Water-to-Cement Ratio of Magnesium Oxychloride Cement Foam Concrete with Caustic Dolomite Powder

Magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) foam concrete (MOCFC) is an air-hardening cementing material formed by mixing magnesium chloride solution (MgCl2) and light-burned magnesia (i.e., active MgO). In application, adding caustic dolomite powder into light-burned magnesite powder can reduce the MOCFC production cost. The brine content of MOC changes with the incorporation of caustic dolomite powder. This study investigated the relationship between the mass percent concentration and the Baume degree of a magnesium chloride solution after bischofite (MgCl2·6H2O) from a salt lake was dissolved in water. The proportional relationship between the amount of water in brine and bischofite, and the functional formula for the water-to-cement ratio (W/C) of MOC mixed with caustic dolomite powder were deduced. The functional relationship was verified as feasible for preparing MOC through the experiment.