Construction Of Low-cost Housing Research Articles

Development, engineering properties and potential applications of unfired earth bricks reinforced by coal fly ash, lime and wood aggregates

The current study developed and evaluated the engineering properties of improved low-cost UEBs reinforced with various lime (L)-coal fly ash (F)-wood aggregate (W) mix ratios. The objectives were; (1) to determine the effects of lime-coal fly ash-wood aggregate mixtures on mechanical strength and water resistance properties of UEBs; and (2) to determine the comparative cost of the improved UEBs to that of the control (10% cement). Four UEBs with various lime (L)-coal fly ash (F)-wood aggregates (W) mix ratios (L4%-F16%-W1.5%; L4%-F16%-W3%; L8%-F12%-W3%; L10%-F10%-W1.5%) were fabricated and their engineering properties compared to those of unstabilised (negative control) and 10% cement stabilized (positive control) unfired earth bricks. Dry compressive strength (DCS) of UEBs stabilized by L10%-F10%-W1.5% (8.3 MPa) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than that of 10% cement stabilized unfired bricks (7 MPa). DCS and dry density of the four UEBs conformed to the British Standards for low-density clay masonry units. DCS increased with lime-fly ash ratio according to a power function (y=−5.41x2+11.18x+2.22; r2 =0.95, p = 0.018), attaining a maximum of 8.3 MPa at a ratio of 1: 1. However, UEBs had low wet strength, but incorporation of 4% cement significantly increased (p < 0.001) the wet compressive strength of UEBs to 0.94 MPa. UEBs stabilized by 10% lime, 10% coal ash, 1.5% wood aggregates and 4% cement (L10%-F10%-W1.5%-C4%) had water absorption (15.8%) similar to that of 10% cement stabilized UEBs. Moreover, unfired earth bricks reinforced by L10%-F10%-W1.5%-C4% conformed to British Standards engineering specifications for low-density clay masonry units, while the cost was 50% lower than that of cement stabilized bricks, demonstrating the low-cost of the UEBs. In summary, the results demonstrate that improved low-cost UEBs can be developed by incorporating lime, coal fly ash and wood aggregates, but a little cement (4%) may be required to increase the wet compressive strength. Potential applications of the UEBs include, (1) internal partitioning; (2) construction of low-cost housing for low-income households in developing countries, and (3) the provision of temporary or short-term low-cost shelter for displaced persons in humanitarian emergencies.

Managing Social Condominiums

Managing Social Condominiums

The Study of Oil Palm Shell (OPS) Lightweight Concrete Using Superplasticizer, Silica Fume, and Fly Ash

The concrete technology has been growing significantly since years ago especially in Indonesia’s construction. Therefore, Indonesia needs new innovation of concrete technology to solve the problem for the availability of concrete material. Indonesia is known as the largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO) in the world. Oil palm shell (OPS) is one of the solid wastes produced in crude palm oil industry that can be used as concrete materials. This paper presents the experimental results of a research project to produce structural lightweight concrete using oil palm shell (OPS), as a coarse aggregate. This experimental was investigating the effects of adding silica fume, fly ash, and superplasticizer for the compressive strength and flexural strength of the OPS lightweight concrete. It was found that OPS lightweight concrete has compressive strength up to 23.90 MPa in 28-days and flexural strength up to 2.54 MPa in 28-days. This experimental concluded that OPS lightweight concrete has a good potential as a lightweight coarse aggregate and low-cost housing construction in Indonesia.

Demand for Low-Cost Housing Among Local People in Perak

Housing serves one of basic human needs. Hence housing quality positively relates to human well-being. This paper explores factors influencing housing demand in Perak. ISSUE: In Perak, the housing supply has yet to respond to the increasing housing demand with regards to the rising population. AIM: The aims of this research is to assess the current demand and supply of low-cost housing stock in Perak. METHOD: Content analysis was conducted based on secondary data gathered from government agencies such as National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), Department of Statistics Malaysia and Perak Land and Mineral Office. FINDINGS: According to previous studies, nine factors were influencing the demand for low-cost housing. The factors include (i) population growth, (ii) birth rate, (iii) child mortality rate, (iv) income rate, (v) poverty rate, (vi) unemployment rate, (vii) housing stock (viii) inflation rate, and (ix) Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Recent studies discovered that out of the nine factors, only three of the factors significantly influence the housing demand in Perak. These factors were (i) demographic factors, (ii) monthly household income, and (iv) housing supply. The rate of population growth had drastically increased from the year 2000 to 2010. Additionally, more than 50% of the household in Perak had an average monthly income of less than RM 2,999. Despite these issues, the low-cost housing stock from the year 2010 to 2015 had significantly decreased eventhough the demand for these types of houses was high. The lack of low cost housing units leads to poor well-being as population face (i) burden of high rental, (ii) overcrowding and (iii) substandard housing. Therefore, constant monitoring by the related authorities on the construction of low cost houses is imperatively in need to ensure the continued supply of the low-cost housing targeted to the low-income population.

