Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Building Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jobe

Effect of foam stabilization on the properties of foamed concrete

modified by expanded polystyrene
Yi Xu a, Songru Tong a, Xu Xu b, Juntao Mao a, **, Xuan Kang a, Jie Luo a, Linhua Jiang a,
Ming-Zhi Guo a, c, *
a College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing, 211100, China
b Shanghai Hongxin Construction Development Co., Nanjing, 211100, China
c School of Civil Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, 312000, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: This paper aims to study the modified foamed concrete by mixing expanded polystyrene (EPS)
Foamed concrete particles. In order to analyze the influence of EPS particle dosage and particle size on the mechan-
EPS ical properties and thermal conductivity of the foamed concrete, the EPS modified foamed con-
Foam stabilization crete was compared with the ordinary foamed concrete. The pore structures of the foamed con-
Pore structure
crete with and without EPS were characterized and compared by scanning electronic microscopy
(SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and image-pro plus (IPP). The results showed that
when large and small size EPS replaced 60% foam, the water absorption of the EPS modified
foamed concrete was approximately 38% and 55% lower than that of the ordinary foamed con-
crete, respectively, with a corresponding 0.13 and 0.5 MPa increase in compressive strength. In
addition, the thermal conductivity of the EPS modified foamed concrete was similar to/even
slightly lower than that of the ordinary foamed concrete. The addition of EPS in foamed concrete
increased the proportion of small connected pores and reduced the proportion of medium and
large pores. Overall, the addition of EPS in foamed concrete can effectively improve the stability.

1. Introduction
Foamed concrete hold several advantages, such as light weight, good thermal insulation, good fire resistance, good seismic shock
absorption, and convenience for construction. It has broad applications in building insulation, roadbed backfilling, mine filling, etc.
[1–4]. The properties of foamed concrete are all related to its porous structures. In practical applications, however, foams are some-
times unstable and tend to collapse or converge into large connecting pores. As a result, low concrete strength, poor thermal insula-
tion, and other performance problems will occur. All these problems limit a broader commercialization and application of foamed
concrete. Therefore, it is of significance to stabilize foams in foamed concrete by viable modifying methods.
Extensive researches have devoted to the preparation and application of foamed concrete [5–9]. Predominantly, the stability of
foamed concrete is mainly improved by adding a foam stabilizer. Generally, foam stabilizers can be divided into three categories
based on their working mechanisms [10]. The first type is used to strengthen the interaction of surface adsorption molecules and im-
prove foam films, such as laurel alcohol and silicone polyether emulsion. The second type is to reduce the effluent rate and prolong
the half-life by increasing the viscosity of liquid phases, such as cellulose and polyacrylamide. The third type is a new kind of foam

* Corresponding author. College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing, 211100, China.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: 1789216525@qq.com (J. Mao), guo.mz.guo@connect.polyu.hk (M.-Z. Guo).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.106822
Received 3 March 2023; Received in revised form 5 May 2023; Accepted 9 May 2023
Available online 10 May 2023
2352-7102/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

stabilizer that hinders the physical drainage between gases and liquids by adding nanoparticles, such as silica ash, nano-silica, and
carbon nanotubes. The first and second types have limited foaming stabilization effects and could lead to environmental pollution due
to decomposition at high temperatures. The third kind has the advantage of a better foaming stabilization effect but the disadvantage
of high cost.
Adding expanded polystyrene (EPS) particles to foamed concrete is a low-cost and straightforward modification method to im-
prove the foam stability. Several preliminary explorations have been conducted to investigate the EPS modified foamed concrete. Sa-
heed et al. [11] studied the effect of EPS on foamed concrete and found that the ultimate shear force of EPS-foamed concrete slabs was
slightly reduced, which was still higher than the requirement of the relevant standards. In addition, it was reported that the incorpo-
ration of EPS in foamed concrete increased the load resistance. As a consequence, the EPS modified foamed concrete was less prone to
breakdown under loading [12]. Moreover, the incorporation of EPS in foamed concrete also improved the freeze-thaw resistance, re-
ducing the risk of freezing at temperatures below 0 °C [13].
However, many scholars have studied the influence of water-to-cement ratio, admixtures and other factors on the performance of
foamed concrete. There is still a lack of relevant analysis on the stability of foamed concrete and the internal pore structure, which is
an important factor to determine the stability of foamed concrete. Meanwhile, there is also scant information on the thermal proper-
ties and microscopic mechanisms of the EPS modified foamed concrete. This study aims to reveal the influence of pore structure
(characterized by multi-scale methods) on the macro and micro properties of the EPS modified foamed concrete by comparing the
performance of conventional foamed concrete with that of the EPS modified foamed concrete. Three series of foamed concrete (i.e.,
low, medium and high dose foamed concrete) were first prepared, and EPS particles were used to replace foam to modify the foamed
concrete. The effects of foam stabilization on water absorption, compressive strength, drying shrinkage and thermal conductivity of
the foamed concrete were exampled. SEM, MIP and image processing techniques were used to analyze the pore morphology and pore
structure of foamed concrete. The results of this study provide theoretical support for the application of foamed concrete in engineer-
ing field.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Raw materials
Portland cement (P·Ⅱ42.5 R) produced by China Cement Factory was used. The compound foaming agent was selected to intro-
duce air bubbles into the cement paste to form stable pores. EPS particles were formed by heating expanded polystyrene foam, and
their macroscopic particles and microscopic morphology are shown in Fig. 1. Polycarboxylate water reducing agent was produced by
Jiangsu Subote Co., LTD. Modified polyethoxylated silicone (MPS) was added to make the foam better and effectively increase the sta-
bility of the bubble liquid film. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) was used, which is a water-soluble non-ionic mixed ether.

