Study of properties of foamed gypsum modified with nano-additive

Creation of safe thermal insulation materials and lightweight concrete involves the use of gypsum binder as a matrix of porous systems. The territories of the Russian Federation and Algeria (People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria) are rich in gypsum deposits, which makes it possible to use local raw material resources for the production of lightweight materials. The aim of the work was to develop the composition of porous gypsum material (modified foam gypsum) and study its properties. As a modifying component was used nanodiamond aqueous sol in the amount of 0.01–0.1 wt. %. The microstructure of samples of products made of foam gypsum mixture with and without the addition of nanodiamond aqueous sol was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. As a result, the influence of gypsum binder crystals modified with nanodiamond additive on the performance properties of products was determined. The main characteristics of foamed gypsum mixture products were determined, including density, compressive strength, thermal conductivity, softening coefficient and sorption humidity. As a result, it was found that the nano-additive used in the form of nanodiamond aqueous sol modifies gypsum crystals, forming a denser pore wall structure of foamed gypsum products. This also forms a variotropic structure of the product, which is an important advantage for thermal insulation materials and lightweight concrete. The materials with sufficient strength, low thermal conductivity and sorption humidity are obtained.