AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE OF ADVANTAGES OF USING

LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE IN CONSTRUCTION

S. Kivrak, Anadolu University, Turkey
M. Tuncan, Anadolu University, Turkey
M. I. Onur, Anadolu University, Turkey
G. Arslan, Anadolu University, Turkey
O. Arioz*, Anadolu University, Turkey

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31st Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 16 17 August 2006, Singapore

AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE OF ADVANTAGES OF USING

LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE IN CONSTRUCTION
S. Kivrak, Anadolu University, Turkey
M. Tuncan, Anadolu University, Turkey
M. I. Onur, Anadolu University, Turkey
G. Arslan, Anadolu University, Turkey
O. Arioz*, Anadolu University, Turkey

Abstract
The developments of complex structures, high-tower buildings, large-sized
concrete structures, etc. in recent years result in a need for better concrete
performance. Reducing the self-weight of the structures is vital for the structural
safety. For this purpose, lightweight concrete (LWC) has been used successfully for
both structural and non-structural applications for many years. The use of LWC is
continuously increasing for many structural purposes all around the world. Good
thermal insulation, better durability and reduction in self-weight of the structures are
well recognised benefits of this material. Furthermore, the utilisation of LWC is highly
essential in terms construction costs. In this study, the possible advantages of using
LWC in construction have been scrutinised, and the benefits of using this material,
especially in earthquake regions such as Turkey, have been examined.
Keywords: Lightweight concrete, economic benefits, lightweight aggregate
1. Introduction
Concrete is one of the most commonly used construction materials. Both technical properties and
economic advantages of this material make it to be a widely used material for structural purposes in
construction technology. Concrete is generally manufactured at site by mixing together cement, water,
aggregates and if required admixtures. Concrete should satisfy performance requirements in both
fresh and hardened state. Concrete should be workable without segregation and bleeding in its fresh
state and it should be strong, durable and impermeable in its hardened state. The compressive
strength of concrete is generally considered to be the most important property which is taken as an
index of the quality of concrete [1].
Lightweight concrete (LWC) has been used successfully in various constructions for many years
[2-7]. The main reason of using LWC for structural purposes is to reduce the self-weight of concrete
structures. Reducing the dead load of the structure is very important in earthquake regions, for tall
buildings, and special concrete structures. The density of LWC is approximately 80 percent that of
normal weight concrete. The density of structural LWC typically ranges between 1440 and 1840 kg/m3,
whereas these values vary between 2240 and 2400 kg/m3 for normal weight concrete. Therefore, the
most important advantage of using LWC is the possible decrease in the construction costs due to the
reduction in weight of the structure.
The use of LWC in the field of precast concrete structures also facilitates the transport of concrete
elements [8]. The other main purpose of LWC production is its good thermal insulation when
compared to ordinary concrete.

In the following sections of this study, the economic advantages of using LWC in construction
have been scrutinized. Case studies were also performed in order to examine the cost advantages of
this material.
2.

Lightweight aggregate
Lightweight aggregate (LWA) is the aggregate of low bulk specific gravity [10]. Some LWAs occur
naturally while the remaining can be manufactured. Examples for natural aggregates are diatomite,
pumice, scoria and volcanic tuff. The use of natural aggregates is limited because of the absence of
this material in most areas. In Turkey, pumice concrete is used for some residential construction and
there are many deposits of diatomite in some of the regions in Turkey. Expanded clay aggregate,
which is produced from clay by heat treatment, is an example for artificial LWA.
One of the most important characteristics of lightweight aggregate is its high internal porosity
which leads to maintain a low apparent specific gravity [11]. Generally, smaller particles have higher
specific gravities than coarse ones. It should also be noted that high porosity may result in lower
strength, and as a rule, low heat conductivity. Thus, lightweight concretes used in insulation have
lower strengths [12].

3.

Lightweight concrete (LWC)

LWC is produced mainly by three methods [9]:
Using lightweight aggregate of low specific gravity instead of normal weight aggregate such as
gravel or crushed aggregate.
By introducing large voids within the concrete or mortar mass. This type of concrete is named
as aerated, cellular, foamed, or gas concrete.
By omitting the fine aggregate from the mix to produce no-fines concrete.
Typical ranges of densities of concretes made with various lightweight aggregates are illustrated in
Fig. 1 [9].
Insulating Concrete

Moderate Strength
Concrete

Structural Concrete

Sinter-Strand Expanded Clay

or Shale, Pulverized-Fuel Ash,
and Expanded Slag
Rotary-Kiln Expanded Clay, Shale
and Slate
Scoria
Pumice
Perlite

Vermiculite

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

kg/m3

28-day-Air-Dry-Density
Figure 1. Typical ranges of densities of concretes made with various lightweight aggregates

Gambhir [1] explained some characteristics of LWC as follows:

Low density: The density of LWC is much lower than that of ordinary concrete.
High strength: The compressive strength of cellular concrete is high enough in relation to its
density.

Thermal insulation: LWC has a lower thermal conductivity when compared to ordinary
concrete.
Fire resistance: LWC may protect other structures from the effects of fire due to its low
thermal conductivity.
Sound insulation: Sound insulation is better in LWC.
Speed of construction: The construction speed could be faster by using LWC in precast
construction.
Economy: Saving in reinforcement steel and cement could be obtained that result in a
reduction in construction costs.
Quality control: Prefabrication of LWC units can lead to better quality control in construction.

