LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

 REVISION

1. What is cement?
2. What is concrete?
3. What are the components of concrete?
4. Qualities of its ingredients?
5. What is water cement ratio?
6. Properties of concrete?
7. What is curing of concrete? Methods of curing?

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

WHAT IS LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE?
The bulk density of ordinary concrete is about 23kN/m3. the concrete having bulk
density between 5 to 18 kN/m3 is known as light weight concrete.
Types of aggregate decides the density of concrete.
The benefits of using lightweight concrete include:
Reduction in dead loads making savings in foundations and reinforcement.
Improved thermal properties.
Improved fire resistance.
Savings in transporting and handling precast units on site.
Reduction in formwork and propping.

IMP Note: weight density correlates strongly

with strength, ultra light weight concretes [1.1
g/cm3 (70 lb/ft3 ) and less] are used only for
thermal or sound insulation purposes and are
unsuitable for structural applications.
Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude
 TYPES OF LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE

Light weigh aggregate Aerated concrete No-fines concrete

By replacing conventional
By incorporating air or By omitting the fine sand
mineral aggregate by
gas bubbles in concrete from concrete
cellular porous
aggregates (light weight
aggregate concrete)

Natural Artificial
Aggregate Aggregate

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

LIGHT WEIGHT AGGREGATE CONCRETE:

Lightweight aggregate concrete can be produced using a variety of lightweight

aggregates. Lightweight aggregates originate from either:
Natural materials, like volcanic pumice.
The thermal treatment of natural raw materials like clay, slate or shale i.e. Leca.
Manufacture from industrial by-products such as fly ash, i.e. Lytag.
Processing of industrial by-products such as pelletised expanded slab, i.e. Pellite.

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

 LIGHT WEIGHT AGGREGATE CONCRETE:
Natural light weight aggregate:
Natural light weight Aggregates are less preferred over artificial aggregates.
Important natural aggregates Pumice & Scoria
Pumice is formed when the molten SiO2 rich lava from the explosive eruption of a
volcano cools. It is called supercooled liquid
Scoria is a dark-colored igneous rock with abundant round bubble-like cavities
known as vesicles. It ranges in color from black or dark gray to deep reddish brown.
Diatomite is obtained from remains of microscopic aquatic plants called diatoms. Its
is also used as pozzolanic material.

Pumice Scoria

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude
LIGHT WEIGHT AGGREGATE CONCRETE:
Artificial light weight aggregate:

Artificial Aggregate are generally produced by expanding the rocks such as shale,
slate, perlite, foamed slag, bloated clay, vermiculite, etc.
Perlite is amorphous volcanic glass which occurs naturally and has the unusual
property of greatly expanding when heated sufficiently. It is an industrial
mineral and a commercial product useful for its low density after processing.
Foamed slag is a by product produced in manufacturing of pig iron. It has porous
honey combed material which resembles pumice.
Bloated clay is when special grades of clay and shales are heated to a point till
there will be expansion due to formation of gas within the mass.
Foamed slag

Bloated clay
Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude
 AUTOCLAVED AERATED CONCRETE (AAC):

AAC was first commercially produced in 1923 in Sweden.

Also kown as autoclaved cellular concrete(ACC), autoclaved
lightweight concrete (ALC), autoclaved concrete, cellular
concrete, porous concrete, Aircrete, Hebel Block .
AAC can also be sawn by hand, sculpted and penetrated by
nails, screws and fixings.
Standard size 600 x 200 x 150 mm
Produced by introducing air in concrete.
There are two ways to induce air in concrete:
1. Gas concrete:
Finely divided aluminum powder is generally used as a
gas producing agent in concrete.
Its quantity is generally 0.2% of weight of cement
Aluminum powder reacts with Ca(OH) 2 and water to
liberate hydrogen bubbles.
Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude
 The hydrogen gas foams and doubles the volume of the raw mix creating gas bubbles.
When the forms are removed from the material, it is solid but still soft.
At the end of the foaming process, the hydrogen escapes into the atmosphere and is
replaced by air.
It is then cut into either blocks or panels, and placed in an autoclave chamber for 12
hours.
During this steam pressure hardening process, when the temperature reaches 190
Celsius (374 Fahrenheit) and the pressure reaches 8 to 12 bar, quartz sand reacts
with calcium hydroxide to form calcium silicate hydrate, which gives AAC its high
strength and other unique properties

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

2. Foamed concrete:
Foamed concrete typically consists of a slurry of cement and fly ash or sand and
water.
The foaming agent used must be able to produce air bubbles with a high level of
stability, resistant to the physical and chemical processes of mixing, placing and
hardening.
Foamed concrete mixture may be poured or pumped into moulds, or directly into
structural elements.
Mostly in expensive

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

MANUFACTURING OF AUTOCLAVED AERATED CONCRETE (AAC) BLOCKS:

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

APPLICATIONS OF AUTOCLAVED AERATED CONCRETE (AAC) BLOCKS:
Can not be used as load bearing masonry material
Can be used as partition wall material
As precast composite wall or floor panels or roof panels
As insulation cladding to exterior walls of all types of buildings
As a filler wall in the form of precast reinforced wall panels in high rise buildings.
The only disadvantage of AAC is its a brittle material hence need to be handled
carefully.

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

ADVANTAGES OF AUTOCLAVED AERATED CONCRETE (AAC) BLOCKS:

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude

 NO-FINES AGGREGATE CONCRETE:
Obtained by omitting fine aggregate (below 12 mm )from
conventional concrete.
Cement + coarse aggregate + water
Many a times single size of coarse aggregates are used so
that voids can be increased.
Aggregate to cement ratio of 6:1 to 10:1 is used.
Water cement ratio of 0.38 to 0.50 is used
Strength of cement concrete depends on aggregate
/cement, water/cement ratio and unit weight of concrete.
Also called as porous or permeable concrete.
Bond strength of no fines concrete is very less hence
reinforcement is not used .
Can be used for general pavement.

Compiled by - Priyanka Mangaonkar-Vaiude