Experimental study and test on light weight foamed concrete solid block

Abstract

Foamed concrete, is classified as a light weight concrete, it is produced in this study by the mixing of Portland cement, sand, water and preformed stable foam. The foam is produced with the use of a foam generator, using protein foaming agent. Hardened foam concrete contains a lot of pore, which reduces the density and makes it lighter than conventional concrete solid block. This paper investigates the dry density, water absorption and compressive strength test of Foamed Concrete Solid Block (FCSB) by various cement-sand ratio of 1:2, 1:4, and 1:6, measured at ages of 7, 14 and 28 days, the consistency and stability of fresh foamed concrete are also examined. The experimental results show that the optimum compressive strength was achieved with cement-sand proportion of 1:2 at the age of 28 days with a value of 3.42 N/mm². As for the cement-sand ration of 1:6, at the age of 7 days, the compressive strength was 2.37 N/mm, while the strength is 3.31 N/mm² at 28 days age, Both have satisfied the minimum compressive strength of 1.8 N/mm² at age 7 days, and 2.5 N/mm² at the age of 28 days of commonly used conventional hollow sandcrete block for building wall unit as allowed by Nigerian Industrial Standard (N.I.S). The result also shows an appreciable decrease in density of FCSB with 1185 kg/mm³, as compared to dense concrete solid block with average of 1,950 kg/mm³, which will significantly reduce the overall dead load of the building structure. The consistency and stability fresh foam concrete in this study was affected by water-cement ratio, thus caused the internal segregation of hardened foam concrete, FCSB also showed much improved water absorption capacity compared to Normal concrete solid block.