Studies on the Influence of Admixtures on Various Properties of Foam Concrete and Assessment of Its Sustainability Measure

Abstract

Almost 40% of the world’s total energy demand is utilized to overcome the heat flow and acquisition via surface coating and building wall units. Using materials with low thermal conductivity (T.C) during design and construction of building will help to reduce this energy consumption to a great extent. Foam concrete (FC) which is classified as lightweight concrete (Density 400-1850 kg/m3) can be considered as one of the suitable material for thermal insulation. It is a cement paste or mortar with air voids entrained by suitable foaming agent. Though low self-weight is considered as a basic property of lightweight foamed concrete but the other additional properties like high flowability, minimal consumption of aggregates, controlled low strength and excellent thermal insulation increases the use of FC in building construction. For instance, the thermal conductivity of LFC typically is 5% to 30% of that of normal weight concrete and range from 0.1 to 0.7 W/mK for dry density values of 400 to 1600 kg/m3 respectively. Summarization of studies have highlighted the influence of surfactant and foam parameters viz., type of surfactant, dosage of surfactant, foam production technique, foam density, foam capacity, foam stability and bubble microstructure on these exemplary properties of foamed concrete. Hence, selecting appropriate surfactant which provides a stable good-quality foam is the crucial requirement for FC.