Abstract
Foam concrete (FC) is a type of lightweight concrete that has had many voides added by the foaming agent. This paper investigates the possibility of using two types of construction and demolition waste (CDWs), including thermostone blocks and ceramic tiles, as a partial replacement of sand in foam concrete to test the water absorption performance of foamed concrete. Twenty-one samples with three volume-replacement rates of sand for each waste type were explored (25, 50, and 75%). The effect of these various proportions on workability, fresh density, hardened density, and water absorption, it has been established. The results showed that the workability decreased with increasing replacement, and the density of hardened foam concrete increased. As for water absorption, it decreased at all replacement ratios as a result of filling the pores inside the foam concrete and thus increasing the bulk density. Which, in turn, reduces the permeability of foam concrete. The maximum redection in absorption and permeable voids was in the replacement of 75% of thermostone and ceramic waste powders, where the redection was 20.68% in absorption and 29.2% in permeable voids for thermostone replacement, the absorption value was 15.96%, and the permeable voids were 38.28% for ceramic.
