COMBINED EFFECTS OF SYNTHETIC FIBER AND SHRINKAGE-REDUCING ADMIXTURES ON SHEAR BEHAVIOR OF HIGH-STRENGTH LIGHTWEIGHT AGGREGATE CONCRETE BEAMS

Abstract

Recently, new types of artificial lightweight aggregates with extremely low water absorption have been developed. The use of these high-performance aggregates can assist in creating the structural lightweight concrete with high-strength and high-durability. However, the shear carrying capacity of RC beams using this concrete decreases due to the increase in autogenous shrinkage and decrease in fracture toughness. Hence, the authors performed the loading tests of high-performance lightweight concrete beams with a combination of synthetic fiber and shrinkage-reducing admixtures, and clarified the combined effects on improvement of the shear carrying capacity.