SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT

MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE
CEMENT
FOAMED
CONCRETE

GUIDED BY
Mr. RENJITH R
ASST.PROFESSOR
DEPT. OF CIVIL ENGG

PRESENTED BY
ANJANA ELSA ALEXANDER
ROLL NO : 4
MTECH , SE-1
SBCE

INTRODUCTION

Thermal insulation of building has become increasingly

important due to global energy crisis

Foam concrete consist of Portland cement, water, foaming agent,

compressed air, and fillers

Super-light foam concrete using Magnesium Phosphate

Cement (MPC) to replace Portland cement as cementitious
material was developed

Density and thermal conductivity lower than 400 kg/m3 and

0.07 W/m K

CONTD

MPC possesses

quick hardening

high early strength

high bonding strength

excellent fire-proofing

good mixed compatibility with many materials

good durability
3

EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS

CONSTITUENT MATERIALS
Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC)-prepared from mixture
of dead burnt magnesium, potassium di-hydrogen phosphate,
and retarder in various proportions

Pulverized river sand finer than 300 m (G=2.50)

High calcium fly ash

Protein-based foaming agent diluted with water at a ratio of

1:40 (by volume) and then aerated to a density of 40 kg/m3
4

CONTD

MIX PROPORTIONING

Mixtures were prepared by varying

fly ash (FA) replacement for sand from 0 to 100% by weight
foam volume from 80 to 90%, keeping filler-MPC ratio at 1.0

Foam concrete was produced in laboratory using a paddle mixer

by adding preformed foam to a base mixture

MPC and filler (sand/fly ash) are combined with water and
mixing it until a homogeneous base mix was obtained
5

Compositions of mixtures

TEST PROCEDURE
1) CONSISTENCY

Measuring flow percentage using standard flow cone

After filling the cone with mixture, cone was lifted and average
flow of concrete was measured

2) STABILITY

To assess stability fresh density of foam concrete was measured

By filling a standard container of known volume, and the density

ratio was calculated and compared with target density
7

3)THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

Measured on dry 20 20 5 cm3 half-cubic samples

Using non-stationary method

Consist of a transient plane source (TPS) element
Power supply stabilized in tension with a Wheatstone bridge
Acquisition power station
Microcomputer for data control and processing

Thermal conductivity was calculated directly from computer

Three specimens were measured for each concrete mixture

4) COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TESTS

100 100 100 mm3 cube

specimens were cast

Specimens were demoulded 3h

after casting and then cured

Compressive strengths were

measured at 1, 3, 7, and 28 d

MTS servo hydraulic testing

machine with a loading rate of 3
KN/s used

MTS Servo hydraulic testing

machine

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND

DISCUSSION
1) Fresh properties of foam concrete
mixes

a) FLOWABILITY

Determined using a marsh cone

Measure the time required for a

certain volume of paste to flow
through a cone with a small opening

Marsh Cone Apparatus

10

b) CONSISTENCY

Consistency affects stability of the mix

Low consistency value indicates mixture is too stiff causing

bubbles to break

Excessively thin slurry cannot hold bubbles, resulting in

segregation

Consistency was measured in terms of percentage spread using a

flow cone test

11

Effects of fly ash content and foam volume fraction on

spread

12

Variation of density ratio with fly ash content for

mixtures with different foam volume fraction

13

2) COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

Strength of all MPC foam concretes showed similar trends

Compressive strength of almost all MPC foam concrete

specimens exhibited a rapid increase at the early age, regardless
of foam volumetric fraction

For specimen with same foam volume fraction, the rate of

increase in strength at different ages varied with fly ash content

14

Compressive strength with age of Compressive strength with age of

MPC foam concrete with a foam MPC foam concrete with a foam
volume fraction of 75%
volume fraction of 80% 15

Compressive strength with age

of MPC foam concrete with a
foam volume fraction of 85%

Compressive strength with

age of MPC foam concrete
with a foam volume fraction
of 90%
16

Optical micrographs of the pore distributions in MPC foam volume

fraction of 0.80 containing fly ash contents of (a)0% (b)20% (c) 40%
(d) 60% (e) 80% (f) 100%

