Low Cost Building Materials Research Articles

Recycled Aggregate filled waste plastic bottles as a replacement of bricks

Abstract Concrete is and has been the basic building material for most of the infrastructure for last few decades. However, the aging infrastructure is resulting in millions of tonnes of construction and demolition waste, mainly aggregates. Used plastic bottles are also a significant waste management concern of the rapidly urbanizing society. The current work is aimed at combining these two waste products and generating an alternative for conventional bricks, thus yielding a sustainable and environment-friendly building material. Used plastic bottles were filled with crushed recycled aggregate (RA) and desired water content and were sealed. Bottles containing crushed RA with size less than 425 µm had higher compressive strength as compared to those containing RA with a size between 425 µm & 4.75 mm. Also, 5% water content was found to be the most optimal in terms of compressive strength. Exposure to 3.5% saline solution for 28 days did not affect the compressive strength of such bottles significantly. Such waste material filled plastic bottles are not only cheap, zero-energy, and emission-less; they also obviate the necessity of disposal of the bottles and the waste materials. Such environment-friendly and low-cost building materials are expected to pave way for low-cost housing in economically-deprived sections of the world.

Impact of Indoor Air Quality by Incorporating Agricultural Waste Into Fired Clay Brick

The demand for edible oil from all over the world has generated a huge amount of solid waste. Due to that, the problem of disposal method has become a constraint by the authorities. Therefore, this study is focusing on the incorporation of palm kernel shell (PKS) into fired clay brick in terms of indoor air quality assessment. The brick was incorporated with 0% and 5% of PKS and fired at 1050°C with heating rates of 1°C/min. Preliminary analysis was conducted with X-Ray Fluorescence test to determine chemical composition of raw materials used in the study. A further experiment of indoor air quality was obtained by measuring gases emission of total volatile organic compound (TVOC), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), formaldehyde (HCHO) and particulate matter (PM10) in Walk in Stability Chamber with controlled temperature and relative humidity. All parameters were compared with Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality standard. The result shows that incorporation 5% of PKS into fired clay brick complied with the standard requirement for use as building materials. As the conclusion, the use of palm kernel shell as clay replacement could reduce the waste disposal in landfills whilst providing low-cost building materials.

Re-Contextualizing the Object: Using New Technologies to Reconstruct the Lost Interiors of Medieval Islamic Buildings

Abstract There has been a common theme arising in the display of Islamic architectural fragments. Decontextualized and alone, so often their rather opaque provenance, and questions as to how the objects became detached from their original locations, have led to a profound disconnect between the objects and the buildings from which they came. This article proposes a new way of displaying and understanding such items in situ that directly confronts the issue of origin. Its focus is on the Ilkhanid lustre tiles from the tomb of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Samad in Natanz, Iran. A number of the tiles are in major museum collections around the world, with little sense of the cumulative appearance of the complete composition, or the other decorative elements of the building. By using low-cost building materials and high-quality printing it is possible to recreate a sense of the Ilkhanid-era appearance of the interior of the Natanz tomb. Through such an installation the original scale, context, and epigraphic programme will become clear. This article challenges several curatorial conventions and bridges the divide between the objects and the building of which they originally formed an integral part.

Evaluating building material based thermal comfort of a typical low-cost modular house in India

‘Housing for All by 2022’ is an ambitious initiative by the Government of India, to provide affordable and quality housing to the people of economically weaker sections (EWS) and the low-income group (LIG). Modular housing has become the de-facto in this context of low-cost and affordable housing. In this study, we evaluate the thermal comfort of a commercially available modular house with respect to different low-cost building wall materials and window glass panes. Dynamic energy simulations were carried out for Mumbai to analyse the thermal-comfort performance of such houses throughout the year. Results have shown that none of the low-cost building materials were competent enough to meet the ASHRAE-55 standards. However, a combination of glass fibre reinforced gypsum board and a blue tinted glass of a 6mm thickness, performed better in thermal comfort in comparison to other materials. This study showed the need for development of efficient low cost building materials in order to address the long-term sustainability of the low cost housing project.

