Lightweight Concrete made of foamed cells
A flexible material known as lightweight concrete or foamed concrete is made mostly of cement-based mortar that has been combined with at least a small amount of air by volume. It offers good thermal insulating qualities, a regulated low strength, low self-weight, high flowability, and low aggregate consumption.
Porous concrete includes foam concrete. It is comparable to aerated concrete in terms of its attributes and applications. There are several methods to characterize foamed concrete. In spite of the fact that it has a variety of names, such as cellular concrete, foamed concrete, and closely related substances like air-entrained concrete is frequently confused.
Comparison between normal concrete and the Foam Concrete
Contrary to normal concrete, lightweight foamed concrete has an extremely fine pore structure and is created by mixing cement, water, fine aggregate, and a foaming agent.
For as long as the finished product is exposed to the atmosphere, foam or bubble agents are employed in concrete to absorb moisture, allowing the cement to continue to hydrate and grow stronger over time.
Normally, it is obvious that lower densities yield weaker strengths, since even at the highest densities, it does not yield strengths, so the fact that lower densities result in weaker strengths is not surprising.
Manufacture
The main method of making foamed concrete involves entrapping air bubbles within cement paste or mortar. The process can be done mechanically or chemically:
1. It is best to pre-foam an appropriate foaming agent with water & then combine it with paste or mortar to form the foam.
2. In order to obtain a stable mass with the desired density, add a quantity of foaming agents to the slurry and whisk the mixture together.
The selection of the material plays a very important role in achieving high-performance and quality foamed concrete.