Foam glass gravel is a building material made from recycled glass.

Characteristics

Foam glass gravel is light and dimensionally stable, with a lambda rating of 0.08 W/mK and a specific weight of 150 kg per cubic metre. Being made from glass, the aggregate is non-combustive and inert, ageing resistant, pH neutral and insect and rodent resistant. The manufacturing process seals the air bubbles giving the gravel non-capillary properties. The material has a high

compressive strength In mechanics, compressive strength or compression strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to reduce size (as opposed to tensile strength which withstands loads tending to elongate). In other words, compre ...

as well as insulatory properties making it ideal for insulated floor construction

Sourcing and manufacture

Glass shards are cleaned and milled to a powder before a foaming agent, active carbon, is added in either liquid or solid form. The material is passed through a continuous tunnel furnace and heated to a temperature of 800–900 °C. Optimum temperatures produce maximum quantities of the foamed product. The foamed molten glass breaks into gravel on cooling.

Uses

Foam glass gravel has a wide range of applications across construction and civil engineering projects as well as landscaping applications. It is used as the base aggregate in the construction of solid floors and as an insulating aggregate for baseplates. The gravel is self-interlocking with a high

friction angle Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding (motion), sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative la ...

and is used in road construction, particularly useful in areas of marshy ground or

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

marginal zones where it can reduce the degradation of the road base. It can be used to insulate underground tanks or pipes, create drainage beds and French drains.

References

{{Reflist Aggregate (composite) Glass applications Recycled building materials

Characteristics

Sourcing and manufacture

Uses

See also

References