Alternative Low Cost Building Materials on Beams

Alternative Low Cost Building Materials on Beams

Engineering Properties of Treated Natural Hemp Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

In recent years the construction industry has seen a significant rise in the use of natural fibres, for producing building materials. Research has shown that treated hemp fibre reinforced concrete (THFRC) can provide a low-cost building material for residential and low rise buildings, whilst achieving sustainable construction and meeting future environmental targets. This study involved enhancing the mechanical properties of hemp fibre reinforced concrete through the Ca(OH)2 solution pre-treatment of fibres. Both untreated (UHFRC) and treated (THFRC) hemp fibre reinforced concrete were tested containing 15mm length fibre, at a volume fraction of 1%. From the mechanical strength tests, it was observed that the 28-day tensile and compressive strength of THFRC was 16.9 and 10% higher, respectively than UHFRC. Based on the critical stress intensity factor (K_IC^s), and critical strain energy release rate (G_IC^s), the fracture toughness of THFRC at 28 days was also found to be 7-13% higher than UHFRC. Additionally, based on the determined brittleness number (Q) and modulus of elasticity, the THFRC was found to be 11% less brittle and 10.8% more ductile. Furthermore, qualitative analysis supported many of the mechanical strength findings through favourable surface roughness observed on treated fibres and resistance to fibre pull-out.

EFFECT OF ORGANIC SOIL ON STRENGTH PROPERTIES OF COMPRESSED CEMENT-SOIL BLOCK

Compressed cement-soil block is used as low cost building material. In the south-western region of Bangladesh, there is availability of organic soil which is in the formation of overlying layer. Moreover, sandy materials do not occur and are not found easily in Bangladesh. The scarcity of sandy materials has led to the increase of the retail price and subsequently to higher production cost. So organic soil materials have been used as filler directly to produce cement-soil block. In this study, the compressive and flexural strengths of cement-soil block of density 1448kg/m³ to 1611kg/m³ with specified ratio of cement content were investigated using prism specimens. The observed elapsed periods were 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, 56 and 112 days with the variation of organic contents of 2%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 40%. Preferable results on the 28th day indicated that the compressive strength and the flexural strength of cement-soil block with 20% organic content increased by 125% and 102% respectively. Moreover, the influence of density on the strength properties of cement-soil block was found to be higher than the age of the specimen.

Impact Properties of Hemp Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Composites

The construction industry has seen an incredibly fast increase in utilizing natural fibres for making low-cost building materials to achieve sustainable construction. One of such applications is natural fibre-reinforced cementitious materials for either structural or non-structural purpose. Impact properties are engineering properties received increasing attentions from engineering community for structural materials. This research therefore studies impact resistance of hemp fibre reinforced cementitious composites at early ages. Hemp fibre with various lengths, 10 mm and 20 mm, are utilized to reinforce cementitious materials. Hemp fibre reinforced cementitious composite slabs were tested under repeating dropping mass till failure at the age of 7, 14 and 28 days. Cracking behaviour, impact resistance, absorbed impact energy and survived impact blows upon failure are qualitatively/quantitatively analysed. It has been found that 20 mm-long hemp fibre reinforcement leads to higher impact resistance, more absorbed impact energy and survived more impact blows upon failure. Cementitious composite slabs reinforced by 20 mm-long hemp fibres exhibit higher impact crack resistance ratio than those reinforced by 10 mm-long fibres. Longer fibres are more effective in inhibiting the growth of micro-cracks and blunting the propagation of micro-cracks before they join up to form macro cracks leading to ultimate failure.

