mineral / Cementitious / Cast Concrete
Ultra-lightweight Concrete, <1000 kg/m³ (100mm, 125mm, 150mm slab/panel)
Foamed concrete with high air content; typical plastic densities 400-1600 kg/m3 and compressive strengths 0.5-5 MPa.
Atlas code
MIN-CEM-CC-012
At-a-glance signals
Foamed concrete with high air content; typical plastic densities 400-1600 kg/m3 and compressive strengths 0.5-5 MPa.
Overview
Executive summary
Ultra-lightweight concrete in this context is typically foamed concrete with high air content. It is used for fills and lightweight slabs where low density is required.
Best when…
- Excellent thermal insulation (0.06-0.25 W/mK)
- Self-levelling and self-compacting
- Fire resistant - non-combustible per AS 1530.1
- Lightweight reduces structural loads by 50-80%
- Good acoustic absorption (NRC 0.3-0.7)
- Pumpable over long distances (up to 300m)
- No vibration required during placement
- Minimal shrinkage when properly designed
Top advantages
- 01 Excellent thermal insulation (0.06-0.25 W/mK)
- 02 Self-levelling and self-compacting
- 03 Fire resistant - non-combustible per AS 1530.1
- 04 Lightweight reduces structural loads by 50-80%
- 05 Good acoustic absorption (NRC 0.3-0.7)
Top limitations
- 01 Low compressive strength (1-6 MPa)
- 02 High water absorption (10-25% by mass)
- 03 Requires protective surface treatments
- 04 Limited freeze-thaw resistance without additives
- 05 Prone to segregation if incorrectly mixed
Technical
Physical ·8
- Density
- 400-1000 kg/m3 Foamed concrete plastic density range under 1000 kg/m3.
- Specific gravity
- 0.4-1.0
- Porosity
- 30-80 % Air content by volume in foamed concrete.
- Water absorption
- 10-25% by mass %
- UV resistance
- Requires protective coating // Tier 2: Industry practice
- Chemical resistance
- Good alkaline resistance, poor acid resistance // Tier 2: Material properties
- pH tolerance
- 10-13 (alkaline)
- Surface roughness
- Ra 50-200 μm (cast surface) µm
Mechanical ·7
- Tensile strength
- 0.1-0.6 MPa (10-15% of compressive) MPa
- Compressive strength
- 0.5-5 MPa Foamed concrete compressive strength range.
- Flexural strength
- 0.2-1.2 MPa MPa
- Shear strength
- 0.08-0.5 MPa MPa
- Poisson's ratio
- 0.15-0.25
- Impact resistance
- Low - requires surface protection // Tier 2: Field experience
- Creep resistance
- 0.5-2.0 × 10⁻⁶/MPa (long-term) // Tier 2: Limited data
Sustainability & Health
Embodied carbon & energy ·6
- Embodied carbon
- 120-250 kg CO₂e/m³ // Tier 2: International EPDs
- Carbon footprint
- 150-300 kg CO₂e/m³ // Tier 2: LCA studies
- Embodied energy
- 800-1500 MJ/m³ MJ/kg // Tier 2: LCA data
- Water footprint
- 200-400 L/m³ L/kg // Tier 3: Estimated
- Recycled content
- 0-30% (fly ash content) % // Tier 1: Mix design
- Renewable content
- 0% % // Mineral based
Compliance & Fire
Fire performance ·6
- Combustibility class
- Non-combustible // Tier 1: AS 1530.1
- Fire resistance level
- 60-240 minutes (thickness dependent) // Tier 1: Test data
- Ignition temp
- Not applicable - non-combustible °C // Mineral material
- Flame spread index
- 0
- Smoke dev. index
- 0-1
- Heat release rate
- 0 kW/m² // Non-combustible
Cost & Lifecycle
Capex & lead time ·6
- Material cost (range)
- $80-150/m³ // Tier 2: Australian market
- Material cost (per unit)
- $8-23/m² (100mm thick) // Calculated
- Lead time
- 2-7 days (on-site production) // Tier 2: Supplier information
- Lifecycle cost
- $200-400/m³ over 50 years // Tier 3: Estimated
- Annual maintenance
- $0.50-2/m² // Tier 3: Estimated
- Market availability
- Specialised - major cities // Tier 2: Market research
Service life & durability ·3
- Expected lifespan
- 50+ years (protected) // Tier 2: Industry estimates
- Maintenance interval
- 5-10 years (surface treatment) // Tier 2: Practice
- Warranty period
- 10-15 years typical // Tier 3: Limited data
Layer D
Where it's used
Thermal insulation layers for roofs and floors
Void filling and ground stabilisation
Lightweight partition walls (non-loadbearing)
Bridge abutment backfill
Precast insulation panels
Tunnel lining and underground applications
Sound absorption barriers
Fire-resistant protective layers