Foam glass has been used as insulation material since 1930s. The most important properties of foam glass are light weight, mechanical stability, low thermal conductivity, freeze-thaw cycle resistance, nonflammability and chemical inertness.
There are two methods of producing foam glass according to the kinds of raw materials. One uses glass while the other uses waste glass as raw material. The second method is very simple and consumes less electricity and fuel.
Anthracite fine, graphite powder, soot, calcite, calcium carbide and silicon carbide can be used as a foaming agent. The quantity of foaming agent is 1~7% of finished products.
Previous papers considered thermo-physical properties of foamed glass using a single-system foaming agent.
Pae Kyong Ho, a researcher at the Faculty of Metal Engineering, conducted experiments under different conditions by using a mixture of calcite and hard coal in order to produce low density foam glass with both closed and open porosities and compressive strength of up to 1.8MPa.
The results show that addition of 5wt.% of calcite powder and 2wt.% of anthracite powder ensures the density of foam glass of below 240kg/m3, the compression strength of over 1.8MPa and the heat conductivity of below 0.21W/(m·K).
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