Fresh state characteristics of foam concrete

This paper deals with the study of the influence of a mixture composition on the properties of foam concrete at the fresh state. The stability of the base mix in terms of the water-solids ratio for getting a stable foam concrete mix of design density was determined for different mixture parameters and their influence on the water-solids ratio requirement was studied. The consistency of the foam concrete mix was measured in terms of the spread percent using a flow cone test and flow time using a Marsh cone test. The fresh state properties of foam concrete, viz; (1) stability of foam concrete and (2) consistency of the foam concrete, were very much affected by the water content in the base mix and the amount of foam added along with the other solid ingredients in the mix. Regression equations for predicting the spread flow value of the foam concrete based on the experimental results were reported. This will help in arriving at the water content of a foam concrete mix for a given consistency requirement. An appropriate value of consistency for obtaining a stable and workable foam concrete was also proposed.