Constructive Technologies With Bamboo. A Sustainable Responsefor Housing in the Huasteca Area of San Luis Potosí

The house has been one of the objects of greater interest for the research, as well as it is also for the design of technical and architectural solutions of the habitable spaces. In particular, social housing is a matter of high priority for the country, given the high percentage of the population that does not have decent housing. The bamboo, known as “vegetable steel”, which is produced in multiple regions of Latin America with a humid warm climate, represents an input with characteristics suitable for building that make it a natural resource susceptible to be used as a material for low-cost housing construction. To generate sustainable architectural proto-types using bamboo as a constructive element, constitutes the main objective of this paper, which aims to place in value the house with the qualification of sustainable, not only because of the saving of transport and the energy of industrialized inputs to the communities, but from its technical-architectonic conception and considering how to reach the probable auto-construction of the houses by means of training and technical assistance to future users.

Embodied Energy Calculation in Mitigating Environmental Impact of Low-Cost Housing Construction

Reduction of the negative impacts of building construction, or mitigation, should be done in the early phase of a project. Particular method that can be used to reduce the negative impact is Embodied Energy (EE) calculation. This research develops a method to calculate the total EE of materials used in building construction by using the Material Selection Analysis (MSA) based on Indonesia’s Construction Work Unit Price Analysis (WUPA). MSA breaks down the types, its unit, and total volume of materials within an object. Using the EE data from Inventory Carbon and Energy (ICE) Bath, in the UK, this research calculate the embodied energy in three small house types in Indonesia: Type 21 M2, Type 36 M2, and Type 45 M2. The result reveals a negative correlation between building’s area and EE value. Nonetheless, the EE value is positively related to the volume of material used. Proposed strategies to decrease the value of EE in low cost housing construction manly; a) design approach in improving the efficiency of material usage, b) materials substitution to material with lower value of EE, especially on material on large volume of usage, c) socialization of EE value to stakeholders as consideration in determining the choice of materials used, thus, environmental mitigation is expected to be an important aspect in determining the design decisions and the choice of materials used.

Research, Development and Application of High Performance Earthquake Resistant Precast System as Green Construction in Indonesia

Sustainable construction is a topic that emerges in the world construction as a response to climate change issue. Building construction stage is a stage in sustainable development. Construction concept that confirm to the concept is referred to as green construction. Precast concrete construction is a construction system that meets green construction criteria, because applies the usage of material and construction method that optimize energy consumption and minimize environment impact during construction. This paper describe the qualitative and quantitative research in precast structures as green construction in Indonesia. Qualitative research was conducted on the assessment criteria of Green Building Council of Indonesia (2012-2014). The quantitative researches are in energy consumption and environmental influence of several construction systems which were conducted at low cost housing construction in Batam (2011-2012). Finally the research (2013-2014) and application (2015-2017) of high performance earthquake resistant precast concrete structure at low cost in Indonesia is described. The result of this research is expected to be a contribution to all construction stakeholders, in order to start to consider optimization of energy consumption in construction, and to become part of sustainable earth movement.

