Foamed Concrete Properties at Elevated Temperatures: Potential Applications as Fire Resistant and Load Bearing Panel in Low Rise Residential Construction

Foamed concrete is cementatious material integrated with mechanically entrained foam in the mortar slurry which can produce a variety of densities ranging from 400 to 1600 kg/m3. The application of foamed concrete has been primarily as a filler material in civil engineering works. This work explores the potential of using foamed concrete in building construction, as non-load-bearing partitions of lightweight load-bearing structural members. Experimental and analytical studies has been undertaken to develop quantification models to obtain thermal and mechanical properties of foamed concrete at ambient and elevated temperatures. Although foamed concrete mechanical properties are low in comparison to normal weight concrete, foamed concrete may be used as partition or light load-bearing walls in a low rise residential construction. The results of a preliminary feasibility study indicate that foamed concrete can achieve very good thermal insulation performance for fire resistance.