Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Lightweight Foam Paste Plates with Zeolite Blended Cements

Foamed cementitious materials are increasingly preferred in energy-efficient building designs. The preferred designs involve multifaceted targets such as sustainability, carbon emission and energy efficiency. According to these, the thermal and mechanical performances of lightweight foam paste plates (LFPPs) with zeolite blended cements were investigated. For blended cements, two different zeolites were used as cement replacement materials at 0, 10, 30, and 50%. In mixtures, foaming agent/water and water/cement were fixed as 1:30 and 0.40, respectively. Foam was achieved with a foaming agent obtained from hydrolysis of animal proteins. The LFFPs were produced by adding foam component into fresh slurry obtained with water and blended cement. The physical, mechanical, thermal properties and microstructural analysis of LFPPs were determined. Thermal performance tests were carried out using the hot wire method. Microstructural analyses revealed that the inherently porous structure of zeolite increased the total void volume within the cement matrix, thereby leading to a reduction in strength. The compressive strengths of LFPPs were 1.52-1.90 MPa. Accordingly, thermal insulations of LFPPs containing zeolite blended cements improved up to 45.40%. The highest specific heat within series containing zeolites was in series with 10% analcime. Moreover, thermal improvements were obtained without compromising strength in standard limit.