Structural impact resilience of lightweight fiber-reinforced LECA concreteusing ANN and RSM technique

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Selina Gondwe
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Structural impact resilience of lightweight fiber-reinforced LECA concrete using ANN and RSM technique FINALDownload

Abstract: The structural impact resilience of lightweight Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA) concrete refers to its capacity to withstand impact and other related loading effectively. Achieving a balance between lightweight properties and structural performance is crucial; however, research in this scope remains limited. This study explores these characteristics by evaluating the concrete’s ability to absorb impact energy, crack resistance relative to compressive strength, and its residual life. The concrete mix incorporates polypropylene fibres (PPF) between 0 % and 3 %, and the natural aggregate is entirely replaced with LECA. Slab specimens of varying thicknesses were subjected to varying low-velocity impact loadings and the results at both service and ultimate state were analysed using ANN and RSM. Intricate relationships between the material’s composition and its overall impact behaviour demonstrated a strong correlation with PPF below 1.0 % showing notable effects on workability, compressive, split tensile and flexural strengths while contributing to a density reduction. A general improvement in impact resilience parameters is observed in direct proportion to PPF and thickness – up to 33 times in impact energy absorption and up to 17 times in crack resistance. However, higher residual strength is exhibited in concrete with lower thickness due to its greater toughness, further highlighting a significant in fluence of the fibre-to-concrete dimension ratio on the impact resilience of the concrete. Moreso, results from both ANN and RSM demonstrated strong agreement in all responses within a 95 % confidence interval and R square of 0.987.

Author(s): Idris Ahmed Ja’e, Zakaria Che Muda, Hamad Almujibah, Chiemela Victor Amaechi, Agusril Syamsir, , U. Johnson Alengaram, Ali.E.A. Elshekh, Maaz Osman Bashir

Date Published: 8 March 2025

Depositing User: Selina Gondwe

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.140699

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Lightweight LECA concrete,Impact Energy Absorptions, Energy,Crack Resistance Ratio, Residual strength

Publication title: Construction and Building Materials

Publisher: Elsevier

Subject(s): Construction and Building