface texture, i.e. glassy, smooth, granular rough, crystalline
and honey, combed and porous. By virtue of the aggregate’s density, the concrete
produce is quite heavy and has a density of about 2400kg/m³.

Reducing concrete density will lead to economical construction because it reduces

the cost of transportation, handling and constructability. One of the ideas to make
concrete lighter is by the introduction of lightweight aggregate and air entraining
agent. Using lightweight aggregate and air entraining agent in the concrete results

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 LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

reduction of dead load, faster construction time and lower haulage and handling
cost.

It is this true that the application of LWC (Lightweight concrete) is limited to

certain purposes compared to normal concrete, but the introduction of LWC gives
more alternative to construction industry, which currently focuses on natural
resources. Some of the lightweight aggregate are manufactured from waste
material such as Lytag, whereby it was produced from pulverized fuel ash (PFA).
Study shows that in Malaysia the use of LWC is gaining popularity whereby in
the 1994, more than 100,000m² of LWC panel have been produced and it can be
said that the demand for the coming year will increase [MCB Concrete Product
Sdn. Bhd, 1994].

Some of the major project where LWC panels had been used and proved
beneficial areas follows:-
i. Taman Rasah Jaya Single-storey link houses, Seremban. In this project,
M-PANELS (LWC panel) is used as a wall element. The standard M-
PANELS is 100mm wide with length available from 150mm, in
100mm increments.
ii. Terrace houses of Taman Puteri, Kulai, Johor.
iii. Housing project Desa May, Pulau Pinang.
iv. Venice Hill’s Condomonium, Cheras, Selangor.

The LWC panels produced for the above mentioned projects are able to withstand
the industrial environment. This is evident of the capability of LWC in the
construction industry. It is of paramount importance that research on LWC be
extended and intensified to incorporate other durability test that normally done on
normal concrete. By so doing the effectiveness of LWC can be compared to
normal concrete.

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1.1 ISSUE OF THE TOPIC / PROBLEMS STATEMENT

LWC (Lightweight Concrete) has been adopted all around the world for the last 2
decades. But, in Malaysia the use of LWC is not very common; this may be due to
large amount of gravel aggregate still available in the market. Malaysia imports
lightweight aggregates from France and Germany, and in 1983, lightweight wall
panel factory was set up at Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

Based on the statement, we know that the construction industry in Malaysia have
a problem about the LWC application. May be it is not popular relating expensive
cost, less knowledge and experience, not having enough the skill worker, the
machinery and appliance to constructed the LWC is not enough, or other reasons.

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

1. To understand the Lightweight concrete and level of application in

construction industry mainly Malaysia.
2. To compare the strength and density of LWC with normal concrete.
3. To know that the different types of LWC and application in
construction industry.

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1.3 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of this research is to know what is the lightweight concrete and
used level in construction industry at Malaysia. Any factor will be included in this
research as a recommendation. This research methodology selected for this
research is interview and get information from developer or local authorities, get
information from oversea such as UK and other countries about the lightweight
concrete and also from reference books so that related the lightweight concrete
and application in construction industry at Malaysia.

Our study also using 3 sites to research about the lightweight concrete in Malaysia
and choice the site at around Selangor state, it is because the Selangor state is
develop state in Malaysia and attempt to develop the lightweight concrete in our
country. It also suitable with Rancangan Malaysia ke-9 when the Malaysia
government wants at each government project must use the lightweight
concrete although small amount.

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1.4 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

This stage involves the procedure of collecting data in order to achieve the
objectives of this research. This stage can be divided into two categories: -

1.4.1 Primary data:

This is a process of obtaining main data for the research. The data
and information are obtained by conducting interviews and getting
information with the developer and local authorities on the
lightweight concrete in Malaysia. The data will be
collected through the appointment, ask questionnaire and comparison
to find if they could be classified in order to give the best result of
the research.

1.4.2 Secondary data:

These data will be obtained through reading and analyzing the

information resources that related to the research topic.

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1.5 STAGES OF THE RESEARCH

To achieve the objectives of this study, the research will perform the following:-

INITIAL START

REASON FOR STUDY

ESTABLISH OBJECTIVES

LITERATURE REVIEW

AN OVERVIEW OF LWC

CASE STUDY

DATA ANALYSIS

OUTCOME OF THE STUDY

FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATION
AND CONCLUSION

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Figure 1.1 Research Process