Abstract

CARRILLO, Julián; ALCOCER, Sergio M.  and  APERADOR, William. Mechanical Properties of Concrete for Low-Cost Housing. Ing. invest. y tecnol. [online]. 2013, vol.14, n.2, pp.285-298. ISSN 2594-0732.

Both shear strength of concrete walls and the new materials and construction techniques have positioned to industrialized concrete housing as a proficient option for providing safety under seismic events, for stimulating environmental conservation and for promoting the reduction of cost of construction, operation and maintenance. Aimed at developing design aids that promote the use of different types of concrete, an experimental study for describing the mechanical properties of normal-weight, light-weight and self-consolidating concretes was carried out. The experimental program included testing of 603 cylinder- and beam-type specimens. Mechanical properties of three types of concrete under compressive, tensile and flexural stresses were evaluated in this study. Based on trends of experimental results, numerical correlations for estimating basic mechanical properties of concretes, such as modulus of elasticity, tension splitting strength and flexural strength, are proposed. Recommendations regarding both the minimum compressive strength of concrete for housing and the time for removing the formwork are also proposed. Recommendations of this study may be easily implemented in a building code for low-rise and low-cost housing.

Keywords : economic housing; mechanical properties; modulus of elasticity; splitting tensile strength; flexural strength; lightweight concrete; self-consolidating concrete; earthquake-resistant design.

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