2.2. Mix proportion

A foam-paste ratio range from 0 to 6 was adopted with a foam volume ranging from 0 to 0.86 m³. The mix proportions are pre-
sented in Table 1. The water reducing agent was added in series B, while the water reducing agent blended with MPS and HPMC was
used in series C.
The properties and stability of foamed concrete are affected mainly by the foam dosage [14]. During the preparation process,
foamed concrete quickly collapsed, making preparation more difficult. Therefore, this study added expanded polystyrene particles to
improve the properties of foamed concrete. Two different sizes of EPS particles were selected: 3 mm small particles and 6 mm large
particles. In the test scheme, foamed concrete with a foam-paste ratio of 4 was used as the reference group (the reason for this choice
is to ensure porosity can meet different dosage of EPS, and the basic density and strength were taken into account) and the foam was
replaced by an equal volume of EPS particles. The modification effect of EPS dosage on foamed concrete was explored through differ-
ent substitution values. The mix proportions are shown in Table 2. Foam-EPS ratio referred to the volume ratio of foam to EPS parti-
cles. EFC referred to the EPS modified foamed concrete.

Fig. 1. Images of EPS particles and EPS modified foamed concrete.

2
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Table 1
Mix proportions of foamed concrete.

Group Mixture Cement (kg/m3) Water (kg/m3) Foam volume (m³) Foam-paste ratio

Series A FC-A1 1364 545 0 0

FC-A2 923 369 0.33 0.50
FC-A3 791 316 0.43 0.75
FC-A4 692 277 0.50 1.00
FC-A5 615 246 0.56 1.25
Series B FC-B1 554 221 0.60 1.50
FC-B2 496 198 0.64 1.75
FC-B3 455 182 0.67 2.00
FC-B4 420 168 0.69 2.25
FC-B5 390 156 0.71 2.50
FC-B6 364 145 0.73 2.75
Series C FC-C1 341 136 0.75 3.00
FC-C2 273 109 0.80 4.00
FC-C3 227 91 0.83 5.00
FC-C4 195 78 0.86 6.00
Kg/m3 referred to the amount of raw material per cubic meter of the mixture.

Table 2
Mix proportions of EPS modified foamed concrete.

Mixture Foam-paste ratio EPS (kg/m³) Foam-EPS ratio

FC-C2 4.00 0 1:0

EFC-1 4.00 9.84 1:0.8
EFC-2 4.00 11.07 1:1.0
EFC-3 4.00 13.28 1:1.5
EFC-4 4.00 14.76 1:2.0

2.3. Sample preparation

Preparation of foam: The compressed air method was used to form foam. The foaming agent was diluted 40 times and poured into
the foaming machine. The foaming pressure was adjusted to 0.4 MPa.
Preparation of foamed concrete: According to the standard “foamed concrete” JG/T266-2011 [15], the foamed concrete was
molded and cured at room temperature for 36 h. Then, it was demolded and put into the standard curing room until the targeted ages.
Preparation of EPS modified foamed concrete: The EPS modified foamed concrete was molded using the secondary mixing
method. First, all the EPS particles were mixed with part of the cement in order to cover the particle surface with cement pastes. Sec-
ond, the mixtures were left for 20 min until the cement paste hardened. The above pre-mixing method could improve the weight of
foam particles and increase the adhesion of cement to foam particle. Third, EPS particles were blended with the rest of cement. In do-
ing so, the separation of the EPS particles from the cement can be prevented. The related pictures of foam and sample preparation are
shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. Preparation process of samples.

3
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

2.4. Test methods

The tests of water absorption, compressive strength, and drying shrinkage were carried out according to JG/T266-2011 [15]. The
specimen dimensions for water absorption and compressive strength tests were 100 × 100 × 100 mm3, while the dimension of the
drying shrinkage specimens was 40 × 40 × 160 mm3. The mean value of three testing results was taken.
Thermal conductivity was measured in accordance with the standard GB/T 10295-2008 [16]. The used specimen was a flat plate
with a size of 300 × 300 × 30 mm3. Two specimens were fabricated and each block was tested three times. The thermal conductiv-
ity measuring instrument is shown in Fig. 3. Schematic illustration of the test method is shown in Fig. 4.
The pore structure and cross-sections of plain and modified foamed concrete were characterized separately by a 40-megapixel HD
digital camera and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The obtained images were binarized by the Photoshop software, and the
pore information was extracted by the Image-Pro Plus software to characterize the porosity, pore size, and pore roundness of foamed
concrete. The image processing by Image-Pro Plus is shown in Fig. 5.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Properties of plain foamed concrete
3.1.1. Water absorption
Fig. 6 shows the water absorption of three series of foamed concrete. It can be seen that the water absorption of all the foamed
concrete increased with the increase of the foam-paste ratio. The low dosage foam group had better foam stabilization because it can
be easily molded. Thus, the water absorption rate of the low dosage foam group increased slowly with the increase of foam-paste ra-
tio. For the medium dosage foam group, the liquidity was decreased, resulting in a more difficult molding of the specimen. As a re-
sult, the water-reducing agent was needed to increase the fluidity and enhance the stability of the foamed concrete. Compared with
the low dosage foam group, the medium dosage foam group experienced a steeper increase in the water absorption rate with increas-

Fig. 3. Thermal conductivity tester.

Fig. 4. Schematic illustration of the test method.

4
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Fig. 5. Image-pro Plus software analysis methods.