Failure and deformation mechanisms at macro- and nano-scales of alkali activated clay

Here we report two qualitative models on failure and deformation mechanisms at macro- and nano-scales of alkali activated clay (AACL), a material of extraordinary importance as a low cost building material. The models were based on experimental data of compressive failure and nanoindentation response of the AACL materials. A 420% improvement in compressive strength (σc) of the AACL was achieved after 28 days (d) of curing at room temperature and it correlated well with the decrements in the residual alkali and pH concentrations with the increase in curing time. Based on extensive post-mortem FE-SEM examinations, a schematic model for the compressive failure mechanism of AACL was proposed. In addition, the nanoindentation results of AACL provided the first ever experimental evidence of the presence of nano-scale plasticity and a nano-scale contact deformation resistance that increased with the applied load. These results meant the development of a unique strain tolerant microstructure in the AACL of Indian origin. The implications of these new observations were discussed in terms of a qualitative model based on the deformation of layered clay structure.

Arithmetical Modelling for Evaluating the Performance of Concrete Strength with the Aid of Optimization Techniques

The aim of study is to frame a mathematical modeling with aid of optimization techniques predict the concrete parameters. In these combines the presentation of the concrete is given by the designer however the mix proportions are found out by the producer of concrete, apart from that the minimum cement content can be placed down. Fly ash and bottom ash is an important role on the follow of such invention. In improving countries like India and other countries the employ of extensive reinforced construction works from the low cost building materials such as fly ash, bottom ash and other components in RCC construction. Mathematical modelling is done by minimizing the cost and time consumed in the case of extension of the real time experiment. Mathematical modelling is utilized to predict the Compressive Strength (CS), Split Tensile Strength (STS) for 7, 28 and 56 days and deflection (D) of the concrete with load. The different optimization algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Harmony Search (HS) and Artificial Fish Swarm Optimization (AFSO) are utilized to find the optimal weights α and β of the mathematical modelling. All optimum results demonstrate that the attained error values between the output of the experimental values and the predicted values are closely equal to zero in the designed model. From the results, the minimum error 93.766% is determined by mathematical modelling to attain in AFSO algorithm.

RECYCLING LOCAL INDUSTRIAL WASTES FOR PRODUCTION OF GREEN CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Industrial waste is one of the most important sources of environmental pollution in the world and Egypt. Providing economic opportunities for recycling these wastes represent an essential solution to this problem to encourage waste producers to dispose it safely and to provide an added value for these wastes. This research work will study the feasibility of recycling certain industrial wastes for production low-cost building materials and improving the soil compaction characteristics. In this research work, the efficiency of recycling some common local industrial wastes in production of construction materials was explored. The selected wastes include cement kiln dust (i.e. bypass) and ceramics powder. Previous researches and the chemical analysis showed that both wastes are promising as cement replacement materials. However, this exploratory phase is an initial investigation targeting the chemical properties of theses wastes for efficient use of both wastes to replace cement –partially- in mortar and plain concrete elements as well as bricks. The advantage of replacing part of the cement content with waste materials has double environmental action, by which reducing cement use leading to less carbon dioxide emission in addition to the safe recycling of the industrial wastes. Based on the selected condition of the cement bypass and ceramic powder, no significant enhancement was recorded in the mortar and concrete mixes had various ratios of cement replacement. However, the main physical and mechanical properties of some of the tested mixes provided promising values for using these mixes for production of more green plain concrete, mortar and bricks. For the soil enhancement application, addition of cement bypass to soil -commonly found in delta region- increased the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) value of this soil by 300%. Currently more comprehensive investigation is running to cover more than cement and ceramic factories in order to have a reliable data base of the properties of these types of industrial wastes and the efficient recycling of these wastes in construction materials and soil improvement applications.

