Preparation of High Performance Foamed Concrete from Cement,Sand and Mineral Admixtures

The titled high performance foamed concrete was developed from Portland cement, ultra fine granulated blast-furnace slag, pulverized fly ash and condensed silica fume by means of pre-foaming process. The resultant foamed concrete presents its thermal conductivity of about 0.16-0.75 W/（m·℃） and 28 d compressive strength of about 1.1-23.7 MPa when its mix proportion varies in the range of cement content 280 kg-650 kg/m^3, fly ash 42-97 kg/m^3, slag 64-146 kg/m^3, silica fume 34-78 kg/m^3, and sand 0-920 kg/m^3. The compressive strength of the foamed concrete with oven dried bulk density of 1500 kg/m^3 in appropriate mix proportion and with small amount of superplasticizer reached as high as 44.1 MPa. Meanwhile, the flesh foamed concrete behaves like an excellent flow-ability, therefore, is especially suitable for the application in case of massive foamed concrete casting in situ and in the case of filling casting into large volume underground irregular voids, except for pre-casting of building components like blocks, bricks, and wall panels.

Quantitative Analysis of Relationship Between Pore Structure and Compressive Strength of Foamed Concrete

The effect of dry density,water-cement ratio,the addition of fly ash,and sand content on the porosity and pore distribution of foamed concrete is investigated.Digital microscopy and Image J software are employed to examine the landscape of pores with different sizes.Based on the Balshin empirical formula,a mathematical model is established to quantitatively predict the relationship between the pore structures and the compressive strength of foamed concrete.The results well demonstrate that there is a significant correlation between the modified formula and empirical parameters.

Lateral compression and energy absorption of foamed concrete-filled polyethylene circular pipe as yielding layer for high geo-stress soft rock tunnels

Foamed concrete as energy absorption material for high geo-stress soft rock tunnels has been proven to be feasible due to its high compressibility and lightweight.However,the lengthy curing and defoaming problems caused by the cast-in-place method of large-volume foamed concrete remain unsolved.In this study,we propose a novel energy absorber composed of foamed concrete-filled polyethylene(FC-PE)pipe and analyze its deformation and energy absorption capacity via quasi-static lateral compression experiments.Results show that FC-PE pipes exhibit typical three-stage deformation characteristics,comprising the elastic stage,the plastic plateau,and the densification stage.Furthermore,the plateau stress,energy absorption,and specific energy absorption of the specimens are 0.81–1.91 MPa,164–533 J,and 1.4–3.6 J/g,respectively.As the density of the foamed concrete increases,the plateau stress and energy absorption increase significantly.Conversely,the length of the plastic plateau and energy absorption efficiency decrease.Moreover,based on the vertical slice method,progressive compression of core material,and the 6 plastic hinges deformation mechanism of the pipe wall,a theoretical calculation method for effective energy absorption is established and achieves good agreement with experimental results,which is beneficial to the optimization of the composite structure.

In-situ Monitoring the Setting Behavior of Foamed Concrete Using Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Method

The applicability of ultrasonic pulse velocity （UPV） method to in-situ monitor setting and hardening process of foamed concrete （FC） was systematically investigated. The UPVs of various FC pastes were automatically and continuously measured by a specially designed ultrasonic monitoring apparatus （UMA）. Ultrasonic tests were performed on FC mixtures with different density （300, 500, 800 and 1 000 kg/m3）, and different fly ash contents （0%, 20%, 40% and 60%）. The influence of curing temperatures （20, 40, 60 and 80~C） was also studied. The experimental results show that three characteristic stages can be clearly identified during the setting process of an arbitrary FC paste： dormant stage, acceleration stage, and deceleration stage. Wet density, fly ash content, and curing temperature have great impact on setting behavior. A stepwise increase of the wet density results in shorter dormant stage and larger final UPV. Hydration reaction rate is obviously promoted with an increase in curing temperature. However, the addition fly ash retards the microstn,lcture formation. To aid in comparing with the ultrasonic results, the consistence spread test and Vicat needle test （VNT） were also conducted. A correlation between ultrasonic and VNT results was also established to evaluate the initial and final setting time of the FC mixtures. Finally, certain ranges of UPV with reasonable widths were suggested for the initial and final setting time, respectively.