Fig. 6. Influences of foam dosage on water absorption.

ing the foam-paste ratio. This was because increasing the foam-paste ratio led to the formation of excessive foams in the matrix, and
thereby the micro-pores and mesopores were gradually transformed into medium and large macro-pores, sharply increasing the wa-
ter absorption. As for the high dosage foam group, it was difficult to be molded because of the excessive foam dosage. In order to pre-
pare the foamed concrete with a low apparent density, HPMC and MPS at a low dosage were also added to the concrete. It can be
seen that the increase in the water absorption rate of the high dosage foam group slowed down with increasing the foam-paste ratio
compared with the medium dosage foam group due to the use of the foam stabilizer. Despite the addition of foam stabilizer composi-
tion, the maximum water absorption rate of the high dosage foam group still reached 92%. This was mainly due to the increase in
pore connection in the matrix. The pore size distribution was mainly connected with the large pores, which increased the water ab-
sorption rate of foamed concrete.

3.1.2. Apparent density

The apparent density of the three series of foamed concrete is shown in Fig. 7. As can be seen, increasing the foam-paste ratio led
to a decrease in the apparent density. For the low-dosage foamed concrete, the apparent density was significantly reduced compared
with the normal concrete. Meanwhile, the range of apparent density of low-dosage foamed concrete suffered the largest decrease with
an increase in the foam-paste ratio, from 1936 to 1017 kg/m3. It should be pointed out that at a foam volume of 0.6 m3, the specimen
would not be properly molded if the volume of foam continued to increase. For the medium-dosage foamed concrete, the decrease in
the apparent density slowed down from 1041 to 691 kg/m3 with increasing the foam-paste ratio compared with the low-dosage
foamed concrete. At a foam volume of 0.75 m3, the measured apparent density of foamed concrete was lower than the theoretical ap-
parent density. This was because in the presence of an excessive foam content, the foamed concrete exhibited a poor foam stability,
making it difficult to be molded and thereby reducing the apparent density. As for the high-dosage foamed concrete, HPMC and MPS
were added to assist in a properly molding of the specimen. The apparent density of the high-dosage foamed concrete exhibited a
much slower decreasing trend with the increase of the foam-paste ratio, which only decreased by 150 kg/m3.

3.1.3. Compressive strength

Fig. 8 shows the trend of compressive strength of all the plain foamed concrete. It can be clearly seen that with the increase of
the foam-paste ratio, the compressive strength of the foamed concrete decreased continuously, reaching the lowest strength of
1.13 MPa. The low-dosage foamed concrete suffered the maximum reduction in the compressive strength. By contrast, the

5
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Fig. 7. Influences of foam dosage on apparent density.

Fig. 8. Influences of foam dosage on compressive strength.

medium-dosage foamed concrete experienced a more attenuated reduction in the compressive strength with increasing the ratio
of foam to paste. The compressive strength decreasing trend of the high-dosage foamed concrete was further attenuated. It is
noteworthy that the changing trend of compressive strength was similar to that of apparent density.

3.1.4. Drying shrinkage

Fig. 9(a) shows the drying shrinkage of the low-dosage foamed concrete. It can be seen that for all the specimens showed the
largest shrinkage rate during the early curing period (0–14 d), which decreased gradually during the later curing period. The shrink-
age rate at 14 d accounted for approximately 45–50% of the total shrinkage rate. At a low foam dosage, the foamed concrete featured
a small pore size and a long moisture migration path. Wan et al. [17] studied the shrinkage of foamed concrete with less bubble con-
tent, the results showed that the solid and liquid components in concrete had a higher degree of effect on shrinkage, while the bubble
content had little effect on the overall shrinkage. As a result, it can be assumed that the concrete shrinkage was mainly hardened ce-
ment shrinkage.
Fig. 9(b) shows the shrinkage variation of the medium-dosage foamed concrete. It can be seen that the early shrinkage of the
medium-dosage foamed concrete increased significantly compared with the low-dosage foamed concrete. The shrinkage values
within 14 d accounted for roughly 55–60% of the total shrinkage. The porosity was also increased with the small pores gradually
merging into medium and large pores, which was conducive to water migration and evaporation inside the concrete matrix and
thereby increased the shrinkage values in the early stage.
Fig. 9(c) presents the shrinkage variation of the high-dosage foamed concrete. Apparently, during the whole shrinkage process,
the early shrinkage value increased sharply, while the late shrinkage increased much slowly. The early shrinkage values accounted
for nearly 75% of the total shrinkage. This was mainly because a relatively large foam volume led to the formation of more open

6
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Fig. 9. Drying shrinkage of foamed concrete: (a) low-dosage foam, (b) medium-dosage foam, and (c) high-dosage foam.

pores inside the concrete matrix, uneven distribution of pore size, less cement hydration products, and fast water migration and evap-
oration.

3.1.5. Thermal conductivity

As shown in Table 3 and Fig. 10, the thermal conductivity of the foamed concrete decreased with increasing the foam-paste ratio.
The changing trend of the thermal conductivity was in line with that of the apparent density. This is mainly due to the fact that com-
pared with ordinary concrete, foamed concrete has intentionally increased porosity [18]. This causes more gas-solid interfaces and
frequent changes in heat transfer routes, resulting in a low rate of heat conduction [19]. Thus, the high porosity of foamed concrete
endows it with favorable thermal insulation properties [20,21]. The porosity of foamed concrete becomes larger, and the thermal
conductivity becomes smaller correspondingly. The presence of connected pores in the structure reduces the apparent density [22]. It
should be noted that at a higher foam-paste ratio, the decrease in the thermal conductivity was attenuated, because foam had occu-
pied most of the volume of the matrix at this time. When the air inside the foamed concrete reached a critical value, it was very diffi-
cult to reduce the thermal conductivity by simply increasing the foam dosage.

