Synergy Action of Glass Powder and Foaming Additive in Production of Lightweight Cement-Based Materials

Waste glass in the form of finely grounded powder can be, due to its assumed pozzolanic behaviour, used in cement and concrete industry as a Supplementary Cementing Material (SCM) helping to reduce the consumption of natural resources and emission of greenhouse gases. In this sense, the presented paper is focused on the use of waste borosilicate glass in production of cement-based lightweight composites. For both Portland cement and glass admixture, chemical composition, pozzolanic activity and basic physical characteristics were accessed. In composite mixes, cement binder was partially replaced with glass powder in the amount of 15 and 20 mass %. In order to produce lightweight materials, foaming agent in the amount of 0.58 ml/kg of blended binder was used. For the developed materials, bulk density, matrix density, total open porosity, mechanical resistance, water transport parameters and thermal properties were tested The obtained experimental results revealed pozzolanic activity of micro scale milled waste glass that led to the decrease in porosity and thus improved mechanical resistance of the investigated composites. High porosity of foamed concretes significantly improves their thermal-insulation function and helps to save raw materials for their production.