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Investigating and Comparing the Economic Use of Normal Concrete and

Lightweight Concrete in Construction Projects in Iran

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JOURNAL OF CURRENT RESEARCH IN SCIENCE JCRS
ISSN 2322-5009 S (1), 2016: 560-564
CODEN (USA): JCRSDJ
Available at www.jcrs010.com

Investigating and Comparing the Economic Use of Normal Concrete and Lightweight Concrete in
Construction Projects in Iran
Mehrdad Massoud Nejad1, Mohammad Javad Taheri Amiri 2, Maryam Mirdoost3, Hamed Darvishi3*, Maedeh
Javaheri Barforoosh3

1. Ph.D. Student in Construction Engineering and Management, Islamic Azad university, Sari branch, Sari, Iran
2. Ph.D. Student in Construction Engineering and Management, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran
3. MSc student in Construction Engineering and Management, Islamic Azad university, Sari branch, Sari, Iran
Corresponding Author email: hamed.darvishi52@gmail.com

K E YW O R D S: lightweight concrete; structural; non-structural; durability; ETABS software

ABSTRACT: Concrete is known as a building material for the present century and the most widely used material
after water. Also, the use of lightweight concrete in the construction industry is growing day by day. Manufacturing
lightweight and durable materials from the perspective of the weight loss of structural elements and thus reducing
the force of the earthquake have been continually discussed as a fundamental parameter in the construction industry.
A variety of structural and non-structural lightweight concrete having good properties such as lightness in weight,
thermal insulation, lower costs of production and transportation, as well as adequate resistance against earthquake
forces have a special place in the construction industry. In this study, we compare the normal concrete and
lightweight concrete to investigate the conditions of using the lightweight concrete in buildings and its economic use
in the projects. For this purpose, an 11 floor building with the normal concrete and lightweight concrete is designed
and analyzed using ETABS software. We obtain the acceptable size of columns and beams and rebar required for
the design of these structures using the results of the software. After achieving the values, the volume of concrete
and the use level of the rebar in each specified model are multiplied by the unit price. Finally, the required cost of
concrete and rebar is obtained and analyzed using two different types of concrete.

Introduction
Iranian plateau in terms of the earthquake was one of the most active areas of the world. Once in a while, destructive
and catastrophic earthquakes take place with large and heavy damages to life and property in Iran. The earthquake is always
one of the biggest natural disasters in this country and only in the present century hundreds of thousands of people have lost
their lives and it has brought extraordinary financial losses. One of the ways to reduce the structural damages is using
lightweight materials. In reinforced concrete structures, concrete constitutes the major part of the loading on the structures.
Therefore, if the weight of the concrete space can be reduced, significant advantages will be obtained. The advantages include
using smaller sections or reducing the size of the foundation[1]. In this study, we calculate the required cost to build the
skeleton of concrete structures and the obtained value is compared with the cost of building the skeleton of the structure using
the normal concrete.

The history of using lightweight concrete

The history of using lightweight concrete dates back to the early first century AD. The Romans were perhaps the first
people who invented and used the lightweight concrete. Structures in the port of Cosa, the Pantheon, and the great stadium of
the Colosseum, are examples of using the lightweight concrete. Lightweight aggregates such as pumice and Scoria were used
in the mentioned structures. In making the Pantheon, lime mortar and pumice stones were used for the roof with spans
approximately 45 meters. In addition, Lime mortar, pozzolan, and natural aggregate were used in the base and walls.
Lightweight concrete was used in the original construction of Hagia Sophia church in Istanbul in the sixth century. In about
1917, Heidi in Kansas located in the Midwestern United States invented the method of industrial production for expanded clay
using the rotating cylindrical furnaces. The products were called Hidit. The artificial lightweight aggregates were used during
the First World War because of the limited access to steel plate for shipbuilding. During the last century, a lot of buildings and
bridges have been built by the lightweight concrete in the world. In the meantime, more than 150 bridges and buildings in the
J. Curr. Res. Sci. Vol., S (1), 560-564, 2016

