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Strength Development and Lateral Load Resisting Properties of Expanded

Polystyrene Based Lightweight Concrete Panels

Article in Engineer Journal of the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka · November 2022
DOI: 10.4038/engineer.v55i3.7524

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ENGINEER - Vol. LV, No. 03, pp. [91-99],
ENGINEER [page range],
2022 2022
©
© The
The Institution
Institution of
of Engineers,
Engineers, Sri
Sri Lanka
Lanka DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/engineer.v55i3.7524

Strength Development and Lateral Load Resisting

Properties of Expanded Polystyrene Based Lightweight
Concrete Panels
S. Sivakanthan, P.N. Karandeniya, B.E. Thevarajah and M.T.R. Jayasinghe

Abstract: The construction industry is rapidly moving toward sustainable development due to
the rise of the scarcity of natural resources and the climatic impact on the environment. Several studies
have been carried out related to the subject of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) based lightweight concrete
panel production and its usages in buildings. This paper mainly focuses on strength development and
lateral load-bearing capacity of the EPS panels where these panels are used as a loadbearing wall in
buildings. Lateral loading resistance properties and performance of lightweight wall panels were
assessed by carrying out load tests on scale down wall specimens representing the actual wall
construction. The strength development of EPS-based concrete panels was assessed by developing
strength curves from compressive strength tests carried out for different curing conditions of the
lightweight concrete. The outcomes of this study show that the flexural strength parallel to the wall
panels is in the range of 0.58 to 0.70N/mm2. Under wet conditions, it reduces to 0.45 N/mm2. Also,
there was an average of 0.4 N/mm2 compressive strength difference between properly cured and non-
cured EPS samples, which is approximately 20% of strength development in the six month period.

Keywords: Expanded polystyrene, Load bearing wall, Lateral load, Flexural strength, Strength
development, Curing

1. Introduction environment-friendly and structurally sound

when considering sustainability.
Today, the civil engineering constructions are Nowadays, expanded polystyrene (EPS) based
mainly focused on sustainability developments lightweight concrete wall panels are used as
while overcoming the issue with the scarcity of loadbearing walls in single storey buildings as
resources related to the construction industry well as in two-storied buildings [3]. EPS based
due to the population growth. Climatic changes lightweight concrete panel system is a modern
play a major role in the selection of construction building construction product and a
materials and methods. Disaster resilience of comparison study utilizing a typical single-
the structures is being given high priority in story house and various building materials
view of the impending climatic change and the revealed that the foam concrete precast panel
implications that had already occurred. can be a strong competitor and hence has the
The construction industry is one of the main potential to become a popular walling material
contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions [2]. Therefore, when considering construction
with a much higher carbon footprint [1]. Rising using individual EPS panels, a wall can be built
temperature, excessive moisture in the rapidly compared to using individual units like
atmosphere, and change in rainfall potential
and rising sea levels can cause serious natural
Eng. S. Sivakanthan, AMIE(SL), AMSSE(SL),
disasters such as floods and cyclones. The B.Sc. Eng. (Hons) (Moratuwa),
number of people who have died as a result of Email:[email protected]
such hazards in tropical countries like Sri Lanka http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4194-9891
has recently increased dramatically. To prevent Eng. P.N. Karandeniya, AMIE(SL), B.Sc. Eng. (Hons)
(Moratuwa),
loss of lives and to reduce the damage to the
Email:[email protected]
belongings a disaster-resistant and http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6423-8849
environment-friendly structure is required. Eng. B.E. Thevarajah, AMIE(SL), B.Sc. Eng. (Hons)
However, the construction of such a structure (Moratuwa) Email:[email protected]
could be a massive burden to an average family http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9221-1742
Eng. (Prof.) M.T.R. Jayasinghe, C.Eng., MIESL, B.Sc.
considering the cost, construction time and Eng. (Hons), (Moratuwa), PhD (Cambridge),
availability of suitable materials [2]. In the Senior Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
meantime, material used should be University of Moratuwa.
Email:[email protected]

