Mumbai-based Sai-Ansh Engineers Pvt. Ltd. has developed a single unit foam concrete plant used to mix and pump foam concrete of required density
Sai-Ansh Engineers Pvt. Ltd. (SAEPL) has developed a foam concrete plant with integrated system of foam generator and pump. With SAEPL’s medium-sized plant, the foam concrete can be pumped to a height of 20 metres and horizontally to a length of 150 metres; with this layout foam concrete walls can be easily cast. Foam concrete can also be laid on terrace and other floors to get benefit of thermal and acoustic insulation with all the other benefits of foam concrete.
Foam concrete could also be used to make lower density sandwich panels by pumping. It has great thermal and acoustic insulation properties.
The specialty of SAEPL plant is that the density of foam concrete can be adjusted online, so that the concrete can be pumped and laid as per requirement at particular locations.
SAEPL can provide the complete plant on the lines of a fully automatic concrete batching plant. In case of an automatic batching system, the conveyor is replaced by a batching hopper and bins. The plant is a ready-to-use with just the mains to be connected in the control panel after proper levelling of the equipment and barrels for foaming agent and water to be provided. The plant consists of three sections: mixer, foam generator and pumping.
In the mixer section cement sand, flyash and water are charged as per the mix design established for the required density. Bags of cement, sand, and flyash are to be kept ready duly weighed as per the mix design, so that there is no or very little time lag between the time the batch is consumed and mixer is refilled. The level in the mixer has to be always maintained at one-third of the capacity.
In the foam generator section, the inlet pipe with a strainer provided with the plant has to be put in the barrel containing diluted foaming agent. This diluted liquid is automatically pumped into the system and with compressed air the foam is generated. The test foam can be taken from the bye pass line provided and ensured that it has the required parameters before it is changed to supply in the system.
In the pumping section, the cement slurry is sucked and discharged into a chamber where the foam generated is also pumped into the chamber. Then the foam is injected into cement slurry while it passes through the chamber and at the other end of the chamber we get foam concrete ready. Discharge pipe is connected at the end of the chamber and the discharged foam concrete can be poured in the moulds or site as required.
The density of the foam concrete can be adjusted simply by using a knob in the control panel.