Opilkobeton - properties of arbolitny and opilkobetonny

By mixing different building materials, you can get their new types, which can have the necessary characteristics. This article will be especially interesting to those who decided to make opilkobeton with their own hands. In addition, we will consider other aspects related to it, in particular, what equipment is needed for this, what are the similarities and differences of the material with other similar ones.

Arbolitny and opilkobetonny blocks

Sawdust concrete block is a composite building material.

The stages of its preparation can be described as follows:

• mix the ingredients proportionally;
• mold the product in forms specially made for it;
• create conditions for the natural drying of the finished blocks.

You can make it in the form of blocks or a monolithic structure.

Also on the Internet, you can often find the expression that the “brother” of sawdust is arbolit, but this is not true. The similarity between them can be only in one - in organic filler of plant origin, which must be prepared before connecting to the concrete mix. More they have nothing in common, so you can make a final conclusion that these are two completely different materials.

Consider these differences in more detail:

1. Arbolit - large pore free sand. In it, the hardened cement layer has a thickness of 0.05-0.365 mm, it envelops the aggregate particles and glues them together. The durability and strength of a concrete product in this case depends not only on the binder, but also on the geometric characteristics of the aggregate. At the same time, in sandstone concrete, these parameters are determined mainly by the sand-cement mixture.

It can be concluded that more will be introduced cement and sand in opilkobetonnuyu mixture, the concrete will be more durable, but colder. In addition, the price of the product will increase exponentially, which should also be considered.

1. The following follows from the above, if a density of 500 kg / m is sufficient for a quality arbolit³, which guarantees structural and insulating properties, at the same time the best and most economical sawdust-concrete block should have a minimum density of 800 kg / m3. In fact, this means that the supporting wall of the latter, which will have the same characteristics of thermal resistance with arbolitnoy, should be almost 2 times thicker. Therefore, in reality, construction of opilkobeton need additional insulation.

1. For the production of opilkobeton use machine shavings and finished sawdust, in fact, waste woodworking. At the same time, raw material for arbolita is specially made shredded from non-commercial wood (sometimes it can be a chop of reed or other plants with a fibrous structure) of strictly defined sizes. The amount of binder required for their gluing depends on this - the smaller the size, the more binding is needed, and vice versa.

We hope that now, choosing arbolit or opilkobeton, you will clearly know and understand the essence of each material and will not make a mistake. You should also understand that in processing the material is not as strong as reinforced concrete, so you should not use diamond circles for this.

Production technology

Procurement of materials

The specifics of the production of sawdust blocks based on the fact that the components included in the composition do not need to be harvested in advance. They can all be bought at the right time in hardware stores or in specialized warehouses.

In fact, this makes it possible to reduce the time of their procurement up to the day when the production process itself begins, this is not fundamental. The components are intermixed with each other usually mechanically, for example, in a concrete mixer.

The composition of opilkobeton usually consists of materials of different origin, which are usually divided into 2 groups:

• industrial - lime or cement;
• natural - sawdust and sand.

To prepare the mixture, prepare, and the recipe opilkobetona will be lower in the text:

• cement grade M300 and above;
• sand (fraction up to 1.8 μr);
• not slaked lime;
• softwood sawdust.

When to make blocks

It should start immediately after the installation of the foundation, it is better - in early June. This is due to the time span until the blocks are fully ready, which is 3 months, although practice shows that under favorable conditions one or two months may be enough.

Tip: small blocks with dimensions of 100x100x200 mm dry faster than with sizes of 200x200x400 mm.

Manufacturing method

Below is a step-by-step instruction that will help to deal with the process of independent production of opilkobeton:

1. Make molds for casting blocks, and note that they will have to be removed after 3-5 days. Therefore, prepare them immediately in the right quantity, usually 10-20 pieces are enough. Then you will not waste time waiting for the blocks to dry out, and the process will continue.

Tip: the number of forms should be such that they can be completed in one working day. Their linear dimensions should not have allowances.

1. Prepare the production site by pouring fine sand onto the site and leveling it. Lay out ready-made forms on it.

Tip: lay the glass walls or polyethylene film inner walls of each form. This will help the block to get out of it easier.

1. Sift the sawdust with a sieve, the cells of which should be no more than 10 mm. You can make it yourself and use it alone or with an assistant. It can be made from planks and a suitable grid, if it is not there - you can use a sheet of roofing iron, pre-drilled in it holes of O10 mm. The distance between them and the rows should be no more than 5 mm. Typically, waste is up to 15% of the material.

1. Mix the ingredients. It is better to produce it in a concrete mixer, but you can also manually in a special container. The production technology of opilkobeton is similar to the preparation of a concrete solution:

• mix sand and cement together;
• add lime and mix again;
• add sawdust - mix;
• add water.

The amount of the latter depends on the moisture content of sawdust and sand. If the latter was delivered more than a month ago, and the sawdust is dry, it is usually sufficient to add 10-20% of water from the batch volume. When the sand was brought on the eve or right before production, and sawdust is fresh, you should cut the water almost 2 times.

Tip: conduct a control batch to know the quality of the finished unit. Then take part of the mixture and make a small lump of it, and then squeeze in the palm of your hand. If water begins to ooze out and the material is flattened, reduce the amount of water, if it does not protrude and the lump crumbles, reduce the amount of sawdust or sand.

1. Spread the mixture into forms and tamp it with a rammer, which you can do yourself. This is necessary to remove the remaining air from the mixture. You can check the readiness of the block with the help of a nail that needs to be drawn along its surface - if the scratch made a shallow mark, it can be removed and sent for further drying.

Tip: if you need to make a technological hole in opilkobeton, it is enough to use an ordinary drill, and such a service as diamond drilling of holes in concrete in this case would be just a waste of money.

Conclusion

From this material, you learned what opilkobeton is, found out why it is impossible to compare it with arbolit, you have understood in detail with the method of its manufacture. It was also told that it can act not only as a block, but also as a monolithic wall, which can speed up the construction process. (See also the article Opilkobeton House: Features.)

In addition, the article provided examples of the thermal conductivity of opilcobeton relative to wood concrete. The video in this article will help you find additional information on this topic.