Development of Eco-friendly Light weight stone Veneer for construction industries

薄而轻的砌筑单板提供了一种经济和通用的替代石材或全深度砌筑。单板由水泥、水和轻质骨料（LWA）（如膨胀粘土骨料）的混合物制成的轻质混凝土制成。Vega Stone是一家成立于2006年的萨斯喀彻温省公司。维加石材专门制造高品质的石材和砖饰面，为加拿大的冬天制作。Vega Stone采用由水泥和膨胀粘土集料组成的轻质混凝土混合物。膨胀粘土的生产过程是能源和排放密集型的，这体现在膨胀粘土集料的高成本上。为了保持与外国制造商的竞争力，Vega Stone需要找到创新的方法来提高产品质量，同时保持竞争力。Vega Stone正在寻求与萨斯喀彻温理工学院的创新制造中心合作，为他们的轻混凝土混合物开发一种新的环保和节省成本的轻质骨料。这个项目的目的是开发一种新的轻质骨料混合物，从废料，不能再回收或重新利用。在骨料混合料中使用废料，可节约单板生产成本15-20%。新的骨料材料的好处将通过减少排放，从垃圾填埋场转移废物，以及创造新的就业机会，扩大到加拿大。

Thin and light-weight masonry veneer provides an economical and versatile alternative to stone or full-depth masonry. The veneers are manufactured from lightweight concrete prepared from a mixture of cement, water, and lightweight aggregates (LWA) like expanded clay aggregates. Vega Stone is a Saskatchewan based company established in 2006. Vega stone specializes in the manufacturing of high-quality stone and brick veneer made for Canadian winters. Vega Stone utilizes a lightweight concrete mixture composed of cement and expanded clay aggregates. The production process of expanded clay is energy and emission intensive which is reflected in the high cost of the expanded clay aggregates. To stay competitive with foreign manufacturers, Vega Stone needs to find innovative ways to improve the quality of their product and stay competitive at the same time. Vega Stone is seeking collaboration with Saskatchewan Polytechnic's Innovative Manufacturing Center to develop a new Eco-friendly and cost-saving lightweight aggregate for their light concrete mixture. The aim of this project is to develop a new lightweight aggregate mixture from waste material that can no longer be recycled or repurposed. The use of waste material in the aggregate mixture will result in 15-20% saving in the veneers production cost. The benefit of the new aggregate material will expand to Canada through emission reduction, diversion of waste from the landfill, as well as the creation of new jobs.