Characteristics of Ferrocement Lightweight Wall

This study presents the results of an investigation aimed to study the behavior of reinforced walls constructing of permanent precast lightweight ferrocement hollow blocks. For this objective, an experimental program was carried out extensively, and a finite-element model with ANSYS14.5 was adopted. The experimental program constructed and tested of four walls having the dimensions of 840 × 650 × 250 mm consisting of six permanent precast lightweight ferrocement hollow blocks having the dimensions of 200 × 400 × 200 mm filled with the core material. The core material was investigated: one layer of welded steel mesh and mortar. Single, double, and three layers steel meshes were used to reinforce the plastering as a bonding layer forms, namely, welded steel mesh. Shear connections between the permanent precast hollow blocks and the core mortar were investigated, namely, the mechanical shear connector between the two surfaces. The test specimens were tested as a fixed wall under uniform load. The behaviors of the walls were compared. The experimental results emphasized that better cracks resistance, high serviceability and ultimate loads, and good energy absorption could be improved using the proposed walls which verify the validity of used the proposed model. There is a good agreement between theoretical and experimental ones. Out of this research, this study presents applications of using light weight ferrocement units in building construction of low-cost housing, which is very useful for developed and developing countries alike with great economic advantages.

STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF LOW COST HOUSING BASED ON CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

This paper addresses the approach to minimize the cost of house and it give affordability to the people now days .the basic principle behind this is to reduce cost of project by reducing duration of project and using different techniques which helps to reduce cost of project without losing quality. There are three factors which affect the cost of housing i.e. time,material used and techniques. The selection of building materials should meet the needs of local conditionsa field study was carried out in pune city, comparison is carried out with the help of persons such as engineers in mhada,jnnurm, housing who are involved in construction of low cost housing. For achieving the low cost, perfect technique is required in this paper the use of perfect techniques and comparison between different techniques is discussed for cost control and reduction.

Relation between Compressive Strength of Baked Clay Cubes and Cylinders

Reinforced Baked Clay (RBC) seems to be potential alternative of Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) for construction of low cost houses. In order to utilize RBC as a construction material for buildings, it is necessary to understand compression behaviour of baked clay. In this paper, relation between cube crushing strength and cylinder strength of baked clay is presented. For this purpose, clay beams were cast in a mould and compacted at a pressure of 6 MPa. The clay beams were dried and fired in a kiln at a temperature of 900?C. Cubes of 150 mm size were sawed from a baked clay beam. Cylinders of 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height were cut, from another baked clay beam, using core cutter machine. Both the cubes and cylinders were tested for compressive strength in Universal Testing Machine. The results showed that the cube crushing strength of baked clay was 25 MPa and the ratio of the compressive strength of the cylinders and the cubes was found to be 0.6. Suggestions for improvement of compressive strength of baked clay cylinders are also discussed.

Effect of Reinforcement on Deflection and Cracks in Baked Clay Beams Subjected to Impact Loading

Attempts are being made to utilize Reinforced Baked Clay (RBC) as a substitute of Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) for construction of low cost houses in plains of Pakistan. Since baked clay is considered to be more brittle as compared to concrete. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate how deflection and crack width of RBC beams subjected to impact loading are governed by amount of reinforcement. This paper presents the behaviour of RBC beams under drop weight impact loading. The beams were reinforced with two steel bars, one in compression zone and the other in tension zone. In group A beams, the diameter of steel bars was 12.7 mm, while the beams of group B were reinforced with steel bars of 15.8 mm diameter. The RBC beams were subjected to repeated impacts of a hammer of mass 21 kg falling from a height of 1000 mm. The results show that 1) three times reduction in deflection, and 2) 2.5 times decrease in crack width, were achieved in RBC beams by increasing the area of steel to 50%. In addition to this, all the RBC beams failed within nine blows of the hammer, irrespective of area of reinforcement.

Assessment of Inorganic Bonded Paperboards Produced from Kraft and Recycled Newsprint

Homogeneous cement bonded paperboards were made with recycled newsprints and Kraft paper with ordinary Portland cement and curing reagent. Boards were produced at the blending proportions of 100:0, 50:50 and 0:100 respectively and at cement/ paper ratio of 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 respectively. Dimensional movements were evaluated to investigate the effect of the variables used in board manufacturing before and after exposure to accelerated aging tests procedure. Increase in mixing ratio and blending proportion caused decrease in Thickness Swelling (TS) and Water Absorption (WA) while TS and WA of the untreated boards were lower than the accelerated aging treated boards. The dimensional movement of Kraft paper was higher than that of recycled newsprint before and after accelerated aging treatment. The strongest and most dimensionally stable board was produced at the highest level of cement/ paper ratio. The pre-accelerated ageing test carried out showed that mechanical properties were higher 2:1 and 3:1 paper cement mixing ratios. Kraft paper produced the strongest and most dimensionally stable board than recycled newsprint. From this study Kraft paper and recycled newsprint proved to be suitable for the manufacture of cement bonded paperboard capable of meeting the needs in core and low cost housing construction.

