Definition | Cellular concrete | Futura House

The Aerated concrete is a material of construction. It is intended for Big work : construction, indoors and outdoors, of walls – whether they are load-bearing or not -, partitions or ceilings. It consists of a mixture of sand – for around 65% -, from cement – for around 20% – and lime – around 15% – with a little powderaluminum or from aluminum paste and D'air. A mixture which causes the formation, at the heart of the material, of a multitude of cells. It is even finally composed, in volume, nearly 80% air.

The invention of concrete cell dates back to the end of the XIXe century and the beginning of its commercialization dates from the 1920s. Today, cellular concrete is commonly used and it is found in the form of blocks, tiles or panels of thicknesses which can vary between 5 and 30 millimeters. Some are clip-on. The rest can be assembled using a mortar special glue.

Properties of aerated concrete

The first interesting property of aerated concrete is its lightness which makes it easy to transport and handle. Another useful property, and not the least: thanks to its honeycomb structure, cellular concrete proves to be an excellent thermal insulator capable in particular of controlling temperature variations. A cellular concrete wall does not need to be insulated elsewhere. But it's still a material that breathes, allowing the water vapour naturally produced in a circulating house. And to finish with the intrinsic properties of cellular concrete, note that it also proves to be completely non-flammable. A cellular concrete wall would have a capacity firewall not less than six hours.

On the other hand, if aerated concrete is easy to cut using a simple saw – provided however to protect against the dust which is then released – it is also brittle. So to seal or fix objects in cellular concrete, you have to use specific dowels.

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