Compressive strength and drying shrinkage of cellular lightweight concrete as affected by moisture content of the exposed environment

Cellular lightweight concrete olTers environmental benefits to construction sector with potential for reducing the self weight of concrete structures up to 50%. The material has superior insulation propert ies due to a porous microstructure. Current Austra lian standards do not cover cellular lightweight concretes, but guidance is required for this material. Due to the porous microstructure, the material is affected by the moisture content of the exposed environment. Work presented here examined the compress ive strength and dry ing shrinkage of cellular lightweight concrcte. It is observed th at differe nt exposure conditions change the compressive strcngth of this material by up to 22%. The magnitude of the change is less than expected possibly due to the dense skin which reduces the moisture exchange. Dry ing shrinkage of cellular lightweight concrcte ca n be highcr than that of normal weight concrete. However, the size effect on drying shrinkage is observed to be less pronollnced compared to normal concrete.