Influence of different ambient temperatures on the thermal properties of fiber-reinforced structural lightweight aggregate concrete

• Main Authors: Shafigh, Payam, Hafez, Mohamed Ahmed, Muda, Zakaria Che, Beddu, Salmia, Zakaria, As'ad, Almkahal, Zaher
• Format: Article
• Published: MDPI 2022
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/41967/
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

This study reports the influence of different climatic ambient temperatures on the thermal properties of fiber-reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC). Lightweight expanded clay aggregates (LECA) with steel (ST) and polypropylene fibers were used in the mix proportions. The steady-state thermal test was performed on concrete samples at the oven-dry state with the measurement taken at six different climatic ambient temperatures of 0 degrees C, 10 degrees C, 20 degrees C, 30 degrees C, 40 degrees C, and 50 degrees C. The results show a linear dependence of thermal conductivity, specific heat, thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity of fiber-reinforced LWACs against the different ambient temperatures. These ambient temperature variations are discussed as a function of the thermal properties of fiber-reinforced LWAC. The thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity decrease linearly between 0 degrees C and 50 degrees C, whilst the specific heat and thermal effusivity increase linearly between 0 degrees C and 50 degrees C. Equations with strong correlations to predict thermal properties of fiber-reinforced LWAC were proposed based on the results of this study. The significance of this research is to propose the dynamic ambient temperature-dependent thermal properties equations that can be used in the energy analysis of the buildings.