Study on Key Parameters and Design Methods for the Density-Mix Proportion of Rubber-Foamed Concrete

Abstract

Rubber-foamed concrete demonstrates exceptional toughness, a low elastic modulus, and significant sensitivity to density. It is necessary to parameterize the density mix of rubber-foaming concrete to meet engineering design requirements. Density-mix design methods for foaming concrete rely mainly on empirical knowledge or trial-and-error approaches. In this paper, with numerous parametric tests and regression analysis based on general principles for density-mix designs applicable to both foamed and rubber-foamed concretes, the key design parameters, such as volume correction coefficient, rubber size effect coefficient, and water-reducing agent effect coefficient, have been proposed in order to optimize their respective densities more accurately. The tests demonstrated an optimal water-to-cement ratio of 0.45, corresponding to a volume correction factor of 1.027. Incorporating rubber particles and water-reducing agents has a more significant effect on the cement-paste volume. Controlling fluidity in the 200 to 300 mm range is crucial when designing foamed concrete with varying densities. The regression equation accurately predicts the paste’s measured volume and wetting density by incorporating volume corrections, size, and water reduction effect coefficients. By employing a foam excess coefficient of 1.1 and a mass coefficient of 1.25, the dry and wet density error of foam concrete is less than 5%. A comprehensive framework for optimizing mix design in terms of density is provided for applications in foamed concrete and rubber-foamed concrete, facilitating researchers in designing mix ratios for additional novel mixture-based foamed-concrete applications.