Speaker
Description
In recent years, the increasing requirements for thermal insulation in building construction and society's growing environmental awareness have led to the increased development of highly thermally insulating, recyclable cement-based mineral foams with low thermal conductivities (λ ≤ 0,035 W/(m·K)) and low dry densities (ρ ≤ 70 kg/m³). Their production and application are associated with several challenges. One of the main ones is the stabilization of the pore structure through early and rapid structure formation, which can be solved by using CAC as an accelerator system.
The IAB has developed a patented manufacturing process for mineral foam in which two mineral foams are continuously and controllably mixed together. While the binder of one mineral foam can be an OPC, the second mineral foam is based on a CAC. By combining the two mineral foams in a targeted manner, the start of the structure formation can also be adjusted during the manufacturing process depending on the building materials to be filled and the ambient conditions. The user of this process is free to select the raw materials independently, but this requires specific expertise and suitable methods.
Through extensive research and development work in cooperation with its partners, the IAB investigated different binder combinations of OPC and CAC. It was found that laboratory tests are already sufficient to estimate and monitor the foam stability and setting behavior of industrially produced mineral foams. First and foremost, rheometric measurements to characterize the setting behavior of the binder suspensions and the mineral foams should be mentioned here.
The knowledge gained contributes both to resource efficiency in mineral foam production and to the wider application of this technology, which has the potential to sustainably increase the energy efficiency of buildings.
Affiliations
Weimar Institute of Applied Construction Research (IAB), Über der Nonnenwiese 1, 99428 Weimar
| Keywords | mineral foam, insulation, accelerator, rheology, material testing and properties |
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