Benefits of NEOPOR^® CLC

Compared with conventional concrete, Cellular Lightweight Concrete (CLC) has many benefits.

The tremendous savings described when using CLC are manifold, continuing with substantial savings in raw material (no gravel required), in dead load of high-rise reducing by almost half. Considering that a substantial amount of steel is necessary only to carry the weight of the structure, steel requirement might reduce by hundres of ton in high rise.

Weight reduction is obvious in transport, where almost double of volume of building material can be produced, it has an impact on craning, where either larger panles can be taken, or the full capacity in span. Alternatively less re-location of the crane is necessary.

Thermal Insulation increasingly turns to be the most important issue in the planning and construction of buildings. There are many costly ways of insulation on sandwich structure of a wall, adding the one or another rigid insulation material, with a satisfactory result by computation but not always a sound solution in safety, health or enviroment. The best solution is, to incorporate thermal insulation in the mix of a concrete, such offered in aircured CLC.

The air-embedded in the CLC is also instrumental for the high fire-rating. In 1200 kg/m³ density a 13-14 cm thick wall has a fire endurance of 5 hours. The same delay occurs with a 400 kg/m³ layer of CLC in only 10 cm thickness. CLC is otherwiese non-combustible.

Over the efforts to keep on increasing the thermal capacity of building members, other aspects have been neglected, such as sound insulation. Sound is experienced as air-borne or foot-fall sound (impact ). Air-borne it is a rule of density and therefore CLC offers superior protection than very light concrete (ACC). In impact sound it is superior to conventional concrete. Hitting a wall with a hammer, will let you feel the full force on the other side, whilst the air embedded in CLC will not allow the blow to pass through. At the most it will suffer a small dent and therefby prevent any greater damage.

As the impact force will not transmit, slabs produced of CLC or topped with a layer of CLC floor screed will prevent any sound being no-ticed in the room below. Walls of CLC will also serve as sound retaining walls on roads or railway tracks therefore, absorbing the sound and preventing it from bouncing to the other side.

Adding fibers to CLC is a further important benefit, increasing bending stress substantially and most of it impact strength. The three dimensional acting fiber (e.g. polypropylene) will further reduce shrinkage, therefore reducing water absorption and increasing strength (up to 25 %. This is appreciated most when producing slender building components.

Using only sand, cement, water and foam, the cost for one m³ of CLC in most cases is less even than for the equivilant volume of conventional concrete. Adding all the described highly appreciated benefits (comprising CLC) to regular concrete, if at all possible, the cost for such regular concrete would probably double but still not reach the overall quality of CLC.

Our system can be readily integrated into existing concrete and prefab works, by just installing the inexpensive, simple but fully automatic foam generator. Over 300.000 buildings have been completed in the past 30 years in over 50 different countries, either using blocks of CLC, steel-reinforced prfab and slabs but mostly casting complete houses in one pour, using vertical formwork. This way one building is completed each day with every set of moulds, frames for doors and windows - or openings therefore, cast-in, the same as facility pipes/tubes for power and sanitary.

CLC becomes increasingly popular also in such countries, where the use of clay will be prohibited to conserve is for the agricultural industry only. A starter-kit is available for less than 10.000 Euro ex works.