Lightweight steel concrete structures technology with foam fiber-cement sheets

Lightweight steel concrete structures (LSCS) constitute an innovative building structure type that can be used both for load-bearing and enclosing purposes. They consist of steel profile – usually galvanized and cold-bent – filled with a monolithic foam concrete with 200 kg/m3 and more density value, and with fiber cement panel sheathing. These structures can be used in industrial and civil buildings as internal and external bearing and enclosing wall structures, and as slabs. According to the LSCS production method, prefabricated panels (walls and slabs) and building site performed constructions are distinguished. The article presents the experimental studies on bearing capacity of LSCS subspecies i.e. representing slab panels made of galvanized steel profile, medium grade density monolithic foam concrete D400, and sheathing boards “Steklotsem”. The paper confirms that such panels can be used in civil buildings and withstand the appropriate load, regulated by the current codes and rules. Moreover, it has been experimentally proved that the foam concrete, despite its own extremely low strength class, actually includes in the operation, preventing such effects as stability local loss, destruction and profile steel elements warping and increases the slabs overall load capacity by 20–25 %.