Aerated concrete (cellular concrete) today is considered one of the most popular building materials that are used in the suburban housing market.
The first patent for the technology of producing concrete, which made the gas released during the interaction of substances added to the solution porous, was received in 1889 by the Czech inventor Hoffman. But aerated concrete, which is now popular all over the world, was invented later – in 1922 by the Swedish architect Axel Eriksson. And the Swedish brand Ytong (“Itong”) became the ancestor of the industrial production of autoclaved aerated concrete.
In the USSR, the production of cellular concrete began to actively develop in the 1950s and continues today. Although there are not so many large manufacturing plants in Russia. The production of autoclaved aerated concrete itself is a technologically very complex process that requires high-precision equipment, competent technical specialists and constant investments, says Anton Sheboldasov, head of technical development at Bonolit Group (the company is engaged in the production of aerated concrete).
Aerated concrete is a material that consists of sand, cement, lime and water. During the manufacturing process, all components are mixed in the required proportions, the molds with the mixture are sent to the maturation chamber, where the material acquires its original strength. “Next, the massif is cut on a high-precision cutting line, and it is sent to an autoclave for 12 hours (in other words, a high-pressure oven). It is there that aerated concrete acquires its final characteristics, becoming an artificial stone mineral,” the expert noted.
Aerated concrete is a type of cellular concrete made using blowing agents. It gains its strength in an autoclave under the influence of high pressure and steam treatment. According to the method of pore formation, cellular concretes are divided into foam concretes and aerated concretes. One material uses chemical foam to create the honeycomb structure, while the other uses gas.
