CELLULAR / LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE

Lightweight concretes are recognized for their low specific weight and their high thermal and acoustic insulation.The most widely used lightweight concrete is the cellular concrete in either autoclaved or foamed expanded form.

Foam concrete, also known as foamed concrete, foamcrete, cellular lightweight concrete or reduced density concrete, is defined as a cement based slurry, with a minimum of 20% (per volume) foam entrained into the plastic mortar.

While normal concrete have a density ranging from 2300 to 2500 kg / m³, lightweight concrete’s densities range from 300 to 1700 kg / m³. The density is normally controlled by substituting fully or part of the fine aggregate with foam.

400 a 1.600 kg/m3

CELLULAR Concrete

• AR
• SAND
• BRITA
• CEMENT
• FIBERS
• WATER

1.600 a 1.850 kg/m3

LIGHTWEIGHT Concrete

• AR
• SAND
• GRAVEL
• CEMENT
• FIBERS
• WATER

2.300 a 2.500 kg/m3

NORMAL Concrete

• AR
• SAND
• GRAVEL
• CEMENT
• FIBRAS
• WATER

Advantages

• Weight reduction of super structure using foam concrete walls: Less steel reinforcements required for slabs, columns, beams and foundation due to lesser load.
• Earth Quake resistant due to lesser weight of building built using foam concrete walls in multi-storeyed buildings
• Reduced cost of raw materials: by adding air, enclosed in foam bubbles, the volume of concrete can be increased at very low cost.
• Environmentally-friendly/energy savings: As air curing is possible for foam concrete, it saves up to 9 m³ of gas for curing one cubic meter of AAC .
• Cost reduction for transportation and storage: less raw materials, very efficient foam concentrates.
• Faster construction using cast-in-situ application
• Improved thermal insulation: foam concrete can achieve the same insulation results as normal concrete with only 20% of the weight and 10% of raw materials.
• Improved fire protection: A wall of 13 cm thickness and 1,250 kg/m³ can withstand a fire for 5 hours. A wall of 10 cm thickness and only 400 kg/m³ achieves the same result, due to the air enclosed in the cellular concrete.
• Easy to use/ produce/ handle
• High flowing capability: can fill hollow spaces.
• Low water absorption: only 10–15%, if specific foaming agents are being used in combination with silicon oil in the cement slurry, the water absorption rate can be decreased to only 1%.

Applications

Foamed concrete can be produced with dry densities of 300 to 1600 kg/m³, with 7-day strengths of approximately 1 to 10 N/mm² respectively. Foam concrete is fire resistant, and its thermal and acoustical insulation properties make it ideal for a wide range of purposes, from insulating floors and roofs, to void filling. It is also particularly useful for trench reinstatement.
Few of the applications of Foam Concrete are:

• Precast Blocks
• Precast wall elements / Panels
• Cast-in-situ / Cast-in-place walls
• Insulating Compensation Laying
• Insulation Floor Screeds
• Insulation Roof Screeds
• Sunken Portion Filling
• Trench Reinstatement
• Sub-base in Highways
• Filling of Hollow Blocks
• Prefabricated Insulation Boards