An experimental investigation on fracture parameters of self-compacting lightweight concrete containing magnetic water
Description
This study describes an experimental research on the fracture parameters of self-compacting lightweight concrete (SCLC), which was mixed with tap and magnetic water (MW). Three-point bending tests were carried out on 90 notched beams with six mix compositions. The beams were made from mixes with three different water to cement (w/c) ratios of 0.37, 0.47 and 0.52; also, both tap and magnetic water were consumed in the concrete mixes separately. For all SCLC mixtures, common fracture parameters were specified by means of both work of fracture method (WFM) and the size effect method (SEM). The results of this research showed that by using MW in SCLC and decreasing w/c ratio from 0.52 to 0.37: (a) both initial fracture energy G_f and total fracture energy G_F increased, (b) the fracture toughness and the mechanical properties of SCLC improved. Additionally, the achieved data exhibited that there was a reasonable relation between the total fracture energy obtained by WFM and the initial fracture energy achieved through SEM. The average of G_F to G_f ratio in SCLC was 2.70. Furthermore, by using MW in SCLC mixtures, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity increased up to 18%, 9% and 10%, respectively; also its self-compatibility in terms of fluidity increased about 5%.