Foam Concrete For Voidfill & Stabilisation

The ultimate voidfill material

Foamed concrete is a highly workable, low density material incorporating up to 80% air. It is generally self levelling, self compacting and may be pumped. Risk of plastic shrinkage or settlement cracking is significantly lower than that of standard concrete.

Porofoam is manufactured using CEMEX admixtures and is available in a wide range of densities and compressive strengths to suit your application and requirements. The product is easily placed with no compaction required and can be produced onsite by our foam generation units or delivered in trucks premixed.

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Benefits

Benefits Of Foam Concrete

Foamed concrete is a versatile and practical material which can be tailored to a variety of project needs and operational conditions.

Pumpable Foamed concrete - can be pumped significant distances and can be placed by conventional concrete pump or rotor stator pump (commonly referred to as a ‘Worm Pump’).

Self compacting and self-levelling - Making it ideal for inaccessible trenches where compaction would be difficult or impossible. It allows for controlled discharge into narrow opening, fully fills void space, including undercut pockets and entirely surrounds and protects pipes.

Freeze / Thaw Resistant - high air content makes it resistant to freeze/thaw and provides good thermal and acoustic insulation.

Load spreading with negligible risk of subsidence

Insulating Properties - can be used as a low density insulating sub-screed

Lightweight concrete with high air content

Highly Fluid - making it easy to place and finish thanks to a single process installation, simply pour and level. Controlled rates of placement to ensure suitability for any loading characteristics.

Applications

Applications For Foam Concrete

Foamed concrete is ideal for filling voids such as disused fuel tanks, sewer systems, pipelines and culverts – particularly where access is difficult. It is a recognised medium for the reinstatement of road trenches.

Unwanted voids: Pipelines, Service Ducts and Shafts, Sinkholes

Disused structures: Culverts and Subways, Redundant Sewers, Cellars and Basements Higher

Structural stabilisation: Bridge Abutments, Tunnel Stabilisation, Embankments

Insulating Fill: Low density insulating sub-screed, Insulating fill to house over-sites

More Information About Foamed Concrete

DENSITY & STRENGTH

Porofoam can be tailored to your requirements, our technical team will create a suitable mix design for your application. Porofoam can achieve strengths of up to 20 N/mm2and our unique production process allows us to produce an extremely wide range of dry densities from as low as 300kg/m3 up to 2000kg/m3. For strengths and densities outside of this range our team will work with you to provide a solution.

FOAM CONCRETE PLACEMENT GUIDANCE

Porofoam can be pumped, horizontally, vertically, or directly placed in layers of up to 1m single lift depth in order to maintain the required air void structure. The fluid nature of Porofoam allows the concrete to free flow into even the smallest of spaces making it highly suitable for voidfill applications. Porofoam can be pumped by either a conventional concrete pump or rotor stator pump. The material typically remains fluid for 2/3 hours after mixing with the foam (dependent upon ambient conditions). Porofoam also exhibits no settlement characteristics that may occur with granular fill materials allowing a much more stable fill.

SPECIFICATION TYPES

Porofoam foamed concrete can be supplied with or without coarse aggregate depending on the type and application. The stable bubble structure can be introduced into the mix in three ways:

By blending a pre-formed foam into a mortar base mix after mixing or at site, enabling the achievement of ultra low densities.

By adding specially formulated air-entrained admixtures into the concrete during the mixing process. This generally produces an entrained air content of between 10% and 25%. The resultant material is referred to as High Air-entrained Concrete (HAC) or High Air-entrained Mortar (HAM)

By adding foam generating admixtures to a mortar base mix after mixing or at site. This will produce higher levels of entrained air than air-entraining admixture and consequently a lower density.