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clay bricks or cement blocks. Recycled 2.2 Connectivity of Sandwich Panels
expanded polystyrene is used with cement, The connectivity and transfer of loads between
sand, water, fly ash and admixtures instead of adjacent panels and components are mainly
coarse aggregate, resulting in a lightweight achieved along the horizontal and vertical
concrete due to the low density of EPS [4]. In tongue and groove joints [11]. Load
addition, EPS concrete is used for other transmission occurs through both
specialized applications like construction connectivities. Therefore, they should have
material for marine structures, sub-base enough strength capacities to resist lateral
material for pavements and energy-absorbing loads. In addition, it has been proved that the
material for the protection of military structures interface between mortar and lightweight
[5]. The use of these panels in Sri Lanka is concrete corresponds to the weakest zone and
under the research level category of load failure occurs at the joints [12].
bearing walling material [6]. To implement Normally the EPS wall panels are bonded
these panels in practice, the feasibility of these together by a tongue and groove arrangement,
panels must be analyzed. with tile mortar adhesive paste or
The main objective of this study is to determine cement paste [13].
the structural feasibility of EPS-based
lightweight panels in terms of strength 2.3 Curing Conditions
development and lateral load resisting Curing is a very important procedure to obtain
properties with failure modes when used as durable concrete. Past research studies
load-bearing walls in a typical house building. concluded that curing affected the strength
Experiments have been conducted to evaluate development of lightweight concrete [14].
the performance of panels. Normally, water is used for concrete curing and
there are curing agents as well. Curing makes a
2. Literature Review low degree of hydration in concrete with
reducing temperature. Different types of curing
2.1 Lateral Load Resisting Properties conditions were analysed considering concrete
The flexural strength of the wall is important to strength [15].
estimate the lateral load-carrying capacity of
the wall. In most cases, the design of wall 3. Methodology
panels against uniform or non-uniform lateral
loads is based on empirical data [7]. The The process entails conducting an experiment
available methods for identifying the qualities and analysing the results to identify
of lightweight concrete panels do not reflect the characteristics such as panel flexural and
actual conditions [8] and are only applicable for compressive strengths under varied conditions
a single panel. The failure criterion does not and exposure.
consider the joints and bond types. Therefore, The experimental phase of the study entailed
during the design, to satisfy the bearing measuring the flexural strength of wall
capacity, a more conservative factor of safety is specimens under various exposure conditions,
used. This results in an uneconomical design as well as the strength development of panels
and during unexpected disaster situations it for wall construction with various curing
may not be possible to predict the actual conditions over a long period of time.
behaviour and capacity of the structure [8]. This analytical phase of the study focuses on
EPS concrete containing larger size and higher the following:
volumes of EPS aggregate show higher
moisture migration, absorption and the 1. Impacts of joints and exposure
reduction of strength properties [5]. Flexural conditions on overall wall flexural
strength of a wall material is important to strength.
evaluate the performance when subjected to
lateral loads due to wind, floods, earthquakes 2. Identification of failure modes of light
or any other load that can cause out-of-plane weight walls under lateral loadings.
bending in the walls [9]. The flexural strength
of masonry can be determined by loading the 3. Compressive strength development of
wall panels laterally, with the load parallel to light weight panels under different
bed joints and perpendicular to bed joints. Since curing conditions.
the flexural strength parallel to bed joints is
generally low, there is a tendency for the failure
to occur at very low lateral loads [10].

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4. Experimental Procedure Paste and Adhesive Mortar were tested
according to BS EN 1015-11(Figure 1), using the
A detailed experimental procedure was carried results of the three-point bending test, as given
out to achieve the previously mentioned by Equations (1) and (2).
objectives. 1.5Fl
Scale down wall specimens were built and Flexural strength F= bd2
... (1)
tested to assess the flexural performance
according to BS EN 1052-2:2016. With the F
Compressive strength F = 𝐴𝐴
results obtained, the flexural strength
properties and failure modes of the EPS panel ... (2)
walls were assessed under several support and F - Max applied load
exposure conditions. l - Spacing between supports
To assess the strength development, sample test b, d - Width and depth of specimen
specimens were prepared. Freshly cast panels A - Effective area (Top face)
were obtained for this purpose and the large
panels were converted into 300x300 mm square The load was applied gradually to
specimens to check compressive strength with avoid impact or shock due to sudden increases.
time. As such, a uniform rate in the range of 10 N/s
In order to assess the performance, lightweight to 50 N/s was used so that the failure occurred
panels with 75, 100 and 150mm thicknesses within a period of 30 s, as specified by BS EN
were used as a construction material that 1015-11. The results of these tests are
consists of 50% of the total EPS, cement, sand, summarized in Table 3.
fly ash and cement fiber boards in current
practice [6].

