Ancient Roman artisans were the first widespread users of concrete. Used to build historical structures like the Roman Colosseum and Pantheon, concrete has withstood the test of time. Still today, concrete is one of the most widely used materials in construction. While over the years, concrete has remained a continual source of construction material, it has undergone many improvements to ensure its durability and resistance to modern demands.

 

Approximately six billion cubic meters of concrete are produced each year globally. These include popular concrete types like high strength concrete, asphalt concrete, shotcrete, porous concrete, self-compacting concrete, and others. However, one newer form of concrete is changing the construction industry in a big way. Introduced in the 1920s, foam concrete wasn’t a viable commercial construction material until the mid-1990s. Unlike traditional concretes, foam concrete weighs between a 1/3rd - 1/5th of its historical counterparts. 

 

Foam concrete is composed of cement, water, and at least 20% foam per volume. The foam is formed with tiny bubbles of air that are virtually invisible to the human eye when properly mixed into the concrete mixture and cured. It’s essential to take proper care when mixing foam concrete. Improper mixing can result in an unbalanced distribution of the foam, causing the concrete to become brittle in high foam concentration areas once it cures.

 

However, with proper procedures in place, foam concrete has some advantages. Unlike some traditional forms of concrete, foam concrete does not require any advanced type of curing. Depending on your foam concrete slab’s use and size, curing can be completed in 4 to 7 days. 

 

Besides being fire resistant and offering thermal and acoustical properties, foam concrete is the only concrete that can be applied successfully on permafrost. The high content of air makes it an ideal material utilized in many construction projects. Not only can it be used as an insulation material, but the air pockets in the mixture allow the cured material to act like a sponge and slightly change shape when installed in freezing climates. This flexibility keeps the material from breaking down. 

 

While applications of foam concrete are practically limitless, the most common include reducing the load on poor soils, trench backfill, roadway sub-bases, thermal insulation foundation plates, insulating wall panels, precast wall panels, insulation roof screeds, prefabricated insulation boards, and many more. Foam concrete’s high flowability, freeze-thaw resistance, high workability, and lack of required compaction make it one of the most technologically advanced construction materials today.