Experimental study on basic mechanical properties of porous metal-concrete

In this study, a composite cementitious material named porous metal concrete (PMC) is proposed, which using mortar concrete as matrix and porous metal as reinforcing material. PMC specimens are fabricated and tested under a variety of loading schemes to investigate its mechanical properties, including monotonic loading properties, fracture property and the influence of loading rates on testing results. For all tests, same specimens of pure concrete are tested as a contrast. Results show that: PMC is a composite cementitious material with excellent characteristics, i.e. large plastic deformation, low compressive strength, superior energy absorption characteristics and high cracking resistance capacity, which is attractive for non-structural components subjected to lower impact loads; the initial defect of PMC materials and partition of concrete due to the existence of porous metal, are two possible reasons for the excellent mechanical properties. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd