Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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1. Utilized terminology
Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
The AUTOCLAVED AERATED CONCRETE (AAC) manufactured elements are formed of silica sand, cement,
lime and water. By adding aluminium powder a reaction is produced with consequently forming of a multitude of
little air bobbles inside the bulk. During the autoclaving the lime in the binder reacts with water and silica and
forms calcium silicate hydrates which Heddle 1880 called TOBERMORITE.
Sand
Ideal sand should consists of a minimum of 90% of SiO2.
Cement
Cement is a finely ground mixture of man-made minerals which guarantee the binding function.
Lime
Quicklime is the main binding agent.
Water
The water is used for two purposes: to feed the boiler for generating steam and in the process in the mixture
with sand, lime, cement and aluminium. Ordinary drinking water is practically always suitable. Condense water
is created as steam waste but it is possible to reuse the waste water in the process.
Aluminium powder
When the aluminium is mixed together with the other ingredients it will develop hydrogen gas (H2). It is during
this process that the specific structure of AAC is obtained.
Autoclaves
The matrix as well as the firmness of the AAC is formed during autoclaving.
It is possible to make foamed or aerated concrete without autoclaving but the properties will be very bad. Of
course such a product will contain mostly cement. The mechanical strength will not be very high and during the
drying the shrinkage will be excessive. As a rule such product will start cracking by itself when it approaches
equilibrium moisture content after a couple of years. In case of ordinary concrete products, there are no
shrinking troubles during the drying operation, but in foamed or aerated concrete the aggregate is air and if
manufactured without autoclaving, drying shrinkage will cause cracking. The calcium silicate hydrates formed
during autoclaving is more stable than the one formed of cement at room temperature. Autoclaved products
have low shrinkage. Cement will need four weeks to attain final strength at room temperature whereas
autoclaving takes only 12 hours.
AAC properties
It is possible to vary the properties of AAC to a certain extent by varying the density and as a consequence the
strength and the thermal conductivity change.
Density
Normally the density of the AAC varies from 400 - 600 kg/m3 equal to four times less of the cement density.
Compression strength
The compression strength of a light weight material will be less than of a heavy weight one. The compression
strength of the AAC is sufficient to allow building of three-story buildings with load bearing and high rank
insulating single skin walls. This type of construction is very popular in Sweden.
Thermal conductivity
The AAC thanks to its excellent thermal insulating features is used in the most varying climates and commonly
used in fire retarding walls for its special resistance against fire.
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2. The History of AAC
The AAC building material was developed in Sweden 60 years ago with various brand names.
The plants assumed in the years big dimensions by increasing the complexity of machinery and construction
costs
Svanholm Engineering AB developed and simplified plants and production equipments based on new
inventions and applications maintaining at the same time a high quality of the product.
Since 1990 eight Svanholm plants for smooth face precision blocks have been started up.
Since 2007 ALPINA INDUSTRIALE S.p.A., an Italian company specialized in manufacturing machinery and
plants for building material industry, acquired from the Svanholm Company the license to build plants for the
AAC industry according the Svanholms proposed technology.
WATER
Drinkable Ph 7 7,5
Pressure min. Bar 78
Pressure max. Dh 12 18
Temperature < mg/lt 7 + 0,5
pH-value <mg/lt 18
Hardness 500
Chloride 200
Sulphate
Water must be free from any possible damaging component. It should
not contain any solid component such as sand or others that can
damage the equipments or their working.
GYPSUM
Dehydrate or (preferable) Anhydrite of commercial grade. Since it
will be ground with the sand granular gypsum is satisfactory.
Delivered from road tankers with compressor units with pneumatic
conveyance to silos.
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4. Description of the technological process
The production process of the AAC can be shortly described as follows:
The necessary row materials for the process are supplied day by day.
The sand slurry is prepared in a wet ball mill and then conveyed into the slurry tank by a pump. The slurry
density is controlled by continuous measurement.
The slurry silo is equipped with a planetary mixer, which will prevent any solids settling in the base of the
tank by keeping the slurry continuously in motion.
The return slurry from the cutting pit is kept continuously in motion in the tank under the setting machine by
four propeller stirrers.
Lime and cement arriving from their respective silos are conveyed in a weighing bin equipped with screw,
and then conveyed onto the mixer tank where also the slurry, aluminium and water will be added. The tank
will continuously weighted in order to guarantee the right quantity of the mixture before it will be filled into
the moulds.