Comparative Study of the Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Foamed Concrete with Local Materials

Living in a habitat with comfort is requested by all. Cinder block bricks have poor thermal properties, leading people to use fan heaters and air conditioners to regain comfort. To overcome this problem of thermal discomfort in buildings, we used lightweight concrete such as foamed concrete which is a material that has improved thermal properties for thermal comfort. In addition, this material was compared with local materials used for the construction of buildings such as BTC, adobe and BLT mixed with binders. The results showed that foamed concrete is a material that has good thermal and mechanical properties compared to local materials mixed with binders. The foamed concrete having acceptable thermo-mechanical properties was that having a density of 930 kg/m3. It has a thermal resistance of 0.4 m2·K/W for a thickness of 20 cm. The foamed concrete having acceptable thermo-mechanical properties was that having a density of 930 kg/m3. It has a thermal resistance of 0.4 m2·K/W for a thickness of 20 cm. For sunshine on a daily cycle equal to 12 hours, the characteristic thickness achieved by this material is 7.29 cm. It also has a shallow depth of heat diffusion having a lower thickness than other materials. This shows that foamed concrete is a promising material for the construction of buildings.

Hardening Properties of Foamed Concrete with Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler Ash, Blast Furnace Slag, and Desulfurization Gypsum as the Binder

Recently, a large amount of circulating fluidized bed boiler ash (CFBA) and desulfurization gypsum (DSG) has been produced, and it is essential to develop technology to utilize them. These materials have CaO and SO3, which are considered to be a stimulant for blast furnace slag (BFS). This study presents an experimental investigation of the compressive strength and heavy metal ions immobilization properties of cement-free materials comprising CFBA, BFS, and DSG. The feasibility of manufacturing foamed concrete using these materials was examined, and field test of foamed concrete was conducted. Experimentally, the flow, compressive strength, and heavy metal ions concentration were evaluated via inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) of the paste and foamed concrete. The experimental investigation revealed the self-healing hardening ability of fluidized bed boiler ash. In addition, the compressive strength was increased with the increasing replacement rates of BFS and DSG in the CFBA paste, and the compressive strength of 14.6 - 17.2 MPa was recorded over 28 days of curing. From the result obtained, the feasibility of manufacturing foamed concrete with a foam volume of 120 L, incorporating the aforementioned materials, is confirmed. It was also found that after 28 days of age, a 7.9-MPa compressive strength of the foamed concrete was attained, and heavy metal ions elution in this foamed concrete was also significantly reduced. Therefore, CFBA, BFS, and DSG could be used as a binder for the foamed concrete.

Simulation of foamed concrete compressive strength prediction using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system optimized by nature-inspired algorithms

Concrete compressive strength prediction is an essential process for material design and sustainability.This study investigates several novel hybrid adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system(ANFIS)evolutionary models,i.e.,ANFIS-particle swarm optimization(PSO),ANFIS-ant colony,ANFIS-differential evolution(DE),and ANFIS-genetic algorithm to predict the foamed concrete compressive strength.Several concrete properties,including cement content(C),oven dry density(O),water-to-binder ratio(W),and foamed volume(F)are used as input variables.A relevant data set is obtained from open-access published experimental investigations and used to build predictive models.The performance of the proposed predictive models is evaluated based on the mean performance(MP),which is the mean value of several statistical error indices.To optimize each predictive model and its input variables,univariate(C,O,W,and F),bivariate(C-O,C-W,C-F,O-W,O-F,and W-F),trivariate(C-O-W,C-W-F,O-W-F),and four-variate(C-O-W-F)combinations of input variables are constructed for each model.The results indicate that the best predictions obtained using the univariate,bivariate,trivariate,and four-variate models are ANFIS-DE-(O)(MP=0.96),ANFIS-PSO-(C-O)(MP=0.88),ANFIS-DE-(O-W-F)(MP=0.94),and ANFIS-PSO-(C-O-W-F)(MP=0.89),respectively.ANFIS-PSO-(C-O)yielded the best accurate prediction of compressive strength with an MP value of 0.96.

Experimental Investigation on Transmission of Stress Waves in Sandwich Samples Made of Foam Concrete

A series of impact tests of sandwich samples were completed using a large-diameter split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB)device at different velocities. The interlayer is made of foam concrete, loess or sand. The stress peak value decay, energy decay and waveform dispersion characters are studied by comparing the incident waves with the transmission waves. The tests indicate that the foam concrete has the best capabilities of shock resistance and energy absorption, the loess comes second, and the sand takes third place.

Shale Stone and Fly Ash Landfill Use in Landslide Hazardous Area in Sirnak City with Foam Concrete

Sirnak City and the surrounding areas are on steeper slopes. There are sliding large land masses or rocks. Underground water and harsh climatic conditions contain high risk hazard areas in urban living site with higher population density. In order to eliminate landslides and related events, significant precautions should be taken. The mapping of landslide risk may ease to take precautions. Even the application of landfill rock may reduce water content of soil. In this research, fly ash and Mine Waste shale stone were used with low density foam concrete. Waste mixture at certain proportions decreased cement use. Shale stone as fine aggregate instead of fly ash in specific proportions improved mechanical strength and porosity. Hence landslide hazardous area could be safer for urban living.

