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A Study on use of Reinforced Thermocol Panels as an Alternate Building

Material

Conference Paper · March 2016

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 International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, Vol.4, No.3, March 2016
E-ISSN: 2321-9637
Available online at www.ijrat.org

A Study on use of Reinforced Thermocol Panels as an Alternate

Building Material
Pradeepa.S 1, Anitha.J1,N.Tamil Selvi1, Pranav.P2, Arpit Jaketia2
1
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engg, Sir M.Visvesvaraya Institute Of Technology, Bangalore
2
Under Graduate Students, Dept. of Civil Engg, Sir M.Visvesvaraya Institute Of Technology, Bangalore

Abstract-Thermocol or polystyrene has already found extensive use as filler material in structural members. Various studies have
also shown that thermocol panels offer high bending stiffness at low densities due to minimal compressive and flexural strength.
It is because of their ability to withstand external forces, that construction materials are considered in the design of a structural
framework. There have been cases where similar ideas have been tried, one such case being “Thermo 'Cool' Houses” a German
technology brought to coastal parts of Surathkal by Captain Karl Neugebauer, the engineer and promoter of Eco-thermo
Constructions. The houses are built using thermocol moulds and the strength is obtained by filling the block with concrete. These
houses are aimed to be very energy efficient. An investigation was focused on the strength capability of lightweight web sandwich
panel (LWSP). This study dealt with the LWS’s strength under flexural loading (one point load & three point load) by treating
these LWSPs as a floor and also, studying LWSP strength under axial load by treating these LWSPs as a wall. It was found that
the material cost for building using the Reinforced Thermocol technology was lesser than the quarried stones for building a wall.
Although due to the labour intensive process that masonry work requires, the conventional method was more expensive on labour
than the Reinforced Thermocol technology. Hence the technology offers a way of meeting the housing demand at a total lower
cost. Thus we aim to prove that by using Reinforced Thermocol as an alternate building material we can achieve an easy, fast and
cheap method of construction.

Index Terms-Thermocol; panels; EPS; LWSP; Compressive Strength; Flexural Strength.

construction. Most are familiar with this method of

construction and, along with a number of advantages, there is
1. INTRODUCTION a deep psychological attachment to masonry construction that
In 1976, the International Labour Organization’s World has contributed to its continuation as the main building
Employment Conference introduced the “basic needs” method.
approach as one that attempts to define the absolute minimum
resources necessary for long-term physical well-being of a 1.1. Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Technology
human being. The list of immediate “basic needs” is food,
EPS is used in the building and construction industry and huge
water, clothing and shelter.Today, the demand for home
quantities are utilized to make insulation foam for walls, roofs
ownership has risen due to steady population growth and the
and floor insulation. EPS has also found uses in road
consequent rural to urban migration. With the increasing
construction, bridges, swimming pools, retaining walls,
demand for housing there is a rise in demand for the
basements and construction of soundproof rooms. Here, panels
conventional building material. This has resulted in depletion
are first prefabricated in the factory. The raw materials are
and overexploitation of our resources.
imported and used to manufacture the expanded polystyrene
In engineering, the best way to solve the rising housing deficit
beads which are then moulded into EPS blocks.Different
in the countryisbyconsidering cheaperandbetterwaysofbuilding
panels are then cut from the blocks and galvanised steel mesh
that will reduce 65 and 30 per cent of overall costs brought
attached to both sides. These panels once ready, are taken
about by building materials and labour respectively. Materials
onsite to be assembled, and shotcrete or concrete, depending
represent a major expense in the overall cost of a construction
on the panel used, is then used to sandwich and cover the
project. Minimizing procurement costs presents important
panels, forming a monolithic structure.
prospects for reducing costs. A 5% rise in labour costs could
increase the cost of construction project by 1.5%.Construction
using prefabricated materials to get buildings up fast is a 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
relatively new method in India. Parts of the building are pre-
Jalal A. Saeed et al., [1997] have experimentally studied the
made in the factories in order to cut down on construction
behaviour and flexural strength of Ferro cement one way slabs
time, labour, and lower the overall cost of a project.Majority
with square openings under two point loads taking into
of buildings were and still are built using the borrowed
consideration number of wire mesh layers and size of the
traditional masonry method i.e. borrowed from the European
culture of stone and mortar or brick and mortar method of openings as variables.Salihuddin Radin Sumadi et al., [2008]

