Effects of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Beads on Mechanical Properties of Concrete: A Comprehensive Study

Abstract The aim of the study reported here is to investigate the impact of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) beads on concrete properties. As lightweight materials, EPS beads offer significant weight reduction in concrete, but they also have a notable effect on reducing its strength. This paper discusses the summary of a comprehensive review of previous research on EPS concrete, including its effect on density, compressive strength, and thermal conductivity, which will help to assess the influence of EPS volume fraction on these properties. The findings indicate that the increase in EPS volume fraction in concrete exponentially reduces the compressive strength, a trend consistent with many studies. Additional factors such as EPS bead size, distribution, and mixture design also contribute significantly to strength loss. These studies includes testing different volume percentages of EPS replacement in the concrete mixture, which indicates that both fresh and hardend properties are affected, and that results in a substantial decrease in some properties of concrete while improving other properties. This study also presents a review of existing literature and compares data on various properties and provides equations for estimating the characteristics of EPS concrete.