4.1 Materials and Properties

Using the material proportions mentioned in
Table 1 an EPS-based concrete mix with a
density of 650-750 kg/m3 was produced.
Mechanically recycled EPS contributed for 50%
of the total EPS content of the concrete mix.
Table 2 shows the properties of cast lightweight Figure 1 - Testing for the Compressive
panels after two weeks. Strength

Table 1 - Material Test Data for EPS Table 3 - Material Test Data for Cement Paste
Lightweight Panels and Adhesive Mortar
Material Content(kg/m3) Property Cement Tile adhesive
Cement 380 paste mortar
Fly ash 98 W/C 2:5 1:3(Volumetric)
Sand 136 Compressive 35 21.25
Water 282 strength
EPS 22 (N/mm2)
Flexural 6.72 1.64
Table 2 - Material Content Data for EPS strength
Lightweight Concrete Mix (N/mm2)
Property Parameter
4.2 Construction of Wall Specimens
Dry density of 629kg/m3 In order to replicate potential practical
lightweight concrete scenarios, three types of wall specimens were
Dimensions 600 mm x 2450 cast (refer Table 4). The joints in Type 1 (T1)
mm specimens, consisted of cement paste, with and
Compressive strength 2.89 N/mm2 without steel dowel connectors. Specimens
Flexural strength 1.64 N/mm2 consisted of tile adhesive mortar, while no extra
Portland cement conforming to ASTM C150 material was used in the Type 2 (T2) specimens
Type I and cementitious tile mortar adhesive (shown in Figure 2). Type 3 (T3) panel
conforming to BS 5980 class AA Type 1 were specimens were cast without joints (scale down
used for the joints between the panels. The full panel). Additionally Type 2 and Type 3
flexural and compressive strengths of Cement specimens were tested under both wet and dry
conditions.

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Table 4 – Wall Specimen Preparation Data 4.3 Flexural Strength Test
The characteristic flexural strength of wall
Type 1 Specimen joints With
specimen fxi is expressed as a function of failure
(T1) with cement paste connectors
load and panel dimensions in BS EN 1052: Part
Without
connectors 2: 2016, as given by Equation (3).
Type 2 Specimen joints Wet 3𝐹𝐹𝑖𝑖,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 (𝑙𝑙1 −𝑙𝑙2 )
(T2) with tile adhesive
𝑓𝑓𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 2
2𝑏𝑏𝑡𝑡𝑢𝑢
... (3)
Dry
mortar
Type 3 Specimen without Wet Where,
(T3) joints Dry Fi, max – max failure load
l1 – Spacing between supports
l2 – Spacing between loading points
The specimens were cured for 14 days and
tu –Thickness of panel, b – Width of the panel
tested under both vertical and lateral loadings.
The standard testing methods do not provide
clear guidelines to test walls and, hence, the
procedure outlined in BS EN 1052: Part 2: 2016
for masonry walls was used for the present
study. Accordingly, the dimensions of the wall
panels to determine the flexural strength, were
decided based on the sizes recommended in the
code. Because building and testing need a
Figure 3 – Flexural Strength Test Apparatus
significant amount of resources, as well as other
practical constraints such as labour component All the measurements were recorded including
and laboratory space management, the number spacing between the bearing and loading rods
of specimens was limited to two, where an and the dimensions of the panels (refer
average value was calculated to determine the Table 5). From past research studies [16], it has
flexural strength according to BS EN 1052: Part been identified that maximum stress bearing
2: 2016 and the tests on two panels have yielded stress on top of wall acting on a typical 2-story
a wealth of helpful research data for masonry, apartment building light weight wall is around
and the same method has been utilized to 0.1488N/mm2 (9kN). Therefore, a conservative
generate the research findings described in this constant vertical load 10kN was applied using a
paper. steel plate and hydraulic jack on the top surface
of the wall to represent the expected typical
load in a load bearing wall, to simulate the
actual scenario. Later, a lateral load was applied
at the specified constant increment rate of 1.25
kN/min with a hydraulic jack connected to a
data logger for electronic measurements (Figure
3 and Figure 4). The load corresponding to the
first crack and the load at failure were observed
for each type of panels (Figure 9 and Figure 11),
and the results are summarized in Table 6.

Figure 2 – Specimens Type 1 and Type 2 Table 6 - Results of Flexural Strength Test
Load at Load at Avg.
Table 5 - Details of the Tested Panels Test first failure strength
crack (kN) N/mm2
Test Panel dimensions Nos. (kN)
( mm) Parallel to joint
W H T T1(with 6.1 12.5 0.58
dowel
Parallel to joint connectors)
T1 With 400 800 150 2 T2 Wet 10.2 15.1 0.42
dowels Dry 11.8 19.2 0.65
T2 Wet 410 610 150 2 T3 Wet - 20.1 0.72
Dry 400 590 150 2 Dry - 21.5 0.74
T3 Wet 410 600 150 2 Load at first crack+Load at failure
Dry 400 600 150 2 Avg.strength =
2
W- Width, H- Height, T-Thickness … (4)

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Figure 4 - Panel Testing of Specimen Type 1
with Connectors Figure 7 - Failure Crack Propagation at Core
Section in Type 1 Specimens
load(kN) VS time(S)
35
At stage 2, there was a certain increment in the
30 vertical load due to the bending of the
25 specimen. At failure, the crack reached the face
Load (kN)

20 sheathing and another crack started to

15 propagate from the base in T1 and T2
specimens. Lateral loading stress at that stage
10
was assessed to be nearly 0.58N/mm2. Later in
5
stage 3, the provision of steel bars at the joint
0 allowed further increase in applied lateral load
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time (s) as it can provide certain ductility to the
specimen. In stage 3, the stress achieved was
Figure 5 - Applied Load VS Time for around 0.72 N/mm2 with 6 mm deformation.
Specimen Type 1 with Connectors However, the steel bar provided was the actual

Figure 5 shows application of load with time

for the T1 specimen with dowel connectors in
the dry conditions.
In Type 1 with connectors, it shows three stages
of failure and crack development. At the first
stage, the crack propagation was observed at
the joint and further increased the lateral load,
resulting in the formation of a crack which was
observed in the core part of the groove joint
and continued through the core part. The stress
at that stage was around 0.3 N/mm2. Figure 6
and Figure 7 shows the propagation of cracks.

Figure 8 - Crack Propagation in Type 3

Specimens
size used at the site condition, thus the effect
from the steel bars can be over-stated for the
scaled down specimens.

The same conditions applied to T2 and T3 test

series as applied in the T1 testing. There was a
strength increment in T2 while using
tile mortar adhesive compared to the cement
paste. Figure 8 shows the failure crack
propagations. In addition, in the wet condition,
Figure 6 – First Crack Formation at the Joint in there is a considerable reduction in the flexure
Type 1 Specimens capacity in both T2 and T3 specimens.

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 The maximum deformation in the wall
specimens (T2) was 4.2 mm and 3.8 mm in dry
and wet conditions, respectively (refer
Figure 12), and roughly 5.2 mm in typical
panels (T3).

4.4 Development of Strength Curves

It is impractical to test for different curing
conditions for a complete full EPS panel. The
scale down specimens were used to perform
the experiments. Therefore, full panels were
converted into 1x1 ft blocks as in Figure 13 to
Figure 9 - Applied Load Vs Time for T2 and perform tests.
T3 under Dry Conditions
Table 7 - Details of Panels used
In part of the test series, the specimens were
fully submerged for 24 hrs under water. The Type Size (mm) Weight
following Figure 10 shows the preparation of (kg/𝐦𝐦𝟐𝟐 )
the specimen. EPS light weight 2440x610x75 50-53
panel 2440x610x100 60-65
2440x610x150 80-90
EPS panels as in Table 7 with 75, 100 and
150mm thicknesses were taken just after
casting.

Figure 10 – T2 Specimens under Wet

Condition

14
Loading (kN) VS Time(s)
12
10 Figure 13 - EPS Panel Blocks
Load (kN)

8
6
4
2
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Time(s)
Figure 11 - Applied Load VS Time for T2
Specimens under Wet Condition

Figure 14 - Fully Submerged Curing

loading(kN) Vs Defletion(10-2mm)
24
20
16
Load (kN)

12
8
unsaturated
4
saturated
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Deformation (10-2mm)
Figure 12 - Applied Load VS Deformation for
T2 Specimens Figure 15 - Gunny Bag Curing

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 Table 8 - Failure Loads Values of the 75mm
Panels
Failure loads (103 kg)
Time A B C D
7 days 1.6 1.8 2.1 2.3
14 days 3.1 3.5 3.2 3.8
1 month 5.1 6.2 4.7 5.2
2 months 5.9 6.8 6.1 6.5
3 months 6.0 6.9 6.5 6.7
6 months 6.9 7.8 7.7 7.9
Figure 16 - Membrane Curing

In fully submerged curing, EPS blocks were Strength vs Time

4

Compressive Strength (Mpa)

fully submerged in water (Figure 14) and some 3.5
blocks were covered using wet gunny bags as 3
shown in Figure 15 for gunny bag curing. For 2.5
the membrane curing (Figure 16), “Masterkure 2
181” was used to cover the surfaces to prevent Normal Curing
1.5
Gunny Curing
moisture escaping. In addition, a set of control 1
Submerged Curing
samples were maintained without any curing to 0.5
Membrane Curing
compare the results. 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Time (days)
4.5 Laboratory Test for Strength
Development Figure 18 – Strength Development Curves for
The compressive strength of specimens was 75 mm Panels
measured using cured EPS blocks in the
laboratory (Figure 17). For each curing
condition, compressive strength was measured Table 9 - Failure Loads Values of the 100 mm
Panels
at 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, 84 and 168 days [17]. The test
results were taken in metric tons (refer Table 7, Failure loads (103 kg)
Table 8 and Table 9). Time
A B C D
7 days 3.6 4.7 4.5 3.8
14 days 4.1 4.9 4.6 5.4
1 month 4.7 5.9 5.1 5.8
2 months 5.1 6.2 5.3 6.5
3 months 6.1 6.8 6.7 6.9
6 months 7.4 8.5 8.4 8.7