United States and Canada have been used by this type of the concrete. The building of Hotel Park Plaza in Saint Louis and the
14-floor building of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Kansas City in 1929 are the buildings of the 20s and 30s of the
last century. 42-storey building in Chicago, TWA Terminal at New York airport in 1960, Dulles airport in Washington in
1962, a Church in Norway in 1965, a Bridge in Wiesbaden of Germany made in 1966 are the structures that were built by the
lightweight aggregates concrete [2]. Since then, a large number of lightweight concrete bridge decks have been made all over
the world. In signifiers and roof, resistance is not a major factor. Therefore, a large amount of light aggregates are used to
reduce the dead weight of the concrete on the roof of high-rise structures. An example of this type of the use is the Lake Point
Tower in Chicago, Illinois, built with 71 floors in 1938. Tenth to seventeenth floor slabs and the garage floor slab were built by
a density of 1730 kilograms per cubic meter in situ concrete and 7-day compressive strength of 20 to 22 MPa. In 1967, a 50 –
floor circular tower with a height of 184 meters and a diameter of 42.5 meters was built in Sydney. 17 percent of the
manufacturing cost was saved using 31,000 cubic meters of lightweight concrete in beams, columns, and ceiling of the seventh
floor to the top. The average of concrete compressive strength was 34.3 MPa and density of its average was 1792 kg per cubic
meter in 28 days. A 52-storey commercial building was built by the lightweight structural concrete in Houston, Texas, in 1969.
The building includes a foundation with the dimensions of 70 × 52 × 2.5 m in the balance of 18 meters below the ground. The
concrete density was 1840 kg per cubic meter. The 28-day compressive strength of the shear walls, columns, and extensive
foundation was 41.2 MPa. In addition, it was 31.3 MPa for the floor of structures. If the normal concrete was used, it would be
possible to design only a safe 35-story building because the soil bearing capacity was limited [2]. The history of lightweight
concrete production and consumption in Iran goes back to several decades ago. Natural pumice stones such as perlite and tuff
have been used in the manufacture of lightweight concrete. The manufacture and use of cement blocks with artificial
aggregates of expanded clay goes back to the year 1982. Construction of blocks by the autoclaved aerated concrete started
with the establishment of Silica Pore manufactory in Iran. The need for this type of concrete is felt due to good properties of
light and thermal insulation, and even the structural use of the concrete and the seismically active areas of Iran. Fortunately, in
recent years, significant development and manufacture of lightweight concrete can be used in the not too distant future across
the country [2].

Lightweight concrete
Lightweight concrete refers to the concrete with the specific weight of between 300 to 2000 kilograms per cubic
meter[3].

Structural Lightweight Concrete

Structural lightweight aggregate concrete is one of the special materials and with a variety of uses in the modern
construction industry. Its different uses include frames, floors, separating walls, shell roofs, folded sheets, bridges, precast and
prestressed structural elements[4]. Structural lightweight concrete is similar to the normal concrete, but with a lower density.
Structural lightweight concretes are made using fine and coarse lightweight aggregates. However, it is common for further
resistance to replace all or part of the fine lightweight aggregates with normal weight sand. Such replacement increases weight
per unit volume of concrete by 320 kg/m3. Although artificial lightweight aggregates are generally more expensive than
normal weight aggregates, on the whole, an increase in the resistance to weight rate leads to saving materials. This can be
fulfilled by the dead weight loss compensating the higher price of the aggregate per cubic meter of concrete. Lower total
weight means reducing the size of the anchor and foundation, and the lower use of reinforcement [2].

Non-Structural Lightweight Concrete

Non-structural lightweight concrete is usually used as insulation and lightweight separator and the concrete has a
density of less than 800 kilograms per cubic meter. In spite of the low density, compressive strength is about 0.35 to 7 MPa
[5].

Structural Lightweight Concrete in Iran

Iranian National Building Code - 5th Chapter emphasizes the use of lightweight materials and techniques. In spite of
its big advantages, the practical use should be expanded and it needs making culture. In this regard, research activities have
started in different universities of Iran and they are limited to the competition for construction of lightweight concretes.
However, Special Investigations have begun in the construction department of Tarbiat Modarres University since the
beginning of 2006 because of the benefits of lightweight aggregate concrete and the relatively cheap construction of the
lightweight concrete using readily available local materials. This project seeks to identify the most industrial and mining shells
which can be used in Iran and the construction of the lightweight concrete in different weight classes and resistance. In
addition, the project seeks to construct the lightweight concrete based on current conditions of the workshop and with materials

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J. Curr. Res. Sci. Vol., S (1), 560-564, 2016

easily accessible and inexpensive as possible. Finally, after obtaining satisfactory results from the specific weight, resistance
and reasonable price to construct the concrete, for the first time in Iran [5].

Problems related to the design of structural lightweight aggregates in Iran

According to The American Concrete Institute (ACI) and European Standards (EN), different standards are
mentioned for design codes of structures containing normal concretes. In addition, the difference in the calculation of the
elastic modulus, shear strength, cohesion of concrete, and rebar has been proposed. Even the method of the calculation is
expressed for the shrinkage and creep. In Iran, coherent and relevant regulations have not been designed for the design of
structural lightweight aggregate concrete. For lightweight aggregate and semi-lightweight aggregate concrete, it is also
necessary to determine relationships for the tensile strength and shear stress of concrete and rebar. One of the problems for
such relationships is the extension of elastic modulus for different lightweight aggregates and their impact on the mechanical
quality of the lightweight aggregate concrete. While there is such an extension for the elasticity modulus of normal weight
aggregates, the impact of these factors on the mechanical qualities of the normal concrete is not very significant. If the
shrinkage and creep are also addressed in the design, the problem will be more complicated. Especially, shrinkage due to
drying the concrete is relatively high and will be strongly dependent on the type of lightweight aggregates. In these cases, the
impact of natural sand is serious, but serious studies have not been conducted in this area in Iran. There are more complexities
in terms of durability and impermeability, and it is believed that generally in most cases, durability and impermeability of
lightweight aggregate and semi-lightweight aggregate concretes will be better than normal weight concretes at the level of the
identical resistance. However, there are certain models in other countries; there is still no model in Iran [6].

Problems related to the construction and implementation of lightweight concrete

The first problem is the good quality of materials and aggregates. The second problem is keeping the lightweight
aggregates in storage is dry to construct concrete by the dry lightweight aggregates according to the mixed plan. If the
lightweight aggregates are moist or wet, unlike normal aggregate, it will not be possible to control the water-cement ratio by
controlling slump. It is said that saturating lightweight aggregates to concrete construction helps to prevent the slump loss.
Such a method should be used for the design of the concrete mix because the water absorption of lightweight aggregates
depends on the moisture content. It is possible to construct the concrete with the expected slump after slump loss due to
absorption of water by the lightweight aggregates. People who do not pay attention to this issue will be faced with a serious
problem in the implantation. They are forced to add water to the mix without the control, which greatly reduces the quality of
the structural lightweight aggregate concrete. One of the drawbacks of the implementation in recent years is the problem of
pumping the lightweight aggregate concrete. When pumping the lightweight aggregate concrete, water of the concrete goes
into lightweight aggregates under the pressure of the pump and it will extremely become hard in the pipe in a very short time.
It often leads to blockage of the pipe and stop pumping operations. The solution which is now recommended is prostration of
lightweight aggregates in the water for several hours or even a day. It occurs in a way that the pump pressure can push a
significant amount of water into the lightweight aggregates. Therefore, such a manner should be used to make the test mixture
and adjust the water-cement ratio in the concrete mix design[6]. The next drawback is separation of the lightweight aggregate
concrete during transport, pouring and density. There is such a drawback for all the concretes. However, the probability of
separation increases for the lightweight aggregate concrete. If the vibration applies to the density, the probability of separation
increases by increasing duration of vibration energy such as increasing the amplitude and decreasing the frequency. Moisture
loss due to high evaporation from the concrete surface with water uptake by lightweight aggregates after pouring and density
can lead to cracking. The primary protection as one of the concrete curing processes has a great importance [6].

Results and Discussion

In this study, two types of the concrete are modeled in an 11-floor building. Plan of this structure is shown in Figure
1.
In the first model, the 11-floor building is designed by the normal concrete, with the specific weight 2400 and
compressive strength of the concrete 300. In the second model, the 11-floor building is designed by the light weight concrete,
with the specific weight 1900 and compressive strength of the concrete 300. For as much as, the models are to evaluate the
economic cost of the project, the structure is fully designed by bending frame that effectively shows the differences between
the two types of concrete. Finally, one part of the results of the design is shown in Table 1 after the analysis and design in
ETABS software.

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J. Curr. Res. Sci. Vol., S (1), 560-564, 2016

Figure 1. Plan of the model in ETABS software

Table 1. a part of the results for designing the two models in ETABS software
Normal concrete Light weight concrete
Floor
Dimensions of column Rebar of column Dimensions of column Rebar of column
1st 80 * 55 24 T 25 80 * 55 24 T 25
2nd 80 * 55 24 T 25 80 * 55 24 T 22
3rd 80 * 55 24 T 22 70 * 55 22 T 22
4th 75 * 55 24 T 22 60 * 55 20 T 22
5th 65 * 55 20 T 22 60 * 55 20 T 22
6th 65 * 55 20 T 22 55 * 50 20 T 22
7th 55 * 55 20 T 20 55 * 50 20 T 20
8th 55 * 55 20 T 18 50 * 50 20 T 18
9th 55 * 55 16 T 18 50 * 50 16 T 18
10th 45 * 45 16 T 16 45 * 45 12 T 18
11th 45 * 45 12 T 16 45 * 45 8 T 16

