Effects of Different Lightweight Functional Fillers for Use in Cementitious Composites

The effects of different lightweight functional fillers on the properties of cement-based composites are investigated in this study. The fillers include fly ash cenospheres (FACs) and glass micro-spheres (GMS15 and GMS38) in various proportions. The developed composites were tested for compressive, flexural and tensile strengths at 10 and 28-day ages. The results indicated that both FACs and GMS38 are excellent candidates for producing strong lightweight composites. However, incorporation of GMS15 resulted in much lower specific strength values (only up to 13.64 kPa/kg m(3)) due to its thinner shell thickness and lower isostatic crushing strength value (2.07 MPa). Microstructural analyses further revealed that GMS38 and GMS15 were better suited for thermal insulating applications. However, higher weight fraction of the fillers in composites leads to increased porosity which might be detrimental to their strength development.