Strength vs Time
3
Compressive Strength (Mpa)

Figure 17 – Compressive Strength Testing of 2.5

Panel Specimens 2
1.5
Using the test results, strength development Normal Curing
1
curves of the EPS panels were developed for
0.5 Gunny Curing
different curing conditions and different panel
thicknesses. 0
From Equation (1) f = F/A 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Time (days)
A = thickness × length Figure 19 - Strength Development Curves for
In addition, the units were converted into MPa 100 mm Panels
to get the strength of EPS panels.

A - No Curing (Reference)
B - Gunny Bag Curing
C - Submerged Curing
D - Membrane Curing

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Table 10 - Failure Loads Values of the 150 mm board of these panels might affect the strength
Panels of EPS panel blocks as well.
Failure loads (103 kg)
Time A B C D 5. Conclusions
7 days 4.1 4.9 4.5 4.1
14 days 4.5 5.2 5.1 5.4 Based on the findings, EPS-based lightweight
1 month 8.2 8.8 8.4 8.6 panels can be recommended for traditional
2 months 8.3 8.9 8.6 8.7 houses as an alternative to traditional materials
3 months 8.4 9.3 9.0 9.2 such as brick and blocks. According to a
6 months 9.5 10.6 10.3 10.9 previous study [6], it possesses a flexural
strength of roughly 1.64 N/mm2 when used as
a single panel. The all-wall specimens parallel
Strength vs Time to the joints have flexural strengths ranging
2.5
from 0.58 to 0.74 N/mm2. It is almost less than
Compressive Strength (Mpa)

2 half the capacity of a single panel. It also

1.5
decreased to 0.45 Nmm2 in the wet condition. It
Normal Curing has a higher load bearing capacity than the
1 BS5628–1–1992 recommended value of
0.5 Gunny Curing 0.4 N/mm2 for masonry work under lateral
loading parallel to joints. This could withstand
0 lateral loads better than traditional materials
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
when used as a single panel, however its
Time (days)
capacity is reduced when used as a wall with
Figure 20 - Strength Development Curves for integrated panels, similar to conventional
150 mm Panels masonry.
There was an average of 0.4 N/mm2 strength
According to the graphs in Figure 18, Figure 19 difference between cured and non-cured EPS
and Figure 20, very low strength of the EPS samples when considering experimental results
panels can be identified in the first two weeks in curing conditions analysis and strength
after casting. Therefore, for construction, it is developments over a 6-month period, which is
not advisable to use the EPS concrete panels approximately 20% strength development.
just after casting. Furthermore, long-term There is a significant strength growth difference
strength development was observed in the of around 28% across three distinct curing
samples tested. settings in the early stages of the curing period
Fly ash content of EPS could be the reason for (30 to 60 days from the panel cast). As a result,
this long-term strength development. In the 1st the strength (load-bearing capability) of EPS
month there was no significant strength panels can be improved by applying long-term
difference between cured EPS panels and the curing procedures.
reference EPS sample. With time, the cured EPS
panel strength increased from reference EPS Acknowledgement
sample. After 6 months (188 days), there was an
average of 0.4 N/mm2 strength difference The authors wish to thank Eng. M.B.J.N.
between cured and non-cured EPS samples. Fernando, the Managing Director of Ekala pre-
stressed concrete industries for providing
Out of three different curing conditions,
materials for the experiment works. Also,
membrane curing had slightly higher strength
special thanks go to all the staff members of the
than others, most of the time. After 6 months,
Department of Civil Engineering, University of
75 mm, 100 mm and 150 mm panel thicknesses
Moratuwa and colleagues for their immense
achieved average strengths of 3.3 N/mm2, 2.7
support in the success of this research work.
N/mm2 and 2.2 N/mm2, respectively.
Therefore, there was a high strength
achievement with reduction of the panel
thickness.
It must be noted that the present study was
conducted for EPS based light weight panels
with a cement fibre board, which is the mostly
used form of panels for construction and the

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