Frequently asked questions
Q. What is it SOLEID Light weight concrete?
Q. What are the advantages of pre-formed foam?
Q. What are the disadvantages of lightweight concrete, compared to typical concrete?
Q. Is lightweight concrete chemically compatible with common additives?
Q. What additives are common to cellular concrete?
Q. What is the correct water to cement ratio for the cement water slurry?
Q. Does lightweight concrete mix contain either fine or course aggregate?
Q. What type of cement is appropriate for lightweight concrete?
Q. Is it appropriate to reinforce cellular concrete with synthetic fibers?
Q. Do the bubbles in lightweight concrete collapse, reducing its volume?
Q. What are the different densities and strengths available?
Q. How much does lightweight concrete cost?
Q. Is lightweight concrete suitable for long-term use as a marine float device?
Q. How do I test lightweight concrete to determine it is performing to specs?
Ans. Test procedures for lightweight concrete are beyond the scope of this FAQ document; however, lightweight concrete representatives will be happy to assist you in the actual testing or furnishing descriptions of common tests. Properties commonly tested are for its compressive strength The majority of regular concrete produced is in the density range of 2400 kg per cubic meter. The last decade has seen great strides in the realm of dense concrete and fantastic compressive strengths, which mix designers have been achieved. Yet regular concrete has some drawbacks. It is heavy, hard to work with, and after it sets, one cannot be cut or nailed into it without some difficulty or use of special tools. Some complaints about it include the perception that it is cold and damp. Still, it is a remarkable building material - fluid, strong, relatively cheap, and environmentally innocuous and available in almost every part of the world. Lightweight concrete begins in the density range of less than 300 kg/m3 to 1800 kg per/m3. It has traditionally been made using such aggregates as expanded shale, clay, vermiculite, pumice, and scoria among others. Each has their peculiarities in handling, especially the volcanic aggregates which need careful moisture monitoring and are difficult to pump. Decreasing the weight and density produces significant changes, which improves many properties of concrete, both in placement and application. Although this has been accomplished primarily through the use of lightweight aggregates, since 1960 various preformed foams have been added to mixes, further reducing weight. The very lightest mixes (from 300 kg /m3 to 800 kg / m3) are often made using only foam as the sand and aggregate are eliminated, and are referred to as floating lightweight concrete. The entrapped air takes the form of small, macroscopic, spherically shaped bubbles uniformly dispersed in the concrete mix. Today foams are available which have a high degree of compatibility with many of the admixtures currently used in modern concrete mix designs. Foam used with either lightweight aggregates and/or admixtures such as silica fume, synthetic fiber reinforcement, and high range water reducers (aka superplasticizers), has produced a new hybrid of concrete called lightweight concrete materials. For the most part, implementation of Lightweight Composite design and construction utilizes existing technology. Its uniqueness, however, is the novel combination drawing from several fields at once: architecture, mix design chemistry, structural engineering, and concrete placement.