potential use of aerated lightweight concrete for energy efficient construction ng soon ching doctor

496 Pages·2012·22.45 MB·English

POTENTIAL USE OF AERATED LIGHTWEIGHT
CONCRETE FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT
CONSTRUCTION

NG SOON CHING

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN
MARCH 2012
POTENTIAL USE OF AERATED LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE FOR
ENERGY EFFICIENT CONSTRUCTION

By

NG SOON CHING

A thesis submitted to the Department of Civil Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering and Science,
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering
March 2012
To my beloved wife and family
ABSTRACT

POTENTIAL USE OF AERATED LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE FOR
ENERGY EFFICIENT CONSTRUCTION

Ng Soon Ching

For energy efficient construction investigation, ordinary aerated lightweight
concrete (ALC) panels of varied densities that incorporating different aerial
intensities of membrane-sandwiched were produced to investigate their
thermal insulation properties under steady and transient states. For
sustainability reason, earthy soils were used in addition to the conventional
sandy materials. Wall is the focus of this study since it is an important building
component responsible for thermal heat transfer into the building. Guarded hot
plate method was used to determine the thermal conductivity values of ALC
panels under steady state of heat transfer while prototype ALC panels were
tested under transient state. Generally, density of the panel is directly
proportional to its thermal conductivity. The existence of membrane-
sandwiched in ALC panel retarded the heat transfer thus resulted in lower
thermal conductivity. Transient heat transfer indicated that lower thermal
diffusivity resulted in reduced decrement factors and lower inner wall surface
temperature but longer time lags. For theoretical computation, ordinary finite
difference method (FDM) was employed to yield the theoretical surface
temperatures on the outer and inner wall of the prototype panels. The average
differences between the observed and predicted outer wall surface temperature
lied between 0.9-2.4% whereas for the inner wall surface, the range was 1.3-
2.2%. Aided by back substitution, a modified FDM model was developed
which produced better agreement on the predicted outer surface temperature,
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the average differences were between 0.9-1.9%. This was achieved by
assigning one constant to the original equation to quantify the effects of
additional factors: relative humidity and wind direction. The modified FDM
developed is envisaged to be a useful basic tool in selecting the wall material
with required thermal conductivity value in order to achieve the targeted inside
wall surface temperature and then the indoor temperature which is the
important parametric consideration for energy efficient building construction.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to the following individuals for
providing me the inspiration to embark and complete my Ph.D candidature.
Firstly, I owe my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Associate Professor Dr.
Ir. Low Kaw Sai for his benevolent assistance, constructive comments and
pragmatic ideas throughout the research. This thesis would not have been
possible without his invaluable guidance and precious advice.

I am also grateful to the kind assistances of my Final Year Project students for
the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 as preparation and installation of prototype
specimens would have been most difficult without their efforts and hard work.
Furthermore, I am indebted to my many of my colleagues for their supports
and encouragement too, especially the laboratory officers, librarians and
technicians for their invaluable supports. I would also like to record my
gratitude towards Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman for its generosity in
granting me the scholarship and research bench fees.

Finally, I would like to express my deep appreciation my parents, my family
members and wife for relentless and unceasing support, patience and
understanding shown throughout my entire candidature.
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APPROVAL SHEET

This thesis entitled “POTENTIAL USE OF AERATED LIGHTWEIGHT
CONCRETE FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT CONSTRUCTION” was
prepared by NG SOON CHING and submitted as partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Approved by:

___________________________
(Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ir. Low Kaw Sai)
Date:…………………..
Supervisor
Department of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering and Science
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FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE

UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

Date: 5th March 2012

SUBMISSION OF THESIS

It is hereby certified that Ng Soon Ching (ID No: 07UED02914 ) has completed
this thesis entitled “Potential Use of Aerated Lightweight Concrete for Energy
Efficient Construction” under the supervision of Assoc Prof. Dr. Ir. Low Kaw Sai
(Supervisor) from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering.

I understand that University will upload softcopy of my thesis in pdf format into
UTAR Institutional Repository, which may be made accessible to UTAR
community and public.

Yours truly,

______________
(Ng Soon Ching)

*Delete whichever not applicable

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the thesis is based on my original work except for
quotations and citations which have been duly acknowledged. I also declare
that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted for any other degree
at UTAR or other institutions.

Name: NG SOON CHING

Date: 05 March 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
APPROVAL SHEET v
SUBMISSION SHEET vi
DECLARATION vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
LIST OF TABLES xiii
LIST OF FIGURES xvi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxiii

CHAPTER

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Problem Statement 5
1.3 Aims and Objectives 6
1.4 Scope of Research 7
1.5 Importance of this Research 9
1.6 Organisation of Thesis 10

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW – ENERGY EFFICIENT 13
CONSTRUCTION AND AERATED LIGHTWEIGHT
CONCRETE
2.1 Introduction 13
2.1.1 Malaysian Government Initiatives and Policies 14
2.1.2 Energy Efficient in Construction 16
2.2 Lightweight Concrete 18
2.2.1 No Fines Concrete 20
2.2.2 Lightweight Aggregate Concrete 20
2.2.3 Aerated Lightweight Concrete 20
2.2.3.1 Autoclaved Lightweight Concrete 22
2.2.4 Advantages of Lightweight Concrete 23
2.2.5 Application of Lightweight Concrete 24
2.3 Introduction to Aerated Lightweight Concrete 25
(Foam Concrete)
2.4 Constituent Materials 25
2.4.1 Constituents of Base Mix 25
2.4.2 Water Requirement 27
2.4.3 Air Entraining Agent or Foam 27
2.5 Properties of Aerated Lightweight Concrete 30
2.5.1 Fresh State Properties 36
2.5.2 Hardened State Properties 36
2.5.2.1 Density 36
2.5.2.2 Compressive Strength 37
2.5.2.3 Flexural and Tensile Strengths 43
2.5.2.4 Thermal Conductivity 43

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