1. History

1.1 How it was invented

The cellular concrete material was born from the combination of various discoveries made at the end of the 19th century on mortars based on lime (quicklime or not), cement and sand.

In 1877, Dr. Zernikow was the first to study the hardening of mixtures of silica sand and quicklime at high temperatures under steam pressure. The resulting mortars did not provide sufficient mechanical strength for construction.

Three years later, W. Michaelis demonstrated precisely the action of high-pressure saturated steam on silica. He invented the treatment to accelerate crystallization of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH), giving rise to the first form of aerated concrete: water-resistant calcium silicate hydrate. CSH is the basic...