The silica sand mixed with the cement, lime and water forms a very fluid mixture, that is the semi-liquid
mixing to which a low quantity of agent - the aluminium powder - as expanding and staffing means is
added.
The slurry is filled into mobile moulds, and each gives origin to a net volume after trims of 2,7 m 3 (length
6000 mm, width 600 mm, high 750 mm).
By a controlled temperature of approx. 40C, the slurry expands, start to stiffen, and inside the cake form
small hydrogen bubbles which give the typical characteristic micro-porosity of the AAC.
After about 3-4 hours of stiffening, the AAC bulk has become a cake , stiff enough and stabile to be moved
from the mould and cut in single elements with great precision.
The waste parts produced during the cutting are recovered and re-insert in the process line, with no material
waste.
The cakes are cut in blocks, plates or panels which are conveyed into high pressure and temperature
cylindrical shell (autoclaves) for the final strength and hardening. Each autoclave can contain up to 32,4 m 3
of product.
The cakes stay in the autoclaves twelve hours at 12 atmospheres of pressure and at temperature of approx.
200C. In this project the output will be equivalent to 580 m3/day with three working shift and with the
production of 18 autoclaves/day.
The process confers the material the final dimensional strength and hardness characteristics, with a
peculiarity that it becomes an artificial stone very lightweight material and easily workable.
At the autoclaves exit the product will be checked about its quality and integrity, in order to evaluate the
correspondence to the quality standards fixed by the company.
At the end of the production process, the cakes are ready to the following packaging and stocking on pallet
which dimensions are m 0,75 x m 1,2 while blocks, partition walls, plates, are subject to further profiling or
refining and then packed and stocked.
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Process chart
1 2
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6 5
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1. Sand processing
2. Slurry formation
3. Raw materials mixing
4. Mould pouring
5. Cake cutting
6. Cake hardening
7. Product unloading and packaging
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SIDE VIEW OF AN AUTOCLAVES PLANT
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Lime and cement Silos
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Aluminium powder dosing mixer
Aluminium, mixed with water, is dosed into an appropriate weighing vessel then filled into the main mixer.
Casting station
Sand, water, lime, cement and aluminium after being weight are conveyed in the main mixer where they are kept
continuously in motion till when the casting moulds are filled.
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Casting tower for dosing and mixing
The mould consists of a transfer car carrying the cake towards the cutting line, the autoclaves, the unloading and
packaging zone and of a case frame (mould) which is posed on the car so that it can be transferred to the fermentation
phase and then removed.
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After the casting, the car is transferred in a waiting area where for a predetermined time the cakes rise. Meanwhile the
following mould is filled in the same way.
When the cakes are sufficiently stable and stiff the car takes place under a gripper which removes the moulds. The
moulds are cleaned and oiled and then positioned on new other cars. The car carrying the stiff cakes continues its way
to the cutting line.
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Moulds
The car is now positioned immediately in front of the cutting line. The cakes on the car are cut in a longitudinal way
which determines the height of the block and simultaneously a lateral cut which sets the width of the block. After this, the
car is positioned under the vertical cutting machine which sets the thickness of the block.
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Machine for the lateral, longitudinal and vertical cut (overall view)
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The waste top part of the cake is taken by a vacuum lifter and when the car has been moved it is dumped into a pit of
the slurry return.
Vacuum lifter for the coating, positioned on the vertical cutting machine
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Automatic cars handling system
Autoclaving
After the cutting the cars are conveyed into the autoclaves for the curing process. They stay in the autoclave about 12
hours. Steam inlet and relevant pressure are adjusted by a monitoring system and continuous control.
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Autoclaves. View from above
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Automatic cars transfer system in the autoclaves area
The car is conveyed to the unloading station where a gripper lifts the cake while the car is driven to the clearing zone.
A guillotine removes the coating bottom of the cake. A belt conveyor disposes of the scraps outside. The cake is put on
pallets, plastic wrapped and transported out to the yard.
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5. Technical features of the plant
PRODUCTION CAPACITY
Production capacity per day m3/day 580
Working shift N 3
Production capacity per year 3
m /year 174.000
Net cake dimension mm 6.000 x 600 x 750
Net cake volume m3 2,7
Net material volume on each car m3 5,4
PRODUCTION TIMES
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STAFF REQUIREMENT FOR THREE WORKING SHIFTS
A Production manager, quality tests N 1
B Production supervisor N 3
C Fitter/Maintenance man N 1
D Casting, cutting, cleaning and transport of the mould cars N 9
D Unloading, lay on pallet, for lift for plant storage N 9
D Fork lift for storage- loading N 1
Level of qualification
A Engineer
B Foreman
C Highly qualified worker
D Skilled worker
Steam stations and autoclaves operate always in three shifts, independent from the
number of production shifts.
6. Utilities Energy
The AAC plants requires supplies such as steam, water, compressed air and electrical power for its operation.
Steam is obtained from steam-boiler system in the specified flow rate and pressure.
The condensate is carried in the accumulation tank for the following use.
The compressed air is generated by the compressor.
Electricity is supplied by the company in charge of it and eventually converted on site.
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7. Consumption materials
MOULDS OIL
Shell V-1406 / ES 1
FINA Moldol LW 7081
DEA Deaform GB-V
BP Energol CM 7522-4
CALTEX form oil GB O
MOBIL (for side shields) Porex 38
MOBIL (for bottom) Certrex 112
CUTTING WIRES
Steel quality spring steel wire acc. to DIN
2076
Materials 11200 DIN 17223
Diameter mm 0.5, 0.6,0.7 and
0.8 + 0.04
Tensile strength kp / mm234-259
Delivery on steel strapped coils:
Inner coil diameter mm > 250
Outer coil diameter mm < 400
Weight kg 10
FUEL
Natural gas N.H.V. 8.500 kcal / m3
ELECTRIC POWER
Current power Alternating
Voltage current
Voltage distribution kW 415
Voltage fluctuation V Max + 5
Frequency % 50
Hz
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8. Auxiliary installations
Analyses Laboratory
In the laboratory are carried the analyses on raw materials. In case of lime, a wet slaking graph is platted, this
being used to ascertain reaction the velocity and the quality. The sand is subjected to the analyses of the
granulometry and the moisture, of the silica grade. To the exit mill is effected the analysis on the weight of the
one litre of slurry and on the granulometry. Also subjected to analyses is the density and the viscosity of the
return slurry.
The results of these analyses serve as an inducement to the mixing-plant operator to apply formulas
corresponding to the given raw-materials data so as to adequate the program to ensure constant quality
standards of the final product.
From the finished product sample cubes are taken out and tested for weight and compressive strength.
The AAC is a lightweight material and actually can float on the water. This characteristic means that it is easily
transported, it is easily handled and it does not load the foundation or building frame.
.
The AAC is fireproof. The torch in the picture above has a temperature of 3000C. Some of the worlds fire test
institutions use this material to build furnaces to test other building materials.
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The AAC masonries completed with a 10 mm internal and 15 mm external plaster layer allow to obtain with the
density of 500 kg/m3 the following below indicated features :
The thermal transmittance is the insulating capacity of an element. The lower is the value higher is the
insulating capacity of the element whether for the winter frost or the summer heat.
With such characteristics, the system can fulfil the major energy saving requirements and comfort with
restrained thicknesses. Here below is possible to compare the technical characteristics among the various
common building materials.
cm Kg/m2 U=W/(mK) MJ %
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The technology of the AAC, the production process and the possibility to pre-arm, where necessary, the different
elements, allow to create a countless series of manufactured articles such as: smooth and tapped blocks and,
slabs, hollow flat tiles, topsails, lintels, panel-wall, panel-ceiling, etc..
These manufactured articles, destined in theirs together with the realization of a real construction system, can be
also separately used in the traditional construction systems, both for civil constructions and for industrial
constructions.
These presuppositions make of the AAC the most innovative material in the constructions field.
The performances of the product and the range of the elements allow to simplify both the project process to all
advantage of the liberty the architect's compositions, and the construction process, to all advantage of the
economy of the yard, without renouncing the quality.
AAC can be produced into many dimensions. The length of the block is 600 mm, the height is 250 mm and the
thickness from 100 mm up to 300 mm.
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Blocks can be produced (also for external masonries) of greater dimension which faces to contact can be
corrected in order to have inferior tolerances to the mm as well as to enable the use of glues instead of the
mortars, equal to mm 1200x600x300 whose weigh results to be equal to kg 11. These blocks are indicated with
the term of precision blocks.
These precision block is not laid with ordinary mortar, but a special thin joint compound is used.
This will be supplied as a dry mixture in sacks and shall be mixed with water according to the instructions on the
sacks. A special trowel or toothed shovel are used to spread the jointing material, which is usually, but not quite
correct, referred to as glue. Its thickness is only 1/8
At the same time elements of superior length of mt 2,4 can actually be produced. Also the mini panels are
placed with thin mortar like with the precisions Block. In order to lift the mini panel and to position it on place a
special light crane is used for this type of special function.
Because of the simplicity in the use of the joint materials, no special masonry skilled labour is requested. Any
worker can quickly learn to lay walls in an excellent way. In Sweden a team of building workers and helpers are
able to erect at least 40 sq ft of wall in one hour
The thin joint mortar is much more expensive than the ordinary mortar but since the joints are thin it will be used
in a very few quantity and then a lower final cost.
AAC can easily be shaped with ordinary wood-working tools and it is easy to use nails. Also to insert the ducts
for electricity and water is easy to use adequate tools.
TOBERMORITE*
The compressive strength of the AAC product is in function of a number of parameters and the most important
are: Density, grain size of sand and amount of binders.
The influence of the density is obvious. A more compact material can stand a higher compressive load but it will
also have less insulation capability.
Grain size of sand and amount of binders is of great interest whereas there is an optimal relationship between
these two components. By completing this relationship and autoclaving the product in the optimal way will be
transformed in TOBERMORITE.
This product owes these characteristics to its porous structure to closed cell produced by the chemical reaction
among a fermentation agent, the aluminium powder, that added in minimum percentage to a semi-liquid mixture
composed of silica sand, water, cement and lime reacts with the binders developing bubbles of hydrogen. The
bubbles of hydrogen make the mixture ferment and leaven conferring it a cell closed isotropic structure porous.
It is this typical structure that determines its lower part specific weight.
At the end of the process of stiffness the material assumes such a hardness to be cut in the desired forms and
transferred the" final strength in autoclaves in which high pressure and high temperature steam is introduced.
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In the process of hardness by high pressure and high temperature, the AAC assumes a stable and resistant
mass to the compression; the silica sand, in this phase, takes active part to the chemical reaction, forming a
silicate of crystalline hydrate calcium, exempt from corrosive substances such as chlorides and with an acidity
of around 10 pH.
The production process allows to obtain various densities at dry of the product with different values of
mechanical resistance and different performances characteristics of thermal and acoustic isolation conferring it
the most high performances in comparison to every other traditional product.
At the end of the process the AAC has the following characteristics: low specific weight, good resistance to the
compression, elevated power of thermal and acoustic isolation, exceptional resistance to the fire, excellent
workable , endless duration in the time.
The choice of the material density depends on the functions to which it is destined to and as a rule a density of
500 kg/m3s it is the ideal density for all the applications.
In conclusion, although it is composed of the same raw materials of the concrete, the AAC is totally different
material, since the sand takes active part at the process of" hydration."
The AAC is an ecological building material because:
it is composed of elements present in nature in an almost boundless quantity and its production
doesn't notch the natural reserves of exhaustible row materials;
it is realized with natural raw materials, exempted by noxious radioactive or gaseous emissions;
its production is characterized by the not immission of toxic vapours or gases in the environment;
the wastes of the worked parts are reemployed and the scraps used as inert material.
*Tobermorite exists in nature but is very rare. It belongs to a group of minerals known as calcium silicate
hydrates or in short CSH. The quantity of calcium, silica and water is approximately 1 to 1 to 1.
Tobermorite is a crystal where the molecules or atoms are arranged in a rigid pattern with a constant distance
between the particles.
The Tobermorite is often technically referred as 11-Tobermorite, since the crystal lattice distance is
approximately 11 ngstrm. This is to avoid misunderstandings.
The crystals of Tobermorite form a rigid network, while the silica grains being well glued to the structure.
The result is a structure of silica grains held together by Tobermorite crystals.
Also the network of the Tobermorite has a distance of 11 . and the crystals are relatively big even if they are
only clearly visible at the electronic microscope. This is important for the chemist to guarantee the physical
stability of the product.
As the crystals of Tobermorite are relatively big, the influence of the water is reduced avoiding the Tobermorite
products to retire in excessive way
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Elevated power of resistance to the fire (REI)
The AAC is an incombustible material Class 0 with high resistance to the fire.
It is a particular material suitable to be employed in public and industrial process buildings for the realization of
firebreak walls.
The walls and the ceilings realized in AUTOCLAVED AERATED CONCRETE, satisfy the requirements of all the
classes of resistance to the fire.
Excellent workability
Boundless duration in the time
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