Numerical analysis and experimental validation of reinforced foamed concrete beam containing partial cement replacement

Abstract

Agro-industrial wastes incorporating supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) regarded as sustainable efforts to reduce environmental impact generated by agricultural residual byproduct as well as the production of cement. Various waste materials are being utilized in concrete throughout the world as SCMs, experimental work to understand the performance of such concrete consumes time as well as cost. Therefore, three dimensional non-linear simulation is a key for predicting correctly the performance of concrete comprising waste materials in various designation mixture. This experimental work was conducted to undergo three-dimensional non-linear simulation, using concrete damage plasticity failure in ABAQUS/CAE software, of reinforced foamed concrete beam incorporating 20% Palm Oil Fuel Ash and 5% and 10% Eggshell Powder as partial cement replacement. The simulated results indicated that the proposed finite element modelling was successful in predicting accurately the damage behavior of foamed concrete. Keywords: Foamed concrete, Partial cement replacement, ABAQUS, Numerical analysis, Palm oil fuel ash (POFA), Eggshell powder (ESP)