3.2. Properties of EPS modified foamed concrete

3.2.1. Water absorption
The water absorption of the EPS modified foamed concrete is presented in Fig. 11. As can be seen, the water absorption of the
foamed concrete was significantly reduced by replacing foam with EPS particles, which was decreased with increasing the EPS con-

Table 3
Thermal conductivity of foamed concrete.

Mixture foam-paste ratio Foam volume (m³) Apparent density (kg/m³) Thermal conductivity (W/(m.K))

FC-A1 0 0 1750 0.2985

FC-A2 0.5 0.33 1351 0.2952
FC-A5 1.25 0.55 901 0.2112
FC-B3 2.0 0.66 790 0.1716
FC-C1 3.0 0.75 656 0.1392
FC-C2 4.0 0.8 565 0.1208

7
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Fig. 10. Influences of apparent density on thermal conductivity.

Fig. 11. Influences of EPS dosage on water absorption.

tent. Compared with large-size EPS, small-size EPS reduced the water absorption of foamed concrete more significantly. This was
mainly because EPS particles are subject to Archimedean buoyancy and the cohesive shear of the fresh concrete at the same time,
while the magnitude of the cohesive force is related to surface area, make it easier for large size EPS particles to float and the uniform
internal structure [23]. As a result, small-size EPS could be uniformly present in the foamed concrete with a corresponding uniform
distribution of pores around the EPS particles. In contrast, large EPS particles were scattered in the matrix, which adversely affected
the distribution of pores inside the foamed concrete. As a result, more large pores formed around the large EPS particles, leading to an
increase in water absorption.

3.2.2. Apparent density

The main advantage of EPS particles over foam is their good stability. Fig. 12 shows the effect of EPS particles on the apparent
density of foamed concrete. It can be seen that when EPS particles were mixed into foamed concrete, the apparent density was signifi-
cantly reduced. It should be noted that the dosage of EPS exerted a negligible influence on the apparent density, indicating a better
foam stability.
For the foamed concrete mixed with large-size EPS particles, a higher content of EPS led to the segregation and bleeding, resulting
in the floating of EPS particles on the top surface. Moreover, at a higher EPS dosage, nonuniform distribution of EPS occurred in the
foamed concrete matrix, leading to a large variation in the apparent density and a poor stability of foam. In comparison, small-size
EPS particles had a better compatibility with the foamed concrete with a small variation in the properties, which played an important
role in protecting foam and minimizing the breakage of foam.

3.2.3. Compressive strength

The effect of EPS dosage on the compressive strength of foamed concrete is given in Fig. 13. It can be observed that the compres-
sive strength of the foamed concrete generally increased with increase the small-size EPS dosage. For example, at a foam-EPS volume

8
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Fig. 12. Influences of EPS particles on apparent density.

Fig. 13. Influences of EPS dosage on compressive strength.

ratio of 1:1.5, the apparent density of the small-size EPS modified foamed concrete decreased by 15% with a correspond 31% increase
in the compressive strength compared with the blank group. This indicated EPS particles were more stable than foam in the matrix,
and thereby stable pores formed by ESP were present in the foamed concrete system, reducing the amount of foam dosage and im-
proving the performance stability. However, at a foam-EPS volume ratio of 1:2, the compressive strength of the ESP modified foamed
concrete decreased significantly. This meant that with the presence of excessive EPS particles, the cement matrix cannot form a good
skeleton. As a result, the strength of concrete was prone to being significantly reduced due to stress concentration upon loading stress.
For the large-size EPS modified foamed concrete, the compressive strength was slightly increased with increasing the EPS content,
which was lower than that of the small-size EPS modified foamed concrete.

3.2.4. Drying shrinkage

The small-size EPS modified foamed concretes were selected for the subsequent performance study, considering their superior
overall performance compared with the large-size EPS modified counterpart. Fig. 14 shows the drying shrinkage of the small-size EPS
modified foamed concrete. It was obvious that the overall shrinkage values of the EPS modified foamed concrete was decreased signif-
icantly. This was because EPS particles, instead of foam, were dispersed in the concrete matrix, which prolonged the path and in-
creased the difficulty of moisture migration, thereby reducing the volume shrinkage caused by water evaporation. The early shrink-
age rate of foamed concrete without EPS was larger. After 58 d, the shrinkage rate of foamed concrete without EPS was generally con-
sistent with that of the EPS modified foamed concrete due to complete cement hydration and less free water available inside the con-
crete.

9
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Fig. 14. Influences of EPS particles on shrinkage properties.

3.2.5. Thermal conductivity

Table 4 shows the thermal conductivity of foamed concrete with different EPS dosages. As EPS volume increased, the thermal
conductivity fluctuated slightly, and the fluctuation was below 7% compared with the blank group. It should be noted that when the
Foam-EPS ratio reached 1:1.5, the thermal conductivity droped to 0.1135 W (/m.K). This may be related to the thermal properties
of EPS particles (98% air and 2% polystyrene). Sayadi et al. [24] studied the effect of the EPS content on the thermal conductivity of
foamed concrete and found that after the incorporation of a certain amount of EPS, the thermal conductivity was lower than that of
the blank group. Shi et al. [25] investigated effect on the thermal conductivity of expanded polystyrene foamed concrete and
reached a similar conclusion. However, the thermal insulation performance was not greatly affected by the dosage of EPS in general.
This demonstrated that the EPS modified foamed concrete had a better foam stability and performance.

