Behavior of Hybrid Composite System for Fibrous Ferro-Foam Cement.

The structural behavior of Nine Fibrous Ferro-Foam cement (FFFC) panels with (400×600×40) mm has been investigated in this study. Ferro-Foam cement is an alternative light weight composite material combine two technologies: ferrocement and foam concrete, to exploit the beneficial advantages of both technologies in line with sustainability. The mechanical properties of foamed concrete were optimized by increasing density and steel fiber addition. The first group includes four panels with different densities made of plain foamed concrete with silica fume and superplastizer without fibers to evaluate density effect. Mixes with 1800 Kg/m3 were selected to analyze steel fiber role on panels structural behavior (fiber content 0.5% and 0.6%) in the second group. Three FFFC panels in third group with density 1800 Kg/m3 and 0.6% steel fiber (optimum) reinforced with (2, 4 and 6) layers of steel wire mesh to study the effect of reinforcement. The results indicated that increasing the density of foamed concrete improves compressive and flexural strength. The addition of steel fibers significantly increases load capacity and ductility, while increasing number of steel wire mesh layers further improves structural performance and crack control. These findings suggest that FFFC panels are a promising sustainable alternative for a variety of construction applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]