Expanded clay is produced from special plastic refractory clay with no or very little content of lime. The clay is dried, heated and burned in rotary kilns at 1100–1300 °C.

 

It is porous refractory product with a uniform pore structure with round shape due to the kiln circular movement.

It lightweight natural product with thermal as well as sound isolation characterizes.

It can be used as a part of building materials in traditional cementitious materials, as well as inorganic polymers (geopolymers). Another usage is the barbecue and pizza oven industry.

For the production of barbecues and pizza ovens, this material can be used at the maze of the the surrounding of the firebricks.

•  Insulates and maintains the heat.
• Makes the final construction lighter so the final product is easier to be assembled and it’s easier and cheaper for the transportation.

Expanded clay lightweight concrete is ideal for the following application in construction industry:

• Filling interior floors and shaping final elevations and inclinations before laying marble, tiles or asphalt membrane.
• Insulations, as either the final layer to form inclinations or thermal insulation for roofs or thermal-sound insulation of interior flooring.
• Constructions and repairs, where reduced permanent loads and improved seismic behaviour are required.

Characteristics :

✅ Workability.

✅ Decreased density.

✅ Decreased mechanical strength.

✅ Decreased freeze/thaw resistance.

✅ Increased water absorption.

✅ Decreased chloride penetration resistance.

✅ Increased thermal insulation and fire resistance.

Why to use it:

• Has decreased density, shrinkage and mechanical strength, but increased workability.
• Has decreased chloride penetration, but increased thermal and sound insulation.
• Has increased fire resistance, but decreased freeze/thaw resistance.
• Could be employed into geopolymers.
• Various materials could be added to improve special properties of expanded clay media.