3.3. Macroscopic pore structure analysis

The pore structure of foamed concrete is the linchpin that distinguishes it from ordinary concrete. Normally, the pore size distribu-
tion of foam is wide, ranging from millimeter-sized macroscopic pores to invisible microscopic pores. Gencel et al. [26] reported that
the number of pores, pore structure, and pore size greatly affected the strength of foamed concrete. Therefore, it is necessary to con-
duct a multi-scale pore structure analysis of foamed concrete to examine the effect of the pore structure on the macroscopic proper-
ties. In this study, a digital camera and SEM were combined to present a comprehensive landscape (from macroscopic to microscopic
scale) of the pore morphology of foamed concrete.
In this section, the visible pores were observed by a 40-megapixel HD digital camera. Fig. 15 presents the cross-section view of
foamed concrete with and without EPS. The foam-paste ratios of the plain foamed concrete were 0.5, 1.25, 1.75, 2.5, 3, and 4, corre-
sponding to the three series of foamed concrete (low, medium, and high dosage), respectively. The foam-paste ratio of the EPS modi-
fied foamed concrete was 4, and the volume ratios of foam to EPS were 1:0.8 and 1:2. It can be seen that with the increase in foam
content, the pores of foamed concrete gradually changed from separately distributed dense small pores to integrated and connected
medium and large pores. It has been reported that uniformly distributed fine and dense pores will make foamed concrete have rela-
tively high density, strength and low permeability. Conversely, the uneven distribution of large pore size pores and open pores leads
to low strength and high permeability [27], which can also explain the above mentioned observation that the density of the sample
becomes lower and lower with increasing the foam admixture. At a fixed porosity, the pore size also affects the thermal conductivity:
the smaller the pore size, the longer the conduction distance is needed for the solid conduction of heat. As a result, small pore size ma-
terials display a smaller thermal conductivity [19].
Table 5 shows the parameters of the 2D pore structure calculated by Image-pro Plus. It was observed that increasing the foam-
paste ratio of foamed concrete led to an accompanying increase in the porosity, average pore size, and pore roundness but a decrease
in the number of pores in the cross section.

Table 4
Thermal conductivity of EPS modified foamed concrete.

Mixture Foam-EPS ratio Thermal conductivity (W (/m.K))

FC-C2 1:0 0.1208

EFC-1 1:0.8 0.1294
EFC-2 1:1.0 0.1238
EFC-3 1:1.5 0.1135
EFC-4 1:2.0 0.1275

10
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Fig. 15. Photos of foamed concrete: (a) foam-paste ratio 0.5, (b) foam-paste ratio 1.25, (c) foam-paste ratio 1.75, (d) foam-paste ratio 2.5, (e) foam-paste ratio 3, (f)
foam-paste ratio 4, (g) foam-EPS ratio 1:0.8, and (h) foam-EPS ratio 1:2.

Table 5
Foamed concrete pore structure parameters.

Mixture Foam-paste ratio Foam-EPS ratio Porosity (%) Mean diameter (μm) Mean roundness (R) Number of pores per unit area (N)

FC-A2 0.5 / 48 62 1.30 9409

FC-A5 1.25 / 57 108 1.62 7532
FC-B2 1.75 / 50 186 2.50 6223
FC-B5 2.5 / 47 278 3.25 2441
FC-C1 3 / 53 173 4.03 1502
FC-C2 4 / 58 245 3.61 913
EFC-1 4a 1:0.8 33 129 1.98 3856
EFC-4 4a 1:2 27 185 3.08 1855
a Denotes the foam (including EPS) to paste ratio.

3.3.1. Pore size distribution

It can be seen from Table 5 that the average pore diameter generally increased with increasing the foam content. It is noteworthy
that the average pore diameter of the high-dosage foamed concrete was smaller than that of the other two series. This was because the
high-dosage foamed concrete was mixed with an appropriate amount of MPS and HPMC. It was reported that the use of MPS en-
hanced the interaction between adsorbed molecules on the surface through synergistic effect, which increased the elasticity and de-
creased the permeability of the foam film [28]. Meanwhile, relevant studies have shown that inhibiting liquid discharge and liquid
film rupture was an important method to improve foam stability, while HPMC improved foam stability by increasing the viscosity of
the blowing agent and gathering the liquid film liquid, thus inhibiting the foam liquid seepage and gas overflow in the bubble [29].
Both substances had the stabilizing effect on the foam and reducing the average pore diameter.
The histograms of pore size distribution are shown in Fig. 16. The pores of foamed concrete can be divided into four pore size cate-
gories: fine, small, medium, and large pores. The proportions of the pores in different these four categories were calculated, and the
results are summarized in Table 6. It can be seen that 99% pores of the foamed concrete with a foam-paste ratio of 0.5 were concen-
trated at between 0 and 500 μm. With the increase of foam volume, the number of small and medium pores increased, and the per-
centage of large pores above 2000 μm only changed slightly. After partially replacing the foam with EPS particles (with an equivalent
volume), the average pore diameter of the foamed concrete decreased. The pores in the range of 0–500 μm of the EPS modified
foamed concrete were significantly larger than that of the blank mixture without EPS. It can be concluded that the EPS modified
foamed concrete experienced a reduction in the average pore size and refinement in the pore structure.

3.3.2. Pore area distribution

Similarly, the percentage of pore areas in different ranges to the total pore areas was also calculated, and the results are shown in
Table 7. As can be seen from Tables 6 and 7, the area of the 0–50 μm pore size inside the foamed concrete with a foam-paste ratio of
0.5 only accounted for 4.36%, while the proportion of pore number was as high as 71%. This indicated that despite a large number of
fine pores, the fine pore size was too small to make a significant contribution to the total pore area. With the increase of foam content,
the pore size increased with an accompanying increase in the area occupied by macroscopic pores. The addition of EPS in foamed con-
crete led to an increase in the proportion of small pore area from 50 to 500 μm and a proportional decrease in the percentage of large
pore area with pore size above 2000 μm. However, the proportion of medium pore area from 500 to 2000 μm showed a negligible
change. Obviously, the EPS particles had a refining effect on the large pore area of concrete with a high foam content, which could im-
prove the pore area distribution of foamed concrete.