Validation of a Multi-Criteria Decision Support System for Low-Cost Green Building Materials and Components

In an industry where objectivity is sought, validation ascertains the reliability of a system and investigates the credibility of the theoretical basis upon which it is built. The performance of a decision-support system is most often determined by the external validation data rather than the development data. This paper illustrates the validation of a multicriteria decision-support system designed to aid more informed and sustainable material choices at the earliest stages of the design. The main objectives of this exercise are to establish the computational correctness of the software, and evaluate the reliability of the decisions made by the system when formulating decisions regarding the selection of low-cost green building materials and components at the conceptual and crucial stages of the design process. Data collected from samples of ten (10) randomly selected research experts and practicing professionals —who influence material choice decisions and represent various fields in the Nigerian housing construction industry, were used to demonstrate the decision-making capabilities, limitations and appropriateness of the model. In view of the complex nature of this research, an on-going case study project was used to further showcase how well the MSDSS model could be applied to real-life material-selection problems, by comparing the outputs from the model to monitored data from the proposed building project. The key contribution to the assessment of designers’ choice of materials during design engagement is the novel inclusion of the social-cultural and sensorial variables as key indicators of the material selection decision-making process. This study concludes that the ability of the model to discern and prioritise material choices, in terms of their environmental, technical, sociocultural, sensorial and economic impacts— evidenced by an orderly ranked scale of material utility indices, portends a reasonable indication of its reliability, validity and practical usability for further studies.

Characterization of alkali activated kaolinitic clay

Low cost building materials have been developed by chemical activation of Jordanian Hiswa kaolinite with a sodium hydroxide solution. The effect of the main parameters of synthesis and processing on the development of compressive strength was studied. An investigation of the physical, thermal, mineralogical and microstructural properties was performed. A compressive strength of 32MPa was obtained for a mixture cured at 80°C for 24h. The mineralogical and microstructural results on the hardened material indicate the formation of sodium zeolite phases and feldspathoids with a Na/Al ratio of one. The high compressive strength observed is directly related to the formation of the new phases that fill the pore spaces and bind the matrix.

Minimizing changing climate impact on buildings using easily and economically feasible earth to air heat exchanger technique

The biggest challenge of the 21st century is to satisfy the escalating demand of energy and minimize the globally changing climate impact. Earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) system can effectively reduce heating affects on buildings. An experimental study was carried out by designing EAHE system using low cost building materials like Bamboo (Bambuseae) and hydraform (cement and soil plaster) to reduce the energy consumption of buildings and minimize the impact of climate change. This system utilizes earth’s constant subterranean temperature for naturally heating or cooling the inlet air. This study was carried out in the North Eastern part of India. An open loop EAHE system was developed to predict the heating and cooling potential of the system. Within the system locally available bamboos were used for constructing the tunnel pipes and soil-cement mixture plaster was used to enhance the conductivity of the bamboo pipes. Soil-cement mixtures are capable of decreasing the humidity by 30 to 40 %. Majority of the North Eastern region of India, have humid climatic conditions through out the year. Experiment was performed continuously for 7 days and the result shows that irrespective to the inlet air temperature (ranges from 35 °C to 42 °C), outlet air temperature was recorded between 25 °C and 26 °C, which shows the effectiveness of the system. After a series of experimental analysis the study reveals that underground tunnel based fresh air delivery system is one of the easily feasible and economically feasible techniques which can drastically reduce the energy consumption of the buildings and help in addressing the continuously escalating demand of power and minimizing the impact of changing climatic conditions on buildings.

Use of furnace slag and welding slag as replacement for sand in concrete

In this project, a study was made to obtain low cost building materials using industrial wastes (welding and furnace slags). The objective of the study is to use these wastes in low-cost construction with adequate compressive strength. Different fine aggregate replacements have been studied by substituting 5%, 10%, and 15% of slag. The waste material was substituted for replacement of fine aggregates and for the preparation of concrete blocks. In this project, we have followed Indian standard methods and arrived at the mix design for M25 grade concrete. Experimental studies were conducted only on plain cement concrete. The preliminary studies were conducted by mixing the slag with the cement concrete cubes of standard sizes. The building material specimens were analyzed for compressive strength as per IS code. For the test and other specifications, it can be concluded that the welding and furnace slags can increase the strength of the concrete. The optimum compressive strength of concretes after 28 days has been found to be 41 N/mm2 for 5% welding slag and 39.7 N/mm2 for 10% furnace slag replacements. The results show that 5% of welding and 10% furnace slags replacement with sand is very effective for practical purpose.

