Development of High Performance Light Weight Concrete through incorporation of Steel Fibers onto Polyurethane Foam Concrete

A lightweight, high-performance concrete was developed using steel Fiber-reinforcement onto polyurethane foam (PUF) enhanced lightweight concrete. Fiber-reinforcement enhances strength parameters of concrete. But, the interaction between polyurethane foam’s ability to reduce density and the reinforcing effects of steel Fibers in terms of mechanical strength, shrinkage, chloride penetration, and crack resistance has not yet been explored. To overcome this limitation, investigations were done in this study to find compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, shrinkage, impact resistance, and chloride ion penetration on PUF incorporated with steel Fibers. Microstructural analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine Fiber-concrete bonding. The results revealed that mixes with 1.5% steel Fiber content exhibit good performance, in terms of improved compressive and flexural strengths, impact resistance, and shrinkage reduction. Chloride penetration test results exhibited good chloride resistance in Fiber-reinforced mixes, making them suitable for use in corrosive environments. SEM analysis confirmed that the improved mechanical properties were largely due to enhanced Fiber-matrix bonding, which contributed to better crack control. Thus, this study was able to develop a Polyurethane foam light weight concrete incorporated with steel Fibers which could synergistically enhance its strength and durability characteristics.