11
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Fig. 16. Pore size distribution of foamed concrete: (a) FC-A2, (b) FC-B2, (c) FC-C1, (d) FC-C2, (e) EFC-1, and (f) EFC-4.

Table 6
Pore sizes distribution.

Mixture Foam-paste ratio Foam-EPS ratio 0–50 μm (%) 50–500 μm (%) 500–2000 μm (%) >2000 μm (%）

FC-A2 0.5 / 71 28 1 0
FC-B2 1.75 / 0 94 6.0 0.03
FC-C1 3 / 0 92 7.7 0.3
FC-C2 4 / 0 88 11.1 0.7
EFC-1 4 1:0.8 29 67 3.9 0.3
EFC-4 4 1:2 0 93 6.8 0.6

3.3.3. Pore roundness distribution

The pore roundness value of foamed concrete can reflect the degree to which the pore shape is close to a sphere in the 3D state.
When the pore of foamed concrete is closer to a sphere, the roundness value is closer to 1. Under such a condition, the pore wall is
smoother with a more uniform stress distribution inside the pores, which can reduce the probability of stress concentration and en-
hance the stability of the pores. On the contrary, if the roundness value is greater than 1, the pore structure becomes more irregular.
Fig. 17 shows the pore roundness of foamed concrete with different pore sizes. Increasing the pore size led to a corresponding
increase in the pore roundness, indicating that a larger pore diameter corresponded to a longer outer contour line and a less

12
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Table 7
Pore area distribution.

Mixture Foam-paste ratio Foam-EPS ratio 0–50 μm (%) 50–500 μm (%) 500–2000 μm (%) >2000 μm (%)

FC-A2 0.5 / 4.36 46.77 48.87 0

FC-B2 1.75 / 0 47.84 49.2 2.97
FC-C1 3 / 0 12.91 65.91 21.18
FC-C2 4 / 0 17.37 70.22 12.42
EFC-1 4 1:0.8 0.92 30.45 66.46 2.18
EFC-4 4 1:2 0 23.59 73.33 3.09

Fig. 17. Pore roundness change rule of foamed concrete: (a) FC-A2, (b) FC-B2, (c) FC-C1, (d) FC-C2, (e) EFC-1, and (f) EFC-4.

close shape of the pore section to a circle. Increasing the foam content resulted in an increase in the pore roundness of all pore
ranges and a greater fluctuation of pore roundness. Apparently, a larger average pore size corresponded to a larger average pore
roundness. Besides, it was also observed that the addition of foam stabilizer in the foamed concrete with a foam-paste ratio of 3
increased the stability of the foam and reduced the average pore size. Moreover, the EPS modified foamed concrete possessed a
significantly lower pore roundness compared with the control group. However, the addition of excessive EPS unfavorably led to
an increase in the fluctuation of the pore roundness value, which was detrimental to the pore optimization function.

13
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

3.4. Microscopic pore structure analysis

3.4.1. SEM
In this Section, microscopic pores were observed by SEM. Fig. 18 shows the SEM images of foamed concrete at low magnification.
It can be seen from Fig. 18(a) that the small pores in foamed concrete with a foam-paste ratio of 1.25 were evenly distributed and in a
relatively round shape. At a foam-paste ratio of 3 (Fig. 18(b)), the pore diameter increased and the roundness changed slightly. Fur-
ther increasing the foam-paste ratio to 4 resulted in a poor roundness of foam pores (Fig. 18(c)). Comparing Fig. 18(d) with Fig. 18(e)
revealed that the addition of EPS particles in foamed concrete reduced the number of large pores and correspondingly increased the
number of fine pores in a dosage-dependent manner, resulting in a more densified structure. The overall results indicated that with an
increase in foam volume, the pore size of the plain foamed concrete gradually changed from small to large, and ultimately become
large connected pores, with a corresponding decrease in the number of pores.
Table 8 shows the corresponding SEM image processing analysis results of different foamed concrete samples. It can be seen that
the number of pores characterized by SEM was basically less than 100. For example, the number of pores in the mixtures with a
foam-paste ratio of 1.25 and 4 shown in the digital camera photos, was 7532 and 913, respectively, while their corresponding num-
ber of pores shown in the SEM images was 75 and 19, respectively. Thus, the SEM image processing method of foamed concrete has
some statistical limitations. Therefore, a combined image analysis at a multi-scale of pore structure can more comprehensively re-
veal the pore structure of foamed concrete. It can be seen from Table 8 that increasing the foam content, average aperture, average
hole area and average hole roundness of foamed concrete led to poor variation regularity, indicating that the use of the SEM image
processing analysis to explore the pore structure was insufficient. Therefore, other analytical methods, such as MIP, were used to
study pore structure in this study.