Call our Product Support Helpline for more information on 01926 818264

Porofoam Case Studies

Porofoam Stepney TBM Removal

60 Second Case Study

The Lee Tunnel Super Sewer project is designed to divert millions of tonnes of London sewerage away from ending up in the River Thames. As part of the project, contractor Barhale, working on behalf of their client Costain, were required to construct a tunnel which would connect the sewer network to an overflow shaft. The new tunnel would break into the overflow shaft approximately a metre above the base and therefore required an easily removable infill material to be able to safely remove the Tunnel Boring Machine Barhale contacted CEMEX to see if they could use Porofoam, our low density concrete, as the solution In order to hold the 150 tonne weight of the TBM, the material needed to achieve a minimum of 5N/mm2 compressive strength whilst maintaining a density low enough to allow the TBM to easily penetrate . CEMEX Technical team recommended Porofoam 900 as the optimum solution. As the TBM moved along the Beckton overflow tunnel, Porofoam was placed in the overflow shaft base to a depth sufficient to cover the boring machine ready for when it broke through. For this contract 360m3 of porofoam was supplied from our nearby Stepney Plant and delivered on trucks pre-mixed The TBM was finally extracted from the Beckton Overflow Shaft by breaking the surface Porofoam and lifted out by crane

Foamed Concrete - St Vincents Sheffield

60 Second Case Study

St Vincents Church in Sheffield was to be transformed into a new student accommodation complex. The renovation project required a mass filling of the existing basement with 20N/mm2 concrete. When contractor, Paul John construction approached CEMEX for a suitable voidfill solution, we proposed to use Porofoam, our low density foamed concrete. Using Porofoam enabled the pour to be completed in less than half the time than using a standard concrete. Due to it’s reduced plastic density Porofoam could be placed in much thicker layers reducing lateral pressures exerted on the 165 year old internal walls of the basement. Additionally, Porofoam is self-compacting and self-levelling, which made it much easier for the contractor to place in the network of basement chambers. Porofoam is available in a range of densities and strengths and is manufactured using our proprietary CEMEX admixtures. For this project CEMEX delivered around 60m3 of pre-mixed Porofoam over 2 days to fill the void which achieved the required 20N/mm2 concrete strength.

Foamed Concrete - Bridge Span Infill

60 Second Case Study

Whilst undertaking a bridge replacement scheme in Ashton under Lyne, Murphy Group required a low density product suitable for mass voidfill. Working on behalf of their client, network rail, Murphy’s bricked up 2 spans of the bridge to create a chamber underneath, which was to be filled through holes on the bridge deck. This enabled demolition of part of the bridge, without taking lengthy possessions of the Railway line which was to continue to operate under one of the spans. When Murphy Group approached CEMEX for a suitable voidfill solution we proposed to use Porofoam, our lightweight foamed concrete product, which is designed specifically for each project by our UK Technical Department Porofoam is available in a range of densities and strengths and is manufactured using our proprietary CEMEX admixtures. The product can be mixed onsite by our foam production units or delivered in trucks premixed. For this project CEMEX delivered around 2000m3 of pre-mixed Porofoam over a 2 week period to meet the programmed demand.

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Other Voidfill Products

Roadfill

Roadfill - An efficient and cost-effective reinstatement material that complies with the Roads and Streets Works Act 1991. Roadfill is available as FCR Classes C2 and C4. There is no settlement with so therefore it can be fully resurfaced in one operation. There is also no need for compaction equipment. Applications: Reinstatement of temporary opening in streets and highways, Protection of buried services, Road Pavement Reinstatements

Tankfill

Tankfill - The more cohesive property of Porofoam Tankfill allows a controlled discharge into tanks with a restricted entry point. Air and gases in the tank are gradually displaced by the foamed concrete . Being a cellular fill, Porofoam is less prone to penetration from external contaminants. Porofoam Tankfill meets the building regulation codes for fire resistance. Applications: Filling of disused petrol and oil tanks, Filling of effluent and water tanks, Filling of redundant Silos

More Information About Foamed Concrete

DENSITY & STRENGTH

FOAM CONCRETE PLACEMENT GUIDANCE

SPECIFICATION TYPES

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Porofoam Case Studies

Porofoam Stepney TBM Removal

Foamed Concrete - St Vincents Sheffield

Foamed Concrete - Bridge Span Infill

Other Voidfill Products

Roadfill

Tankfill