Green Cellular Concrete

Green Cellular Concretes

The GREEN CEMENT offered by GREEN CONCRETE USA is ideal for use in cellular concretes. Cellular concretes are lightweight concretes that use air as the main aggregate. They are composed of mostly cement slurry, air, and sometimes fine sands. Most of the weight of cellular concretes is due to the high cement contents of these concretes. Many cellular concretes require two to three times the cement contents as that needed for a regular concrete. By using a less expensive GREEN CEMENT for a cellular concrete, significant cost savings can be had. Cellular concrete is used worldwide in many different applications. The main advantages of cellular concretes are its light weight and the thermo efficiency cellular concrete provides.

Cellular Concretes

There are three ways of making the air and the voids needed for a cellular concrete. Many companies sell a rich, thick, long lasting foam that is added to a cement slurry. This foam is made by using special foam generators. See the websites below for images and videos of foam being generated and foam being introduced into mixers. A second way to make cellular concrete is to use Expanded Polystrene (EPS) for the voids. See the section on this site that pertains to EPSCrete. A third way to make the air bubbles needed for cellular concrete is to use an aluminum powder. This is the method used by companies that manufacture Autoclaved Cellular Concrete. The aluminum powder reacts with the water in the mix that creates tiny hydrogen bubbles that creates the air voids. Water and cement are mixed to form a slurry. Either foam, EPS beads, or aluminum powder is then introduced into the mix. Foam is the most common agent used for the air bubbles. And it is also the least expensive. The cost of the foam is usually less than $5.00 a cubic yard. Cellular concrete mixes are both light and very fluid. So pumping and placement are very easy to do. A very large opportunity exists for using GREEN CEMENT in a cellular concrete product.

Autoclaved Cellular Concrete (ACC)

Autoclaved Cellular Concrete (ACC) is the Mercedes of cellular concretes. ACC is probably the strongest of all the cellular concretes. ACC is a widely used construction material in Europe. It is used both for home construction and for commercial construction. The thermo properties of ACC make it attractive to use in both cold and warm climates. Two identical sized Costco stores were built in Atlanta Georgia in the 1990's. One was built using regular Concrete Masonry Units (CMU's). The other was built using ACC. In the late 90's, the energy costs for the ACC store were $8000 a month less than for the CMU built store. Up until recently a company called Xella operated an ACC US plant located in Adel, Georgia. ACC is a wonderful, energy efficient cellular product. However, ACC does have its drawbacks. It is an expensive product to make and requires a large amount of energy for curing. It requires a $35 million dollar plant, and needs expensive skilled masonry labor for installation.

Cellular Concrete for Home Construction

Cellular concrete is used worldwide for the construction of houses. It is also widely used in apartments and in commercial construction. Neopor shows a cellular system that was used on over 40,000 housing units constructed around the world. The Neopor site has some great pictures of simple cellular block forming methods. Many companies worldwide use one of two construction methods for using cellular concretes. Construction can be done using either blocks or using onsite construction techniques. With portable equipment, cellular concretes can be made on site. Onsite construction will make an even greener product and a more economical product. Cement is brought to the site. Foam is added to a slurry in a combination mixer/ pump such as a Blastcrete machine, (www.blastcrete.com) and pumped into wall forms. With this same machine, sand can be added with a bobcat, and a concrete can be made for the house slab. There are several companies that manufacture a cellular concrete product for home building. One in Texas precasts wall sections, and assembles on site. A second, FlexCrete, manufactures the material at a plant and ships to install on site. Cellular concrete is widely used in the USA for roof decks. The videos and websites below provide an insight into this construction material and can show the potential of a GREEN CEMENT cellular concrete.

Large Volume Cellular Concrete Applications

Cellular concrete is used on many engineering projects to solve construction problems. Some of the uses include backfill of retaining walls and bridge abutments. It can be used for bedding, supporting, and backfill of pipelines, storm drains, and utility lines. It can be used to support roadbeds and structures over weak soils. It is used for thermal protection of perma-frost and shallow utility lines. It is used to fill voids under floor slabs and roadways. It can be used to fill abandoned pipes, basements, and all kind of voids. The websites below provide a vast array of information on using cellular concrete for these type applications.


Videos

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

Neopar Manual CLC Block Production

Sites

Vermillion and Associates
Cellular Concrete Solutions
Aercrete
Blastcrete
Cematrix
FlexCrete