1Department of Civil Engineering, S.V.H. College of Engineering, Machilipatnam, India.
2Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal - 506 004, India.
3Civil Engineering Department, JNTU College of Engineering, Hyderabad, India.
This paper presents an experimental study on the strength and behavioral aspects of voided Ferro cement channel type units for pre cast beams. As these beams are lighter in weight, they find their place in seismic resistant design of structures. Eight channel type Ferro cement units were tested for four points loading. The variable parameter includes the number of layers of wire mesh. The flexural strength of the voided channels was compared with that of solid channels too. The test results indicate that the drop in flexural strength with the voids is very negligible compared to the decrease in the weight of the member. The Moment curvature response of the voided members under flexural loading improved with the post ductility of the member with increase in the number of layers.
Ferro cement, Flexural loading, cracking, Moment curvature response, voided beams
