Behavior of Multilayer Ferrocement Slab Containing Treated Sponge Layer Core

The current study investigates the structural performance of lightweight concrete panels produced using ferrocement (wire-meshed), hybrid (wire-meshed and steel fiber), and sponge-cementitious immersed layers. These panels presented a novel approach to producing a lightweight concrete panel to be used as an alternative to the traditional Jack-arch masonry slab system. The panels were made in dimensions of 600mm length(l), 200mm width (w), and 54mm thickness (h), using locally available sponge materials and super cementitious mortar incorporated with ferrocement layers. To determine the proper thickness of a sponge layer to be used in panel manufacturing, a material characterization was performed. The obtained results from the material characterization indicated a significant reduction in the density compared with the conventional Jack-arch slab system. The sponge core thickness positively affected the developmental compressive strength. For all sponge thickness modes, the density of developed sponging concrete was within the acceptance criteria of lightweight structural concrete. The average density of developing sponge concrete was 15.6 kN/m3, and the average absorption ratio was 14.78 %, while the density of cementitious mortar was 21.96 kN/m3. As for the structural performance of the resulting lightweight concrete panel, the panel with a hybrid layer (incorporating short steel fiber with steel wire mesh) 10mm layer was the best reinforcement method compared with reinforcing with the wire mesh (ferrocement) solely. Furthermore, the findings of this study depicted that the bending moment capacity of the developed lightweight concrete panel was higher than the conventional Jack-arch masonry usually used in traditional residential housing and lower density.