An experimental study on strength and toughness of steel fiber reinforced expanded-shale lightweight concrete

A steel fiber reinforced expanded-shale lightweight aggregate concrete (SFRELC) was developed by using sintered expanded shales as coarse and fine aggregates. This paper presents the experimental investigations of the fundamental mechanical properties of SFRELC under compression and flexure. The cement strength, water-binder ratio and volume fraction of steel fiber were considered as test parameters. Effects of these parameters on the compressive and flexural strengths, modulus of elasticity, compression toughness and flexural toughness are analyzed based on the experimental results. The results manifest that the superiority of steel fibers is to enhance the deformation sustainability of SFRELC after peak-load, thus the toughness is clearly enhanced.