17

Relationship between dry density and compressive strength for MPC

foam concrete with various fly ash contents

18

3) WATER RESISTANCE

Water resistance is evaluated using strength retention coefficient

Wn= Rcn / Rc

Wn - strength retention coefficient after immersion in water for n

days

Rcn - strength of the wet specimens after immersion in water for

n days

Rc - strength of the dry specimens cured for 28 d in air before

immersion in water

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Strength and Strength Retention Coefficients of MPC foam concrete

specimens at design density of 400 kg/m3 with various fly ash contents

20

Strength and Strength Retention Coefficients of the MPC foam concrete

specimens at design density of 250 kg/m 3 with various fly ash contents

21

CONTD

MPC has poor water resistance as PO34 remains in MPC paste

which does not participate in setting reaction

Addition of fly ash improve water resistance of MPC foam

concrete

Presence of metal oxides in fly ash, such as CaO , SiO2, and

Al2O3 participate in setting reaction and consume excessive
PO34 in MPC paste
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4) THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

Thermal conductivity of a material is the quantity of heat

transmitted through a unit thickness in a direction perpendicular
to a unit cross-sectional area due to a unit temperature gradient
under given conditions

Thermal conductivity appeared to decrease linearly with

increasing foam content as enclosed pores reduce the thermal
conductivity

Thermal conductivity of MPC foam concrete produced is lower

than those for other lightweight concretes with similar densities 23

Effect of foam concrete on the thermal conductivity of MPC foam

concrete
24

Effect of fly ash on thermal conductivity of MPC foam concrete

25

COMPARISON

EPS concrete with a strength 2.5 MPa has thermal conductivity

0.206 W/m K
MPC foam concrete with a similar strength is 0.06 W/m K

ACC with dry density of 400 kg/m3 exhibits compressive

strength and thermal conductivity in ranges of 1.32.8 MPa and
0.070.11 W/m K
MPC foam concrete with a dry density of 355 kg/m3 and a
strength of 2.8 MPa has its thermal conductivity 0.062 W/m K
26

CONTD

Foam concrete with polystyrene granules has a dry density of

200 kg/m3 and thermal conductivity of 0.06 W/m K. In current
study thermal conductivity of MPC foam concrete with dry
density of 200 kg/m3 is 0.049 W/m K

Compared to other lightweight concretes, MPC foamed

concretes exhibit enhanced thermal and mechanical features that
are attractive for construction industry
27

APPLICATIONS

Low cost housing

Roofing and floor construction providing a high degree of

thermal insulation

For non-load bearing cast in-situ external walls and internal walls

Communal use having excellent fire resistant properties and

sound insulation

Void filling

Used for leveling terrain and raising floor levels

For temporary structures because of low initial cost

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ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES
Rapid

and relatively simple construction

Reduction
Improved

in dead load
thermal efficiency reduces heating and cooling load in

buildings
Improved
Savings

fire resistance

in cost of transportation and handling precast units on site

Workability

allows accurate cutting minimizing solid waste

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CONTD
Light

weight saves labor expenses

Light

weight increases chances of survival during seismic activity

DISADVANTAGES
Sensitive
Mixing

with water content in mixture

time longer than conventional concrete to assure proper

mixing
Having

low compressive strength this product is limited to fills and

insulation only
30

CONCLUSIONS

Super-lightweight foam concrete with dry densities 210 to 380 kg/m3,

compressive strengths 1.0 to 2.8 MPa, and thermal conductivities
0.049 to 0.070 W/m K were developed using MPC as cementitious
material

MPC foam concrete exhibited excellent consistency and high early

strength

Using fly ash, properties of MPC foam concrete i.e., compressive

strength and water resistance was improved

For similar strength or dry density, MPC foam concrete exhibits a

lower thermal conductivity than other lightweight concrete.

31

REFERENCES
1. Abdulkadir.K., Ramazan.D. (2009) A novel material for lightweight
concrete production, Cement Concrete Composites, 31, No.7, pp 489495
2. Chen Bing and Li Yue. (2014) New Type of Super-Lightweight
Magnesium Phosphate Cement Foamed Concrete, American Society of
Civil Engineers, 27, No.1, pp 1-8
3. Chen Bing, Wu Zhen and Liu Ning. (2012) Experimental Resarch on
Properties of High- Strength Foamed Concrete , American Society of
Civil Engineers, 24, No.1, pp 113-118
4. Gemma Mestres, Maria-Pau Ginebra. (2010) Novel magnesium
phosphate cements with high early strength and antibacterial properties,
Elsevier, 7, pp 1-9

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