3.4.2. MIP
Table 9 shows the 3D pore structures of foamed concrete characterized by the MIP method. It can be seen that the pore size and
porosity of the foamed concrete increased with increasing the foam volume. The addition of EPS particles in foamed concrete in-
creased the average pore size and porosity. Increasing the EPS content led to a decrease in the average pore size of EFC-4 but an in-
crease in the total pore volume. It is likely that the added EPS particles occupied the pore space, narrowing the pores surrounding the
EPS particles and thereby decreasing the pore size.
The percolation fractal dimension and backbone fractal dimension were calculated by nano and micro pores data, respectively. It
can be seen that the backbone fractal dimension was larger than the percolation fractal dimension, i.e., the complexity of micro pores
was greater than that of nano pores, which was in good agreement with the results of image analysis.
Fig. 19 shows the pore distribution of foamed concrete with different foam-paste ratios. It can be seen that within the region of
the pore size above 60000 nm, the curve of the FC-A5 mixture reached a plateau, while that of the FC-C2 mixture showed a steep
increase. It can be conducted that compared with the foamed concretes with a foam-paste ratio of 1.25, those with a foam-paste ra-

Fig. 18. SEM images of foamed concrete: (a) foam-paste ratio 1.25, (b) foam-paste ratio 3, (c) foam-paste ratio 4, (d) foam-EPS ratio 1:0.8, and (e) foam-EPS ratio 1:2.

Table 8
Parameters of 2D pore structure of foamed concrete.

Mixture Foam-paste ratio Foam-EPS ratio Porosity (%) Mean diameter (μm) Mean roundness (R) Number of pores per unit area (N)

FC-A5 1.25 / 53 167 1.33 75

FC-C1 3 / 67 205 1.89 40
FC-C2 4 / 59 309 1.6 19
EFC-1 4 1:0.8 53 160 1.43 56
EFC-4 4 1:2 51 162 1.35 71

14
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Table 9
Parameters of 3D pore structure of foamed concrete.

Mixture Foam-paste Foam-EPS Porosity Average pore size Total volume of mercury Fractal dimension of Fractal dimension of
ratio ratio (%) (nm) (ml/g) percolating backbone

FC-A5 1.25 / 40.6 426.2 0.4632 2.921 2.937

FC-C2 4 / 50.0 770.9 0.6558 2.954 2.959
EFC-1 4 1:0.8 54.8 826.1 0.9437 2.961 2.976
EFC-4 4 1:2 49.7 699.4 1.0102 2.929 2.956

Fig. 19. Influences of foam admixture on pore size (different foam-paste ratios).

tio of 4 had a much larger pore volume in the pores larger than 60000 nm. In contrast, with the region of the pore size below
6000 nm, the curve of the FC-A5 mixture was above that of the FC-C2 mixture, indicating that the pores below 6000 nm were
dominant in the foamed concrete with a low foam-paste ratio.
Fig. 20 shows the pore distribution of foamed concrete with different foam-EPS ratios. The pore volume of the blank mixture
was the smallest in the pore range of less than 6000 nm. Increasing the EPS content led to an increase in the pore volume of nano
pores. Between 60000 nm and 340000 nm, the pore volume of foamed concrete in the blank mixture was still the smallest.
Whereas, for the EPS modified foamed concrete, the dosage of EPS particles had a negligible effect on the pore volume of macro-
scopic small pores. Within the pore range of above 340000 nm, the pore volume of the blank mixture was the largest, while that of

Fig. 20. Influences of EPS admixture on pore size distribution (different foam-EPS ratios).

15
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

EFC-1 was the smallest. Based on the results of MIP and previous image analysis, it can be concluded that the addition of EPS in
foamed concrete increased the proportion of nano and small pores and reduced the proportion of medium and large pores.

4. Conclusions
Based on the findings from this study, the following conclusions can be drawn.
(1) Compared with the low dosage foam group, the medium dosage foam group experienced a steeper increase in the water
absorption rate with increasing the foam-paste ratio. The increase in the water absorption rate of the high dosage foam group
slowed down with increasing the foam-paste ratio compared with the medium dosage foam group due to the use of the foam
stabilizer (HPMC and MPS). The water absorption of the foamed concrete was significantly reduced by replacing foam with
EPS particles in a dosage dependent manner.
(2) For the low-dosage foamed concrete, the apparent density was significantly reduced compared with the normal concrete. For
the medium-dosage foamed concrete, the decrease in the apparent density slowed down with increasing the foam-paste ratio.
The apparent density of the high-dosage foamed concrete exhibited a much slower decreasing trend. The inclusion of EPS
particles in foamed concrete significantly reduced the apparent density.
(3) With the increase of the foam-paste ratio, the compressive strength of the foamed concrete decreased continuously, reaching
the lowest strength of 1.13 MPa. The compressive strength of the foamed concrete generally increased with increase the EPS
dosage.
(4) The thermal conductivity of the foamed concrete decreased with increasing the foam-paste ratio. Increasing the EPS volume led
to only a slight increase in the thermal conductivity. The changing trend of the thermal conductivity was in line with that of the
apparent density.
(5) With the increase in foam content, the pore size of the plain foamed concrete gradually changed from small to large to
ultimately become large connected pores, with a corresponding decrease in the number of pores. The addition of EPS in
foamed concrete increased the proportion of nano and small pores and reduced the proportion of medium and large pores.

Author statement
Yi Xu: Methodology, Supervision, Writing – original draft. Songru Tong: Investigation. Xu: Methodology. Ming-Zhi Guo: Concep-
tualization, Writing – review & edition. Xuan Kang: Visualization. Jie Luo: Data curation. Linhua Jiang: Conceptualization. Juntao
Mao: Writing – review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability
Data will be made available on request.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.
52178203), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20221503) and Jiangsu Province Department of Science and
Technology (BE2022605).

