Specific Weight of Gas Silicate: Parameters and Types

In building construction, larger and lighter gas silicate blocks and foam blocks began to replace brick. Gas silicate contains many components:

• High-quality Portland cement, which contains about 50% calcium silicates.
• Quartz sand with a low content of clay and silt impurities (less than 2%).
• Slaked lime with a 70% ratio of calcined and magnesium oxides.
• Aluminum powder as a gas-forming agent.
• Sulfanols.
• Water.

To produce blocks that are stronger and more resistant to loads, an autoclave is used for drying. This method improves the quality characteristics of gas silicate blocks by 5 times and, accordingly, increases their cost. In addition, the strength index is affected by the percentage of cement: if it is increased, the blocks will be stronger. The disadvantage of such a material is higher density and lower block porosity, which leads to increased thermal conductivity.

Types of gas silicate and their characteristics

Gas silicate as a construction material has its own advantages during use:

• Low weight.
• Strength.
• High heat-retention performance.
• Sound insulation.
• Resistance to ignition.
• Cost-effectiveness.

Since the formula for calculating specific weight is as follows: γ = P / V, where P is the weight of the material and V is the volume, the mass of a block can be calculated by multiplying density by volume. For example, for a D500 block measuring 600×400×250 mm, the volume is 0.06 m³, so the mass will be 580 × 0.06 = 34.8 kg. The weight of 1 m³ of gas silicate of this grade is 580 kg.

Manufacturers are constantly improving the quality characteristics of gas silicate blocks, so some companies have managed to achieve high frost resistance for dense types of blocks. Most often, however, gas silicates can withstand 35 thawing cycles. In addition, all types of blocks retain heat well. When working with gas silicates, it is important to consider the moisture level.

Despite all the advantages, construction blocks of this type have their disadvantages:

• Use requires a specialized adhesive base and skills in working with it.
• Finishing work is mandatory because of decorative shortcomings.
• High vapor permeability.
• A strong foundation is required.

The main classification criterion for gas silicate material is density. The types of blocks and their quality characteristics are shown in the table.

Gas silicate parameters and their weight

Each developer independently selects the required size of construction material. Manufacturers offer fixed sizes of construction material. The weight of gas silicate depends on the size and density of the raw mixture used in production. In the table above, we provided the dimensions and specific weight of gas silicate.