Factors Influencing the Density and Compressive Strength of Foam Concrete: An Examination

Foam concrete (FC) is one among the lightweight concrete, which is usually considered for its low strength and therefore it is majorly used as a filling material. Regardless, it is observed that there is a growing interest in FC to use in various building elements such as floors, walls, slab, etc. The study aims to develop FC as a structural material. A 1600 kg/m3 density is fixed for the design mix and overall, seventeen mix ratios were designed, cast and tested for compression, splitting tensile and flexural strength. The mixes were designed by varying the materials such as foam volume (FV) of 12–1%, coarse aggregate 10–50%, water cement ratio 0.27–0.40% and cement-sand ratio of 1:1, 1:1.5, and 1:2. The experimental values shows that with the increase in FV, there is a drop in FC density and it is also observed that density is directly proportional to mechanical properties. Therefore, the maximum strength is achieved at 1% FV with the density of 1753 kg/m3 and the respective compressive strength of 25.6 N/mm2.