DEVELOPMENT OF FERROCEMENT FOR USE IN BUILDINGS AS A REPLACEMENT OF TIMBER. AND OTHER MATERIALS

Abstract

Ferrocement is a versatile material, hence it can be used for any shape. Further ferrocement has the advantage of improved performance with respect to termite, fire and weathering action. In buildings various components such as partition, door, utility cabinet etc. are traditionaly made up of timber. The increasing demand of timber has led to rapid depletion of forests and it poses a serious problem to ecological balance on which man survives. Ferrocement is a material which can be used as substitute to timber. In the present study application of ferrocement in buildings, in various areas are considered and are compiled for applications. This study also highlights a variety of applications of ferrocement as replacement of timber components and other utility items of buildings, costeffectiveness of various components such as door, utility cabinet etc. are also considered. Cost of ferrocernerit works out to be one-third to half of the cost of timber. Two ferrocement roof units of size 1.86 m x 0.96 m x 27 mm with two and four layer wire mesh were cast and tested. A comparative study of results such as deflection and moment capacites of roof units by analytical and experimental methods are included. It was found that there is a fair agreement between results of analytical and experimental methods