This study was aimed at determining the hardened and fresh properties as well as the high-temperature resistance of high-strength concrete (HSC) produced by incorporating diatomaceous earth, polypropylene, and glass fibers. CDE (calcined diatomaceous earth) was employed as a 10% cement replacement, while polypropylene and glass fibers were added separately to the mixtures at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0% volumetric contents. Moreover, the mixtures without using CDE and fibers were used as references. The concrete mixtures were fabricated, followed by the determination of the fresh concrete flow, the absorption capacity, and the flexural, compressive, and splitting tensile strengths of hardened concrete. Furthermore, the specimens fabricated for the hardened concrete were exposed to temperatures of 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C, and the remaining compressive strength was examined. The findings suggested that the incorporation of polypropylene and glass fibers in HSC with CDE enhanced the compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strengths by 23.4 and 32.6%, 70.0 and 83.5%, and 18.9 and 17.9%, respectively. Moreover, the inclusion of polypropylene and glass fibers reduced the absorption of hardened concrete. Meanwhile, the inclusion of CDE lowered the strengths and increased the absorption. It was further identified that the incorporation of CDE enhanced the resistance of HSC to high temperatures, while polypropylene and glass fibers lowered the resistance. The incorporation of CDE, polypropylene, and glass fibers also lowered the flow of fresh concrete.

Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia, the Indonesian government undertook large-scale housing reconstruction projects in collaboration with various international Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Reinforced concrete (RC) frames with clay brick masonry infill were widely adopted due to the availability of materials, ease of construction, affordability, and cultural acceptance. However, locally manufactured clay bricks often exhibit inconsistent material properties because of inadequate quality control. To address this issue, ferro-foam concrete panels were developed as an alternative infill material. This study investigates the suitability of ferro-foam concrete panels as an infill wall system in terms of lateral strength, hysteretic behaviour, energy dissipation, and strength deterioration. Three full-scale specimens were tested: a bare RC frame, an RC frame infilled with clay brick masonry, and an RC frame infilled with ferro-foam concrete panels. The experimental results showed that both infilled frames exhibited greater energy dissipation, higher displacement capacity, and more significant stiffness degradation than the bare RC frame. The RC frame with clay brick masonry achieved 12.3 times higher lateral strength than the bare RC frame, while the RC frame with ferro-foam concrete panels exhibited 9.2 times greater lateral strength. The ductility of the masonry-infilled frame was 1.7 times that of the bare frame, whereas the ferro-foam concrete panel-infilled frame achieved a sixfold increase in ductility. Compared with the masonry-infilled frame, the ferro-foam concrete panel-infilled frame demonstrated greater energy dissipation, higher displacement capacity, and lower stiffness degradation. These findings indicate that ferro-foam concrete panels are a viable alternative to conventional brick masonry infill, particularly for housing construction in developing countries.