Polystyrene Lightweight Concrete (Polyconcrete)

Abstract

This paper handles the characteristics of new lightweight concrete consisting of polystyrene, sand, cement and water. Through this paper it has been proven that the proposed mix is very reliable giving strengths of up to 200 kg/cm2 with a low density. The mechanical and chemical properties are discussed in order to study the behaviour of the polystyrene under different environments (i.e. field usage). The mix workability is very high at a very low water/cement ratio (down to 0.35). This work can be considered a new line of research for lightweight concrete as the mixing method is very simple, relatively inexpensive and does not need complex machinery systems.