 For nearly a century ESCS (Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate) has been used
successfully around the world in more than 50 different types of applications. The most
notable among these are concrete masonry, high-rise buildings, concrete bridge decks,
precast and prestressed concrete elements, asphalt road surfaces, soil conditioner and
geotechnical fills.What is ESCS? It is a unique, ceramic lightweight aggregate prepared
by expanding select minerals in a rotary kiln at temperatures over 1000'C. The production
and raw material selection processes are strictly controlled to insure a uniform, high
quality product that is structurally strong, stable, durable and inert, yet also
lightweight and insulative. ESCS gives designers greater flexibility in creating solutions
to meet the challenges of dead load, terrain, seismic conditions, construction schedules
and budgets in today's marketplace. |
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| High Performance Concrete
Masonry |
 ESCS concrete masonry units are up to 40% lighter than traditional masonry
units. This lighter weight results in increased mason productivity, lower construction
costs and reduced injuries. ESCS masonry also provides superior insulation by combining
high R-values with thermal mass and low thermal bridging. In addition, it offers superior
fire resistance, effective sound absorption, excellent seismic performance, low shrinkage
and high strain capacity. |
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| Asphalt Pavement |
 When bonded to asphalt, ESCS creates an advanced road surface that is safer,
more economical and longer lasting than conventional aggregates. Wet or dry, road surfaces
of ESCS aggregate provide superior skid resistance that is maintained throughout the
surface life, because ESCS does not polish as it wears. Because it's lightweight, ESCS
affords shipping and handling cost advantages to the contractor. Also, damage to
windshields, headlights, and paint caused by "flying" stones is virtually
eliminated with ESCS, , thus avoiding costly insurance claims and motorist complaints. |
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| Structural Concrete |
 ESCS
structural lightweight concrete solves weight and durability problems in buildings and
exposed structures. ESCS concrete has strengths comparable to normalweight concrete, yet
is typically 25% to 35% lighter. ESCS offers design flexibility and substantial cost
savings by providing less dead load, improved seismic structural response, longer spans,
better fire ratings, thinner sections, decreased story height, smaller size structural
members, less reinforcing steel, and lower foundation costs. Precast elements have reduced
transportation and placement costs. The excellent durability performance of ESCS is a
result of the ceramic nature of the aggregate, and its exceptional bond to and elastic
compatibility with the cementitious matrix. |
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| Geotechnical |
 ESCS compacted fills are approximately half the weight of common fills. This
advantage, coupled with its high internal friction angle, can also reduce lateral forces
by more than one-half. It has been effectively used to solve numerous geotechnical
engineering problems and to convert unstable soil into usable land. ESCS also provides
permanent insulation around water and steam lines, and other thermally sensitive elements.
ESCS is a reliable, economical geotechnical solution. |
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| Horticulture |
 ESCS is environmentally friendly. It is non-toxic, odorless, 100% inert, and
completely inorganic. ESCS will not compress, degrade, decompose, or react with
agricultural or horticultural chemicals. It acts as an insulator in the soil mixture and
protects plants from rapid temperature extremes. ESCS retains a high percentage of its
weight in absorbed water and waterborne nutrients, making it an excellent buffer. ESCS is
user friendly because it is lightweight, inert, pH adjustable, easy to handle, economical
and readily available. |
| Specialty Concrete &
Miscellaneous Uses |
 The superior qualities of ESCS are effective and economical in many other
applications. Examples include wood floor topping, bagged concrete mix, cement wallboard,
artificial stone, refractory, roof tile, traction grit, grog, insulating fill and many,
many more. |
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Expanded shale, clay
and slate aggregate, as manufactured by the rotary kiln process (originally developed
in 1908 and patented in 1918 as Haydite), is available throughout the world. |
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