Nettles has become an industry leader in engineered flowable fill (check out our recent blog post about the advantages of EFF). For EFF projects, our experienced team uses Low-Density Cellular Concrete (LDCC) as a lightweight, highly flowable engineered fill solution.
What is LDCC?
Low-Density Cellular Concrete (LDCC) is a mixture of Portland Cement, water, and Preformed Foam. The foam creates a structure of discrete air cells within the concrete, increasing volume, reducing density, and improving flowability. Mix designs may use fly ash, sand, and other aggregates to achieve specific densities and strengths. These properties make LDCC ideal for a variety of geotechnical applications. There are several manufacturers of LDCC Engineered Fill including Elastizell and Aerix. Each manufacturer uses a little different formulation for their LDCC but their properties are similar.
LDCC is produced on-site using a mobile batch plant and pumped into place. A slurry of cement and water is injected with preformed foam and can be pumped substantial distances, making placement easier in confined and/or high-traffic areas. Daily production from mobile batch plants can exceed 2,000 CY/day and multiple batch plants can be utilized for high-volume jobs.
What are the advantages and applications of LDCC?
LDCC offers many unique advantages over traditional engineered fill, including:
- High strength-to-weight ratio
- Customizable mix designs
- No compaction
- Flowability eliminates voids
- Not affected by petroleum-based products
- Low maintenance and easily excavated
- Air increases volume 3-8 times, reducing freight cost and truck traffic
- Low permeability reduces loads and issues with drainage and freeze/thaw cycles
The Nettles team uses LDCC for all our engineered flowable fill projects, including MSE and RSS wall backfill, landslip repair, tunnel and pipe backfill, utility insulation, and soil stabilization. LDCC is an excellent backfill material for retaining walls and foundations because it exerts no lateral pressure on adjacent structures and its low permeability reduces the lateral pressure associated with water intrusion. The lightweight and highly flowable nature of LDCC also makes it ideal for elevated plaza and garden structures, MSE walls, annular space grouting, and utility fills.
Have questions about LDCC or engineered flowable fill? Contact an expert to see how we can help.