Local Building Materials: Affordable Strategy for Housing the Urban Poor in Nigeria

The rate of urbanization in Nigeria has witnessed tremendous increase in the last five decades. Census in the early Fifties showed that there were about 56 cities in the country and about 10.6 percent of the total population lived in these cities. This rose dramatically to 19.1 percent in 1963 and 24.5 percent in 1985. Today, the national population is estimated to be about 160 million with the urban population constituting about 60 percent. The phenomenal rise in population, number and size of our cities over the past few years have manifested in the acute shortage of dwelling units which resulted in overcrowding, high rents, poor urban living conditions, and low infrastructure services and indeed high crime rates. Various programs have been implemented to address housing problem. Despite all these interventions, Nigeria's housing problems still remain intractable. The paper recognizes that what Nigerians need to survive the wounds of near-homelessness include good governance, increased access to land, credit, affordable housing and environmentally sound and serviced human settlements. The paper examines the national housing need and housing provision, major constrain in delivery of low cost housing in Nigeria and conclude by recommending locally produced building materials and intermediate technology which can reduce construction cost by about 60 percent as an affordable strategy for construction of low cost housing in Nigeria.

Properties of Boards Made from Rice Husk and Portland cement As Binders and Reinforced with Sisal Fibres

A research study demonstrated that rice husks can be used to manufacture boards whichcan be used in low cost housing if bound by Portland limestone cement (CEM II/A-L/32.5R) and reinforced with sisal fibers to cater for their brittle behavior and that suchboards can provide a substitute for wood panels. Boards made of rice husks and cement inthe ratios of 1/3.3, 1/ 3.6 and 1/4 and with sisal fiber reinforcement contents of 0%, 0.4%,0.5% and 0.8% were prepared and tested for their physical and mechanical properties. Theresults were compared with standard requirements for boards made with wood based fiberand particle panel materials according to DIN 1101 and ISO 2696 and BS EN 634-2.Results indicate that water absorption and thickness swelling decreased with an increase infiber content and that there is an optimum rice husk/ cement ratio and fiber content thatgives maximum flexural strength and that such boards could be used in low cost housingconstruction. The use of such boards could be seen as partially solving the problem ofglobal warming and the problem of pollution associated with the disposal of rice husks indeveloping countries.

The Implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations in the Construction of Low Cost Houses in Newcastle, South Africa

An increase in global population is coupled with intensive growth in residential development. This has resulted to development in land that is unsuitable for occupancy generating negative consequences to the surrounding communities in the long run. In line with the above the study intended to determine if the implementation of EIA regulations in the construction of Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses, which are in close proximity to the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) was adequately followed in Newcastle. It is essential that an EIA is carried out to determine significant impacts early in the project cycle so that recommendations can be built into the design without causing major negative impacts in the future. The study was to identify possible health effects which are attributed to the proximity of the WWTP to the residential area. This study involved participants who resided in close proximity to the site, those who are located five kilometers away, the healthcare givers and the municipality officials. About 68.0% of the respondents believe that the WWTP has negative effects on their lives while 36.0% said the WWTP has negative effects on the environment. The outcome of this study revealed that EIA regulations were not adequately implemented and that this residential site was unsuitable for the construction of RDP houses. The study further reveals that public participation is not highly considered yet high participation from the public leads to a comprehensive and better decision making. It also safeguards against bad or politically motivated decisions. The dominant civic organization has also been weakened when influential leaders were co-opted into the leadership structure of the local authority since they were in alliance with the ruling party. The need and pressure to meet election promises could have also blindsided the new political elites, which led them to ignore their own regulations. It’s crucial that developers look at the KwaMathukuza case study to see how poor EIA practice can affect economic, social, morbidity and mortality risks, cumulative and intergenerational effects, and broader determinants of health which could have been avoided.

