Which this paper aims to summarise.Although foamed concrete
was used some 2000 years ago it wasn’t until recently that modern foamed concrete began to be developed. In
1987 a full scale trial on the use of foamed concrete for trench reinstatement was conducted in the UK, which
led to a further increase in use in this country. Foamed concrete has the following properties: it is lightweight,
free flowing and easy to level, it does not require compaction, has good thermal insulation and frost resistance
properties, and it is easy to pump, both vertically and horizontally. Its uses include: Trench Reinstatement,
Blinding, Filling (basements, pipes, tunnels, subways, mine workings), Building use (under floors and roofing),
Soil stabilisation, Reductions in lateral loading, Sports fields and athletics tracks and Sandwich fill for precast
units. As well as the composition and production methods, this paper covers some of the practicalities and
properties of the material.
| 1 INTRODUCTION
The term ‘Foamed Concrete’ may be somewhat misleading in that most do not contain large aggregates (indeed it may be considered to be foamed mortar or foamed grout). It is a lightweight concrete manufactured from cement, sand or fly ash, water and a preformed foam. Its dry density ranges from 300 to 1600 kg/m3 with 28 day strength normally ranging from 0.2 to 10 N/mm2 or more. A widely cited definition of foamed concrete is: “A cementitious material having a minimum of 20 per cent by volume of mechanically entrained foam in the plastic mortar or grout”. This differentiates it from air entrained concrete which has a far lower volume of entrained air (typically 3–8%), retarded mortar systems (typically 15–22%) and aerated concrete where the bubbles are chemically formed. In the production of foamed concrete, a surfactant is diluted with water and passed through a foam generator which produces a stable foam. This foam is then blended into a cementitious mortar or grout in a quantity that produces the required density in the foamed concrete. Surfactants are also used in the manufacture of Low Density Fills (also called Controlled Low Strength Material (CLSM)). In this case, however, they are added directly into a sand rich, low cement content concrete to give 15 to 25% air. Somewhat confusingly, some suppliers of Low Density Fills refer to these materials as foamed concrete, but as the foam is not formed separately to the concrete they are not true foamed concretes.
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2 APPLICATIONS
The value of foamed concrete lies in its good void filling ability with a rigid hardened structure which will not deflect under low loading and also the low density where loading on other parts of the structure are critical.Although it will give enhanced thermal and fire rating properties, it is not usually the most cost effective solution for these applications unless access is difficult. Some examples of the wide variety of applications where foamed concrete has been used include: 2.1 Trench reinstatement One of the main causes of damage to road pavements are excavations carried out by utilities companies. Settlement of backfill means that the surfacing is damaged and constant patching will be required. Foamed concrete meets the criteria for the ideal backfilling technique in that: it normally requires no compactive effort and does not settle after placing; it does not transmit axle loads directly to the services in the trench; final resurfacing is possible the next day; it is economic; it is readily available; it permits easy re-excavation; it does not require unreasonably complicated equipment or skilled labour
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