Development of High-Strength Aerogel Concrete

Aerogel is a synthetic porous ultralight material with very low thermal conductivity, and it is mainly used in buildings for external insulation in the form of blankets. In this study, the development of high-strength concrete with a partial replacement of sand with aerogel powder and aerogel beads is presented. Compressive strength, thermal conductivity, and shrinkage measurements have been conducted, and the results indicate that a replacement of sand with 30% aerogel beads leads to a high compressive strength (70 MPa) and relatively low thermal conductivity (1 W/mK) concrete.