Fatores intervenientes na relação entre a inclusão social e o trem considerando as favelas e as taxas de embarque observadas nas estações

A redução da desigualdade e da exclusão social é uma preocupação mundial. No Brasil, esses temas se expressam nas favelas, isoladas espacialmente, devido à falta de sintonia entre os setores de transporte e de habitação. Um encaminhamento para a solução do problema envolve a execução de melhorias na acessibilidade, com base no maior uso do transporte público e na construção de moradias populares e na concentração de atividades no entorno de suas estações. A fim de contribuir com essa temática, o objetivo do estudo é identificar os fatores intervenientes na relação entre a população que mora em favelas e as viagens por trem. As favelas e as estações são Polos Geradores de Viagens importantes que reforçam a necessidade dessa articulação. Os fatores intervenientes que restringem/incentivam o acesso à estação apontam onde e como intervir na área de transporte. Essas propostas devem ser efetivadas por meio de políticas públicas includentes, que integrem os indivíduos aos meios sociais, estabelecendo padrões de acessibilidade nos diferentes espaços que contribuem para compatibilizar a taxa de mobilidade dos moradores das favelas com a dos demais moradores.

An Empirical Investigation on End-Users' Acceptance of Compressed Lahar Sediment Blocks as Wall Panel

This research attempts to discover the end-user’s acceptability of compressed lahar sediment block as wall panel. It aims to evaluate the performance of CLSB as wall panel in the construction of low-cost housing specifically in terms of end-user’s perception on the acceptability of the product. Acceptability in terms of acquisition cost of housing unit using CLSB as wall panels, and the quality of workmanship are generally acceptable. Despite some defects observed in the housing units, more respondents are satisfied and contended.

A Prospective Study on Building Quality: Relationship between Workmanship Quality and Common Building Defects of Low-cost Construction Projects

This study focuses on the quality of workmanship in the construction of low-cost housing in Kedah and Penang State, Malaysia and its relation to defects occurring in the building. The objectives of this study are to investigate common building defects that mostly occur at low-cost housing due to poor workmanship, the factors that contribute to poor workmanship and to established possible measures to minimize these problems. From the combination of literary reviews and questionnaire surveys, this research explores all the stated objectives. For this particular study, quantitative research was conducted through questionnaire surveys involving respondents who are involved in and are experienced in working on construction projects. After analysing the data, this study found that most common defects occurring on low-cost housing are cracks on walls, settlement and peeling paint. Additionally, construction of low-cost housing commonly suffers from low quality workmanship due to poor project management and a lack of experience and competency among labourers. These significant impediments can be remedied by providing training and education to the labourers as well as implementing strict supervision during construction work.

Properties of cement-bonded flake-boards from &lt;i&gt;Gmelina arborea&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Leucaena leucocephala&lt;/i&gt;

This study investigated the suitability of Gmelina arborea, low-density wood species and Leucaena leucocephala, high-density wood species for the production of 6 mm thick Inorganic-bonded flake-boards. Flake-boards were made at three levels of curing reagent and board density to get nine experimental flakeboards for each species. The flake-boards were subjected to modulus of rupture, thickness swelling, water absorption, and accelerated aging tests. Thickness swelling, water absorption and accelerated age of boards decreased as curing reagent and board density increased whereas modulus of rupture of boards from each species increased proportionately with Gmelina arborea having higher strength. The performance of boards produced at the highest level of curing reagent and board density were better as they showed highest resistance to dimensional movement and bending force. Flakes from both species are suitable raw materials for flakeboard manufacture, which could be used as substitute to sawn timber in core and low-cost housing construction.

Self-help Retrofitting Technologies for Low-cost Housing Construction. The Case Study of Vila Novo Ouro Preto, Brasil.

The paper presents low-tech and low-cost solutions such as, in particular, self-help retrofitting technologies, to improve the quality in spontaneous settlements (favelas) which arise close to the major Brazilian towns. In particular, a critical analysis of the favela Vila Novo Ouro Preto in Belo Horizonte has been elaborated, highlighting both social, cultural and technical aspects to design suitable technological components to be adopted in order to improve environmental comfort. The study has been developed in order to meet people needs and expectations so as to guide planning and design perspectives aiming at improving the quality of life in a sustainable socio-cultural way. The contribution suggests a selection of interesting techniques and processes achievable in self-help construction; some of them are quite innovative since they use in a new and different way recycled materials and products, thus boosting economic growth and social development.