According to Table 1, it is clear that the volume of concreting and the rebar to design a 11-floor building using the
lightweight concrete are less than the design of 11-floor building using the normal concrete. After the necessary calculations,
the volume of concreting and the number of the 12-meter rebar are shown on Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Table 2. Number of the rebar branch required for columns with regard to the use of different concretes in a 11-floor
building
T 16 T 18 T 20 T 22 T 25
Rebar of column using normal concrete 128 160 96 384 208
Rebar of column using light weight concrete 48 464 96 464 96

Table 3. Number of the rebar branch required for the general rebar of the beam with regard to the use of different
concretes in a 11-floor building
T 18 T 20
Rebar of column using normal concrete 42 818
Rebar of column using light weight concrete 351 495

Table 4. Number of the rebar branch required for the reinforcing rebar of the beam with regard to the use of different
concretes in a 11-floor building
T 18 T 20
Rebar of column using normal concrete 8 547
Rebar of column using light weight concrete 131 336

Table 5. the volume of concreting in cubic meters with regard to the use of different concretes in a 11-floor building
Beam Column
Rebar of column using normal weight concrete 414 208.704
Rebar of column using light weight concrete 402 170.944

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J. Curr. Res. Sci. Vol., S (1), 560-564, 2016

After estimating the volume of concreting and the number of the rebar branch for the design of an 11-floor building
using normal concrete and light weight concrete, it is necessary to calculate the costs to provide these materials. Table 6 and 7
show the cost per cubic meter of concreting and the rebar branch achieved by the running projects.

Table 6. The cost per cubic meter of concreting for normal concrete
and lightweight concrete
Type of concrete Cost in IRR per cubic meter
normal concrete 810000
light weight concrete 1974230

Table 7. Cost per branch of rebar with different grades

Rebar Grade Cost per branch of rebar in IRR
16 375000
18 480000
20 595000
22 750000
25 980000

According to the obtained results, if the values in Tables 2 to 5 are multiplied by the equivalent cost in Tables 6 and 7,
the total cost of the skeleton is obtained for an 11-floor building which includes concrete, Rebar of beams, and columns. Table
8 shows the mentioned costs.

Table 8. The Cost of the skeleton (beams and columns) for an11-floor building
with different concretes (in IRR)
Type of concrete Cost of the skeleton
normal concrete 1964325240
light weight concrete 2450928230

According to the obtained results, it is clear that the cost of the lightweight concrete is more than the normal concrete.
Therefore, more cost is needed for the use of this type of concrete in construction projects.

Conclusion
The obtained results show that the use of the lightweight concrete in construction projects can reduce the volume of
concreting, the number of rebar branches, and dimensions of beams and columns. In addition, interior spaces are used
efficiently. Furthermore, buildings with the lightweight concrete have a much better performance against earthquakes due to
the lighter weight of the structure. On the other hand, there is the high cost per cubic meter for using the lightweight concrete
in the building. The use of the lightweight concrete is low in Iran due to the absence of comprehensive regulations for the
design and implementation of these structures and the difficulty for implementation of this type of concrete. The lightweight
concrete can be used for areas of high seismicity and areas for which the cost of implementation is not so important by
formulating regulations for lightweight concrete structures and training of engineers and workers for the implementation of this
type of concrete as used in foreign countries.

References
Amiri Ghodrati Gh, Azarian Sardroodi M, Razavian SA.2006. "effects of lightweight concrete on seismic design of structures", 7th international congress on
civil engineering, 2006, (In persian).
Family H, Delnavaz M. "The use of structural lightweight aggregate concrete, case study: a two-storey structure built in Iran University of Science and
Technology." The first national conference on lightweight concrete, February, (In persian).
Khaloo AR.2011. "Performance of structural lightweight aggregate concrete (lightweight aggregate characteristics, physical and mechanical properties of
lightweight aggregate concrete, considerations of structural design and high-strength lightweight concrete)". The first National Conference on
lightweight concrete, February 2011, (In persian).
Ramezanianpour A.2011. "lightweight concrete: from research to the use". The first National Conference on lightweight concrete, February 2011, (In persian).
Tadayon M.2011. "The problems in implementing lightweight concrete in Iran". The first National Conference on lightweight concrete, February 2011, (In
persian).
Yazdani M, Ardekani A, Hedayati J.2011. "The position of structural lightweight concrete in Iran and the world - regulations criteria and the use". The first
National Conference on lightweight concrete, February 2011, (In persian).

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