Evaluation of Suitability of Carboxymethyl Cellulose in Performance Improvement of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Foam and Compressive Strength of Foam Concrete

Currently, foam concrete is commonly used for various construction applications such as partitions, filling grades, road embankment infills, and sound and heat insulation. It is to be noted that the foam production parameters have significant influence on the cellular structure of foam concrete, which governs the material properties of concrete. Hence, in an attempt to improve the foam quality, the present work focuses on evaluation of the suitability of viscosity enhancing agent carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in performance improvement of foam produced with surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) for use in foam concrete production. Firstly, the influence of the addition of CMC on behavior of foam produced with surfactant SLS was studied by evaluating essential characteristics such as foam density, foam stability, and viscosity of surfactant solution. As a next step, the microstructure of foam and its behavior in cement slurry and mortar at the optimized concentrations of SLS and CMC were studied. Experimental studies revealed that the addition of 0.2 % CMC to 2.5 % SLS surfactant solution resulted in a 134 % increase in viscosity of surfactant solution, which eventually resulted in tremendous improvement in foam quality in terms of 34 % reduction in foam drainage (at the 5th minute after foam generation) and 22 % reduction in larger size foam bubbles (D90). Furthermore, as the air void microstructure of foam concrete is dependent on the foam bubble sizes, the reduction in foam bubble sizes resulted in 20 % enhancement in compressive strength of foam concrete. The addition of CMC is also found to affect the workability of foam concrete mixes, which is evident from the reduction in flow spread and the increase in flow time. Also, as the foam has retarding properties, the increase in foam content is found to increase the demolding time requirement of foam concrete specimens.