Mearlcrete is an organic protein based foaming agent used for generating cellular concrete. Because it is an organic based foaming agent, it’s not well suited for use in geotechnical placements. Mearlcrete is primarily used in the LWIC roofing market, because it is included in numerous UL listings for roofing assemblies.
Organic based foaming agents aren’t good for geotechnical applications because they have strict limits on placement depths, and can’t be processed by high volume generation equipment. The organic proteins used to make Mearlcrete can denature from the heat of hydration generated during initial set. Just like you can’t put a cooked hamburger back together like a ball of uncooked hamburger, if the protein denatures before the cement matrix has sufficiently cured to prop itself up, the material will consolidate.
If this consolidation happens early on in the process, it does not affect the integrity of the material, but the in place density can be significantly higher than the cast density. If the consolidation happens close to the end of initial set, the material can break into very small pieces, effectively eliminating its bearing capacity.
Alternatives to Mearlcrete
The most common alternative is Aerlite-iX. Aerlite-iX is a pure synthetic foaming agent. Relative to organic preformed foams, synthetic preformed foams:
- tolerate lift thicknesses exceeding 20′ deep without consolidation
- can be processed by high volume equipment and high energy colloidal mixing
- do not denature due to heat of hydration
Sometimes an organic-synthetic blend is best. Aerlite, by Aerix Industries, is a blended foaming agent occasionally used by CJGeo to generate various CJFill mixes.
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