APPLICATIONS
Arcosa Lightweight produces and distributes rotary-kiln expanded shale and clay lightweight aggregates made from natural shale and clay. This building material offers excellent results in both quality and performance in a variety of engineering and horticultural projects.
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Product applications include internally cured concrete, structural lightweight concrete, asphalt surface treatments, as well as geotechnical and green roofs. Lightweight aggregate is also used to manufacture lightweight masonry and stone veneer products; as a filtration media; and aids in coastal restoration, protection and stormwater management projects.
Structural lightweight concrete made with rotary kiln produced structural lightweight aggregate solves weight and durability problems in buildings and exposed structures. Structural lightweight concrete achieves strengths comparable to normal weight concrete, while being 20% to 30% lower in density.
Walls constructed with lightweight concrete masonry units — or concrete block — are a time-tested, proven construction system, delivering benefits that range from structural, to thermal, to aesthetic.
Lightweight aggregates are providing new, consistent and cost effective options to address environmental concerns about the threat of stormwater to our clean water supply. Lightweight aggregates from Arcosa Lightweight provides design flexibility for stormwater management programs in meeting this environmental concern.
Many coastal areas have lost thousands of acres of shoreline to erosion. Previous hurricanes have led to vast areas of land just disappearing. Storms, along with the loss of marsh grasses and other vegetation, have taken a toll. To maintain what’s left and bring back what was lost, Arcosa Lightweight aggregate is being used to help in coastal protection and restoration efforts.
Internal curing offers benefits of improved hydration, reduced chloride ingress, and reduced early age cracking, which helps concrete achieve its maximum potential as a sustainable building material by extending its service life.
For innovative, cost-effective, long-term solutions for horticulture projects, professionals often turn to lightweight aggregates. From creating an ideal planting media to designing a soil for an athletic field, Arcosa Lightweight is the logical solution.
Arcosa Lightweight's expanded shale and clay lightweight aggregate can reduce the density of compacted geotechnical fills by up to one-half. This advantage, coupled with its predictable high internal friction angle, can also reduce lateral forces by more than one-half.
As a filter medium, Arcosa Lightweight is very durable, and coupled with its porous structure and increased surface area, it is an exceptional filtering material for metalloids, suspended solids, oil and grease. Expanded shale and clay has the long-term ability to absorb nutrients and maintain hydraulic flow to ensure that water treatment is effective and sustainable.
Combining lightweight aggregates with varying amounts of organic matter creates a lightweight planting media for intensive and/or extensive rooftop gardens. These designer soils can be created or altered to meet design specifications or address precise project requirements. Designer soils are often required for rooftop gardens, raised planters, containers and urban tree plantings.
First introduced to the asphalt market over forty years ago, the use of lightweight aggregate in the United States exceeds 3,000 miles of asphalt pavement annually.