Non-dimensional analysis on blast wave propagation in foam concrete:Minimum thickness to avoid stress enhancement

Foam concrete is a prospective material in defense engineering to protect structures due to its high energy absorption capability resulted from the long plateau stage.However,stress enhancement rather than stress mitigation may happen when foam concrete is used as sacrificial claddings placed in the path of an incoming blast load.To investigate this interesting phenomenon,a one-dimensional difference model for blast wave propagation in foam concrete is firstly proposed and numerically solved by improving the second-order Godunov method.The difference model and numerical algorithm are validated against experimental results including both the stress mitigation and the stress enhancement.The difference model is then used to numerically analyze the blast wave propagation and deformation of material in which the effects of blast loads,stress-strain relation and length of foam concrete are considered.In particular,the concept of minimum thickness of foam concrete to avoid stress enhancement is proposed.Finally,non-dimensional analysis on the minimum thickness is conducted and an empirical formula is proposed by curve-fitting the numerical data,which can provide a reference for the application of foam concrete in defense engineering.

A decision making model for investment and development of construction panels

A study was conducted to select the best alternative for the development of construction panels as well as investment in its manufacturing in Iran.Three alternatives are considered,cement-bonded wood composite product,substituted products（such as concrete panel） sandwich panel and a mixture of them.We apply the analytic network process（ANP） to achieve this goal.A hierarchy is designed to prioritize benefits,opportunities,costs and risks（BOCR） by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process（AHP） ratings approach.To evaluate the ＂control criteria＂ of the system,a control hierarchy is also created and prioritized by applying the Analytic Network Process（ANP）.A total of four major control criteria in the system are prioritized where each one controls a decision network evaluated using ANP.The final synthesis of the system shows cement-bonded wood composite product is the best choice among three potential alternatives for the investment and development.

Stability of three-dimensional printable foam concrete as function of surfactant characteristics

Extrudability is one of the most critical factors when designing three-dimensional printable foam concrete.The extrusion process likely affects the foam stability which necessitates the investigation into surfactant properties particularly for concrete mixes with high foam contents.Although many studies have been conducted on traditional foam concrete in this context,studies on three-dimensional printed foam concrete are scarce.To address this research gap,the effects of surfactant characteristics on the stability,extrudability,and buildability of three-dimensional printed foam concrete mixes with two design densities(1000 and 1300 kg/m^(3))using two different surfactants and stabilizers(synthetic-based sodium lauryl sulfate stabilized with carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt,and natural-based hingot surfactant stabilized with xanthan gum)were investigated in this study.Fresh density tests were conducted before and after the extrusion to determine stability of the foam concrete.The results were then correlated with surfactant qualities,such as viscosity and surface tension,to understand the importance of key parameters in three-dimensional printing of foam concrete.Based on the experimental results,surfactant solu1tion with viscosity exceeding 5 m Pa·s and surface tension lower than 31 mN/m was recommended to yield stable three-dimensional printable foam concrete mixes.Nevertheless,the volume of foam in the mix significantly affected the printability characteristics.Unlike traditional foam concrete,the variation in the stabilizer concentration and density of concrete were found to have insignificant effect on the fresh-state-characteristics(slump,slump flow,and static yield stress)and air void microstructure of the stable mixes.

Thermal upgrading of Hui-style vernacular dwellings in China using foam concrete

Architecturat heritage conservation is an important field in architectural research. The Hui-styte vernacutar dwetling is an essentialarchitectural heritage of China. Its hollow watt system, with horsehead-like upper corners, is a distinct architecturat feature that is worth preserving. However, the thermat performance of the hollow watt is relatively poor by today＇s standard. The current study developed a novel approach, whereby foam concrete was used to fill the voids inside the holtow watt to improve its thermat resistance. This approach was deemed cost effective, easy to learn, and capable of preserving the architectural integrity of the watt. Different types of foam concrete were prepared and tested. Testing results showed that the material properties of foam concrete are suitabte for thermaUy upgrading the hollow watt system. Ctimate chamber testing was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed thermat upgrading strategy. The testing resutts suggested that tilting the voids with foam concrete can effectively improve the overall thermal resistance of the holtow watt system by 24%, which is almost equal to the overall thermal resistance when using the more expensive commercial inorganic stucco system.