Foamed concrete has unique characteristics that can be exploited in civil engineering works. It requires no compaction, but will flow readily from an outlet to fill restricted and irregular cavities, and it can be pumped over significant distances and heights. Thus it could be thought of as a free-flowing, self-setting fill. This report provides a conspectus of foamed concrete: covering its constituents, production, engineering properties and use. Foamed concrete is simple to produce but, at present, there is a need to provide close control during its production and on-site supervision during its placement and curing. The need for such special requirements will reduce as industry becomes more familiar with the character and behaviour of the material. However, within the UK, there are no national specifications for foamed concrete nor standard tests for measuring its workability, strength or other basic engineering properties. Guidance on the specification and use of foamed concrete is provided in the report. Research is still required on some aspects of the properties of foamed concrete - for example there is little published data on its long-term properties. It seems likely that the increasing use of foamed concrete will lead to a better understanding of its characteristics, and thus to improvements in methods of testing, specification and perhaps also in its engineering properties. (Author/publisher)
Abstract