References
[1] M.R. Ahmad, B. Chen, Experimental research on the performance of lightweight concrete containing foam and expanded clay aggregate, Composites Part B 171
(2019) 46–60.
[2] W. She, Y. Du, C.W. Miao, et al., Application of organic- and nanoparticle-modified foams in foamed concrete: reinforcement and stabilization mechanisms,
Cement Concr. Res. 106 (2018) 12–22.
[3] A. Raj, D. Sathyan, K.M. Mini, Physical and functional characteristics of foamed concrete: a review[J], Construct. Build. Mater. 221 (2019) 787–799.
[4] X. Shi, J. Huang, Q. Su, Experimental and numerical analyses of lightweight foamed concrete as filler for widening embankment, Construct. Build. Mater. 250
(2020) 118897.
[5] Y. Song, D. Lange, Influence of fine inclusions on the morphology and mechanical performance of lightweight foamed concrete, Cement Concr. Compos. 124
(2021) 104264.
[6] Y.F. Hao, G.Z. Yang, K.K. Liang, Development of fly ash and slag based high-strength alkali-activated foamed concrete, Cement Concr. Compos. 128 (2022)
104447.
[7] C. Liu, J. Luo, Q. Li, et al., Calcination of green high-belite sulphoaluminate cement (GHSC) and performance optimizations of GHSC-based foamed concrete,
Materials and Design 182 (2019) 107986.
[8] A. Hajimohammadi, T. Ngo, P. Mendis, Enhancing the strength of pre-made foams for foamed concrete applications, Cement Concr. Compos. 87 (2018)
164–171.
[9] D. Falliano, D. De Domenico, G. Ricciardi, et al., Improving the flexural capacity of extrudable foamed concrete with glass-fiber bi-directional grid
reinforcement: an experimental study, Compos. Struct. 209 (2019) 45–59.
[10] W.H. Zhang, F.H. Yang, Y.J. Lv, et al., Research progress on foam stabilization method and mechanism of foamed concrete, J. Chin. Ceram. Soc. 49 (10) (2021)
2266–2275.
[11] S. Saheed, Y.H.M. Amran, M. El-Zeadani, et al., Structural behavior of out-of-plane loaded precast lightweight EPS-foamed concrete C-shaped slabs, J. Building

16
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Building Engineering 73 (2023) 106822

Eng. 33 (2021) 101597.

[12] A. Bicer, Investigation of waste EPS foams modified by heat treatment method as concrete aggregate[J], J. Building Eng. 42 (2021) 102472.
[13] S. Saheed, F.N.A. Abd Aziz, M. Amran, et al., Structural performance of shear loaded precast EPS-foamed concrete half-shaped slabs, Sustainability 12 (22)
(2020) 9679.
[14] Huan Qi Zhao, Li Guo Zhong, The performance study of light foamed concrete, Adv. Mater. Res. 648 (2013) 92–95.
[15] JG/T 266-2011, Foamed concrete[S]..
[16] GB/T 10295-2008, Thermal Insulation—Determination of Steady-State Thermal Resistance and Related Properties—Heat Flow Meter apparatus[S]..
[17] K.T. Wan, H. Zhu, T.Y.P. Yuen, et al., Development of low drying shrinkage foamed concrete and hygro-mechanical finite element model for prefabricated
building fasçade applications, Construct. Build. Mater. 165 (2018) 939–957.
[18] O. Gencel, M. Nodehi, O.Y. Bayraktar, et al., Basalt fiber-reinforced foamed concrete containing silica fume: an experimental study, Construct. Build. Mater.
326 (2022) 126861.
[19] M. Zhu, F.G. Wang, X.L. Zhang, et al., Research on the relationship between pore structure and thermal conductivity of foamed doncrete, Wuhan Ligong Daxue
Xuebao(J.Wuhan Uni.Techno.) 35 (3) (2013) 20–25.
[20] M.S. Goual, A. Bali, M. Queneudec, Effective thermal conductivity of clayey aerated concrete in the dry state: experimental results and modelling, J. Phys.
Appl. Phys. 32 (23) (1999) 3041.
[21] N. Narayanan, K. Ramamurthy, Structure and properties of aerated concrete: a review, Cement Concr. Compos. 22 (5) (2000) 321–329.
[22] C. Arriagada, I. Navarrete, M. Lopez, Understanding the effect of porosity on the mechanical and thermal performance of glass foam lightweight aggregates
and the influence of production factors, Construct. Build. Mater. 228 (2019) 116746.
[23] D. Saradhi, K. Babu, G. Babu, T.H. Wee, Properties of lightweight expanded expanded polystyrene aggregate concretes containing fly ash, Cement Concr. Res.
35 (6) (2004) 1218–1223.
[24] J. Shi, Y. Liu, B. Liu, D. Han, Temperature effect on the thermal conductivity of expanded polystyrene foamed concrete: experimental investigation and model
correction, Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. 2019 (2019) 8292379.
[25] A. Ali Sayadi, Juan V. Tapia, Thomas R Neitzert, G. Charles Clifton, Effects of expanded polystyrene (EPS) particles on fire resistance, thermal conductivity and
compressive strength of foamed concrete[J], Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016).
[26] O. Gencel, T. Bilir, Z. Bademler, et al., A detailed review on foamed concrete composites: ingredients, properties, and microstructure, Appl. Sci. 12 (11) (2022)
5752.
[27] Y.X. Gang, L.S. Song, Y.N. Gao, H.F. Wang, Y.X. Li, Y.R. Wei, X.J. Wang, Pore structure and microstructure of foamed concrete, Adv. Mater. Res. 177 (2010)
530-532.
[28] Q.F. Song, M.Z. Guo, L. Wang, et al., Use of steel slag as sustainable construction materials: A review of accelerated carbonation treatment, Resour. Conserv.
Recy. 173 (2021) 105740.
[29] A.-L. Fameau, A. Salonen, Effect of particles and aggregated structures on the foam stability and aging, Compt. Rendus Phys. 15 (8–9) (2014) 748–760.

17