Impact of the Different Stratum of Confinement of Interlaced Fiberglass Meshes on the Mechanical Properties of Foamcrete

Abstract

This paper focuses on laboratory assessment on mechanical performance of alkali resistant fiberglass meshes
confine foamcrete. Two different densities of 600kg/m3
and 1200kg/m3 were cast and tested. Three parameters will
be evaluated such as compressive strength, flexural strength and splitting tensile strength. The interlaced fiberglass
meshes implemented in this research is a synthetic textile fabric with an alkali resistance characteristic. The
lightweight foamcrete specimens were wrapped with 1-layer to 3-layer(s) of interlaced fiberglass meshes. Proteinbased foaming agent Noraite PA-1 was used to produce the desirable density of lightweight foamcrete. To get the
comparable results, the water to cement ratio was fixed to 0.45 while the cement to sand ratio constant at 1:1.5. The
results had indicated that 3-layers of confinement gave the best results for all the three parameters considered in this
research. This entire enhancement achieved is due to the confinement of interlaced fiberglass meshes that existence
as a confinement and increase the initial elastic stiffness of lightweight foamcrete. Fiberglass meshes confinement on
foamcrete provides substantial gain in strength and deformability. This gain is higher as the number of confining
layers increases and depends on the tensile strength of the mortar, which determines whether failure of the
confinement will transpire due to fiberglass meshes fracture.