A working line for the development of strength prediction models for foamed cellular
concrete (FCC) consists of taking models designed for normal concrete (NC) and
adapting them to incorporate the particular characteristics of this material. In this
work, a new strength prediction model for FCC is presented. In it, the specific
densities of composing materials and their relative amounts to cement, by weight, are
considered as input variables. Introducing the specific density of the foam and the
foam-cement ratio by weight as input parameters of the model allows for
consideration of the variability of the characteristics of the produced foam and, with
it, the control of its influence on the mechanical characteristics of FCC.
Quantifying the quantities of materials through their relationships with cement by
weight is a common procedure in concrete technology, and allows proper
control, with greater ease and accuracy, both in manufacturing plants and
laboratories.
In addition to the development of the mathematical expression of the model,
its calibration and validation are presented. For this, experimental campaigns and
statistical analysis were conducted. The influence of each input variable considered
by the model on the compressive strength of the material is evidenced through
parametric analysis. In this way, it was possible to achieve a mathematical expression
for determining FCC theoretical porosity, and throughout it, the material’s compressive
strength. Also, the expression is composed of parameters of simple determination,
both on construction sites and in laboratories. Additionally, it was also shown
that the proposed equation for the theoretical porosity is applicable for FCC that
incorporates sand or not, and it can also be used with foams with different densities.
