DOI: 10.25442/hku.31168105
title: Supporting data for Novel FRP reinforced low-carbon calcined clay-based foam concrete

description: In recent years, foam concrete has become increasingly popular in the field of construction, mainly because it is suitable for sustainable designs of modern buildings, such as eco-sustainability (i.e., reducing CO2 emissions, conserving energy), economic sustainability (i.e., minimizing dead loads for structures, operating with less labor and limiting heat losses), and living comfort (i.e., getting appropriate interior temperature, lowering noise). Moreover, the use of foam concrete in modular integrated construction (MiC) can significantly reduce the weight of the modules, which not only lowers transportation costs and carbon emissions but also reduces the difficulty of on-site installation and the corresponding carbon emissions. However, when considering embodied carbon and energy consumption, conventional ordinary Portland cement foam concrete (OPCFC) presents notable disadvantages. This is attributed to the high embodied carbon and energy content resulting from substantial ordinary Portland cement (OPC) usage. Consequently, reducing the cement content within OPCFC emerges as a critical strategy for advancing low-carbon sustainable development. Clay, which is abundantly available worldwide, has potential to act as an alternative supplementary cementitious material (SCM) for partial OPC replacement. Nevertheless, research on low carbon clay-based foam concrete remains limited. In alignment with the Hong Kong government’s carbon neutrality objectives, this study investigates the properties of a novel FRP reinforced low-carbon limestone calcined clay cement foam concrete (LC3FC), and proposes corresponding theoretical models.This study investigated the possibility of applying the LC2 mixture composed of the widely existing calcined clay with limestone and gypsum to low-density OPCFC. The results showed that partially replacing OPC with LC2 can significantly enhance the sustainability of foam concrete and demonstrate excellent performance in terms of mechanical properties, water resistance, and drying shrinkage performance. In addition, proposing a new reliability-based service life model to evaluate the service lives of LC3FC reinforced by traditional steel bars or BFRP bars. The results indicated that the combined use of LC3FC and BFRP bars substantially extends the service life of foam concrete members.This study explored strategies to further improve the compressive strength, drying shrinkage, and water absorption performance of foam concrete. And a comparative performance analysis was conducted between the developed high-performance foam concrete and foam concrete incorporating conventional SCMs. Furthermore, to assess the elevated temperature performance of LC3FC and to address the poor fire resistance of conventional reinforced concrete structures, elevated temperature performance test was conducted and corresponding theoretical calculation models were proposed.Finally, this study examined the mechanical performance of LC3FC slabs with varying densities reinforced by BFRP and GFRP bars, and further explored the influence of glass fibers (GF) on improving slab behavior. Furthermore, this study presented a theoretical calculation model for the cracking moment and failure flexural moment applicable to foam concrete slabs, and for the first time, proposed a theoretical calculation model for the shear capacity of foam concrete slabs that explicitly incorporates reinforcement characteristics, density, and fiber-related parameters. The results showed that with proper design, construction, and curing, LC3FC slabs have substantial application potential for slab components in MiC.