Abstract
The performance of foaming agent plays a key role in the forming quality of foamed concrete. In order to overcome the limitation of single composition of traditional foaming agent, this paper adopts the research method of multicomponent composite combined with the foaming theory and preparation technology of foaming agent, a new protein composite foaming agent was prepared using a mixture of anionic surfactant (SCA), nonionic surfactant (APG), and foam stabilizer (AR), and then, the effects of different surfactant mass ratios and foam stabilizer concentrations on the properties of composite foaming agent were studied by a series of tests. The results show that the optimal mass ratio of surfactants is mAPG: mSCA = 2 : 1, and the optimal concentration of foam stabilizer is 0.5 g/L, which verified that the self-made composite foaming agent system in this paper has the advantages of strong foaming ability, excellent foam stability, and low cost. In addition, foamed concrete was prepared on the basis of the optimized composite foaming agent system, and the influence rules of different foaming agent solution volumes, water-cement ratios, and diatomite dosages on the performance of foamed concrete were revealed through laboratory tests and SEM images. At the same time, the optimal ratio of each component required for the preparation of high-quality foamed concrete was further obtained by using the response surface analysis of compressive strength. The research results provide an important reference for the preparation of high-performance foamed concrete and corresponding foaming agent, which is beneficial for solving the disadvantages of poor foam stability in the existing foaming agents and improving the application level of foamed concrete in engineering construction.
Highlights
Foaming agent is a class of substances that produces pore structure inside the matrix through physical or chemical method [1]
Rough a series of tests and calculation analysis, the effects of different surfactant mass ratios and foam stabilizer concentrations on the properties of the composite foaming agent were studied, and high-quality foamed concrete was prepared on the basis of an optimized composite foaming agent system. e main conclusions are as follows: (1) ere is a reasonable critical value of SCA content for the composite foaming agent. e appropriate increase of SCA content is beneficial to enhance the stability of foam, ensure the number of bubbles generated by the composite foaming agent, and improve the uniformity of the foam particle size
(2) Based on the analysis of the foaming volume and foam stability, the optimal mass ratio of surfactants is determined as mSCA: mAPG 1 : 2, so that the composite foaming agent prepared in this paper has both excellent foaming ability and foam stability
Summary
Foaming agent is a class of substances that produces pore structure inside the matrix through physical or chemical method [1]. It has requirements on the ability to produce a large amount of foam, but it has no strict requirements on the technical properties such as foam multiple and foam stability and has no specific requirements on whether the generated foam has practical application value. Compared with the generalized foaming agent, the narrow foaming agent emphasizes its application value and requires excellent foaming performance to achieve technical indexes of various products so as to be applied in practical production and life [3]. In the field of concrete, using foaming agent to prepare foamed concrete is of great significance to the application and popularization of foaming agent [7]. Compared with ordinary concrete slurry, foamed concrete greatly improves its application performance due to the introduction of a large number of bubbles, so that it has a series of advantages such
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