Influence of soil grading on properties of compressed cement-soil

Compressed cement-soil block is known as low cost building materials. This paper studies the effects of soil grading and the characteristics of soil on the properties of compressed cement-soil such as compressive strength, dry density and water absorption. Compacting pressure of 10 MPa and 30% binder with respect to cement content of 10% were used. The results obtained from crushed soil particles were better than those from natural soil. Mixture of 35% soil and 65% sand produced the optimum of strength, dry density and water absorption. Strength and dry density increased with the fineness of soil particles. Moreover, soil properties also affect the strength properties of cement-soil. Its strength is significantly reduced with increasing plasticity index or liquid limit.

Compressive Strength Of Rice Husk Ash-Cement Sandcrete Blocks

There is growing demand for alternative, low-cost building material in developing countries. The effect of partial substitution of ordinary Portland cement with Rice Husk Ash (RHA) on the compressive strength of hollow sandcrete block was investigated through laboratory experimental procedures. The specific gravity, initial and final setting times of RHA were determined. 150 x 450 mm hollow sandcrete blocks were cast, cured and crushed for 7, 14 and 28 days at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 percent replacement levels. Results showed that the compressive strength of blocks increased with curing age but decreased with increasing percentage of rice husk ash. It can be concluded from this study that Portland cement could partially be substituted with unground RHA to a level of 17.5 per cent to produce sandcrete blocks as building units. Keywords: Cement, compression, Rice-Husk-Ash and Sandcrete-blockGlobal Journal of Engineering Research Vol. 7 (1) 2008: pp. 43-46

Weathering Behavior of Fly-ash Jute Polymer Composite

Polymer composites are in great demand due to their versatility. Their uses as machine components vary from household articles to aerospace applications. The degradation/ variation of the mechanical properties of the specimen treated at different environmental/ atmospheric conditions are a primary concern when recommending such a composite for particular use. On the other hand, industrial waste, i.e., fly ash generated from thermal power plants which creates environmental threats, need consideration in terms of disposal and/or utility. The present investigation is aimed at processing a composite using fly ash, jute with epoxy (binder), and to study its weathering behavior on mechanical properties such as flexural strength. The fracture surfaces of the specimen were examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM). From this study, it appears that the composite can be successfully used as a structural material in household and automobile application and as a low-cost building material.

CBO Performance in the Shelter Sector: A Study of La Piña and Lebrón, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The current global housing policy, the enabling approach, emphasizes the need for governments to encourage community participation in the shelter sector. This research examines the role of the government and community-based organizations (CBOs) in the housing sector and analyzes how they interact. To determine whether governments and CBOs are participating in the shelter sector as advocated under the approach, this study examines the role of two CBOs engaged in upgrading shelter for the poor in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. This research demonstrates that the enabling approach can be effective if the government is supportive and CBOs are engaged in the planning, decision-making, and implementation of the housing project. This study finds that cooperation between the implementing NGO, CBOs, and households is crucial for the success of the housing project. The study also demonstrates how the enabling policies employed in Santo Domingo, including low-cost labor and use of low-cost building materials, help overcome obstacles encountered under previous housing policies such as displacement and affordability issues.

Valorization of fly ash in the cold stabilization of clay materials

It is possible to valorize fly ash by using it in clay materials cold stablized by means of a binder (cement or lime) and extrusion shaped. Fly ash is an industrial waste. Its utilisation in manufacturing processes as described here allows, on the one hand, to obtain low cost building materials, like bricks or blocks and, on the other hand, to solve some serious pollution problems of waste elimination. The mechanical properties, water resistance, dimensional stability and accelerated ageing of products containing ash are significantly improved when compared to those of clay-binder mixes. This may be explained as follows: • • a better hydration of the binder of mixes containing ash, • • the filler effect of passive ash grains, • • the pozzolanic effect, a property of silico-aluminous fly ash which is able to fix lime, with water, thus producing hydrated compounds.