The use of LWC is increasing rapidly in many structural and non-structural applications owing to
its various advantages explained above [13]. There are several applications of LWCs in construction
fields. It can be used as load bearing walls, precast floor and roof panels, partition walls, bridge decks,
piers and beams, slabs in concrete buildings, long span viaducts, etc. The use of LWC is not wide in
Turkey.
Obviously, the mix design of LWC is different from that of ordinary concrete since the aggregates
of LWC and ordinary concrete are quite different from each other. For instance, the water absorption
values of LWC aggregates are much higher than those of ordinary ones. This can affect the
performance of concrete due to the fact that it is difficult to maintain specific water content during the
casting [14]. Therefore, it is recommended that first to mix the aggregate with at least one-half of the
mixing water and only then add the cement into the mixer [9].
Structural LWC which should have strength greater than 17.0 MPa has been a niche product for
many years [15]. With the use of structural LWC, the size of columns, footings and other load bearing
elements can be reduced in concrete structures. Reductions in size of structural elements,
reinforcement steel and volume of concrete bring about lower construction cost.
4.

Economic advantages of lightweight concrete

The cost of LWC by volume is usually higher when compared to conventional concrete. However,
total construction costs can be reduced by the reductions in the size and weights of the structural
elements and reinforcement steel. Cost savings could be obtained both in the design and construction
stages. In the design phase, cost savings could be achieved by lower steel requirements and
reduction in concrete volume. In construction phase, the lower density of LWC can lead to cost
savings by reduction in transportation costs and easier handling [16].
In building construction, longer spans could be designed and additional floors could be added to
existing structures when LWC is used. Smaller footings, fewer piles, smaller pile caps and less
reinforcing are required by decrease in foundation loads. In bridge construction, a wider bridge deck
could be placed on existing structural supports. LWC can be used to create longer bridge spans.
When compared to ordinary concrete used in these structures, economic advantages could be
achieved by the use of LWC [17].
In precast construction, cost savings could be obtained in transportation costs owing to light
weights of the products since these costs are directly related to the weight of concrete product.
The first LWC building in history was the gymnasium addition to the Westport High School in
Kansas City (1922). In San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, a cost saving of $3 million was estimated
by the use of LWC in the construction of upper deck of the bridge [18].

5.

Case studies
In this part, simple case studies regarding the use of LWC and normal weight concrete on three
special structures have been briefly performed. Selected structures which were chosen from the
examples in Sta4CAD (Structural Analysis for Computer-Aided Design) program were analyzed in
order to investigate some economic advantages of using LWC in these structures. It should be noted
that some dimensions of these structures were re-designed. Educational examples taken from this
program consisted of an 8-storey car park, 18-storey shopping centre building, and 22-storey
residential building. Formwork plans and three-dimensional views of these structures are illustrated in
Figures 2, 3 and 4.
Structural analyses were performed according to the Turkish earthquake code and TS 500
(Turkish Standards Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete). Structures were
assumed to be constructed in the first seismic zone in Turkey. In the analysis, the dimensions of the
structural elements were not changed and only the amounts of reinforcement steel by using normal

weight concrete (having 2.4 t/m3 density) and LWC (having 1.8 t/m3 density) were calculated.
Concrete class was selected as C25.

Figure 2. Three-dimensional view and formwork plan of the multi-storey car park

Figure 3. Three-dimensional view and formwork plan of the shopping centre

Figure 4. Three-dimensional view and formwork plan of the residential building

According to the analysis, it was found that if the centre of gravity does not coincide with the
centre of rigidity of the buildings, higher amount of reinforcement steel was required by using normal
weight concrete when compared to LWC. It should be noted that changes in the amount of slab
reinforcement steel were found negligible. In each analysis minimum reinforcement steel according to
the codes was used in slabs therefore no changes in the amounts of reinforcement steel in slab
elements were observed. Reductions in the amount of reinforcement steel were generally observed in
columns and beams, especially in longitudinal steels of columns (Table 1). It is clearly seen from
Table 1 that amounts of total reinforcement steel are lowered by using LWC in these structures. LWC
reduced the dead load of the structures resulting a decrease in reinforcement steel. Savings in
reinforcement steel also bring about savings in total construction costs. According to the results of the
analyses of this study, total reductions in reinforcement steel were found to be 5.4, 2, and 1% for
residential building, shopping centre, and car park, respectively.
It is obvious that using LWC will also reduce the dimensions of the structural elements of these
structures and therefore reduce the volume of concrete if further analysis would be performed. It
should also be marked that the cost of soil improvement for the buildings when using LWC will be
significantly reduced.
Table 1. Reduction in amount of reinforcement steel

Building
Car park
Shopping centre
Residence
6.

Columns
0.6
2.3
6.0

Reduction (%)
Beams
Slabs
2.5
Negligible
1
Negligible
2
Negligible

Total
1
2
5.4

Conclusions
In this study, the use of LWC in construction technology is scrutinized. It can be concluded that the
possible advantages in cost savings could be obtained both in design and construction stages. LWC
lowers the dead load of the structures thus, lower amount of reinforcement steel is required. As a
result, savings in total construction cost could be obtained. Simple case studies are illustrated in order
to show the benefits of using LWC in various constructions. The analyses in this study are focused on
the reductions in the amount of reinforcement steel. If normal weight concrete is used in these
structures, the cost of soil improvement will obviously have an important share in the total construction
cost. LWC allows smaller loads being transmitted to the substructures and the foundations of the
buildings by reducing the dead load of the structures. Therefore, the cost of soil improvement for the
buildings when using LWC will be significantly reduced. Additionally, the amount of reinforcement steel
in foundations will also be considerably reduced by the use of LWC. The foundations were not taken
into account in scope of this investigation. Further researches on the cost advantages of using LWC
with a more detailed study are also required.
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