Materials Science Forum, Vol.480, 611-615, 2005
Thermal conductivity and acoustic performance of volcanic pumice based composites
Volcanic Pumice (VP) is found abundantly in various parts of the world. In this study, VP from East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea is investigated and assessed for its industrial utilization. The manufacturing of heat-insulating lightweight concrete, building blocks or composites using VP is of prime importance as an energy saver. The utilization of VP as a heat-insulating material is tested and the results are found to satisfy the ASTM requirements. This fact suggests that VP could be utilized in the manufacture of composite building blocks or concrete. Acoustic performance of composite building floors with lightweight volcanic pumice concrete (VPC) is also described based on the performance of normal concrete (NC) and Code based requirements. The performance of VPC and NC composite floors is judged based on Sound Transmission Class (STC) or Impact Insulation Class (IIC) values. VPC composite floors exhibit better acoustic performance than their NC counterparts and seem to achieve the requirements of Codes of various countries.