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 International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, Vol.4, No.3, March 2016
E-ISSN: 2321-9637
Available online at www.ijrat.org

have developed two mathematical models to predict pentane to be released from the beads. During the process of
compressive strength of high workability slag-cement based pre-expansion the beads swell up to almost 50 times their
mortars and the ultimate load of Ferro cement encased aerated original size. Once the desired volume has been reached, the
concrete sandwich wall elements. The values predicted from expanded beads are released into a bed dryer and all
the mathematical models were 95%-100% accurate to the condensed steam moisture is dried from the surface. This
experimental results.Ade S. Wahyuni et al., [2012] had carried process takes approximately 3 min to finish.
out an investigation of new lightweight sandwich reinforced
concrete (LSRC) section using prefabricated autoclaved 3.2.2. 2nd Stage – INTERMEDIATE MATURING
aerated concrete (AAC) blocks as infill in the section where
concrete is considered ineffective under bending.T. Chandra Once the expanded beads have been dried, they are blown into
Sekhar Rao et al., [2012] carried out an experimental study on large open silos or mesh bags for the aging process. This is
the strength and behavioural aspects of cored Ferro cement because on cooling, the expanded beads form a vacuum in
box-beams for precast purposes. Have proposed an empirical their interior which must be equalized to atmospheric pressure
formula based on the layers of wire mesh for the ultimate to prevent collapse or implosion of the beads. Hence this
moment capacity of box-beam.Nahro Radi Husein, V. C. process allows the beads to fill back up with air. This process
Agarwal, Anupam Rawat, [2013] concluded that LWSP can take from 12 hours to 48 hours in order to achieve a
showed significant resistance proportional to its weight under greater mechanical elasticity and improve expansion capacity
flexural load. The reduction percentage of weight between of the beads and also depends on the desired expanded density
these LWSPs with aerated concrete core with normal concrete required of the beads.
is about 20% in weight. Changing the web panel to thermocol
reduced the weight of the sandwich panel about 30%.The high 3.2.3. 3rd Stage – FINAL MOULDING
stiffness of LWSP with thermocol the strength between first In this stage, the pre-expanded beads are transported to
crack load and ultimate load is about (34-38) % under flexural moulds where they are further subjected to steam so that as the
load with one point and three point loading. The LWSP beads are compressed, they bind together to form a block
specimen’s resistance to axial load were significantly high so “block moulding” – that are later cut into panels and shaped –
it’s suitable to use it as a wall especially with aerated concrete or products are moulded in their final finished shape “shape
core. They also concluded that the role of wire mesh was in a moulding”.
strength capacity and in failure mode which prevents the
sudden and brittle failure of these panels and increase in 3.3. Material Specification
ductility of the panels.
3.3.1. Roof slab panel
3. MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING
3.1. Raw material
Reinforced Thermocol is made from styrene, a by-product of
crude oil extraction. It is also found in the natural starch
contained in many fruit such as strawberries and food products
such as wine coffee beans and cinnamon.
Reinforced Thermocol is a derivative of ethylene and benzene
and is made using a polymerization process which produces
translucent spherical beads of polystyrene with sizes ranging
from 0.5 to 1.3mm in diameter. During this process a low Fig.1. Roof slab panel
boiling point hydrocarbon usually pentane gas, is impregnated
to the material.
Pentane has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of zero. The
European Union does not register pentane as substance Table 1. Roof slab panel specifications
hazardous to human health or the environment.
Sl. Sample Dimensions (mm) Effective
No. Designation (B x L x t) Span
3.2. Manufacturing process
(mm)
Manufacturing process of expanded polystyrene is carried out
1. RF-001 1220 x 1055 x 85 1020
in three stages:
2. RF-002 1230 x 1050 x 130 850
3.2.1. 1st Stage – PRE-EXPANSION
3. RF-003 1230 x 1460 x 170 1260
The raw material (beads) are heated in special machines called
pre-expanders with steam introduced to the vessel at 4. RF-004 1240 x 1460 x 160 1260
temperatures of approximately 100oC. The steam causes the

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 International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, Vol.4, No.3, March 2016
E-ISSN: 2321-9637
Available online at www.ijrat.org

3.3.2. Wall panel The most important property of a structural material which
will be covered with concrete is the compressive strength
which is determined by loading as dictated by the standards.

4.2.2. Flexural strength

Tensile strength is commonly defined in one of the three
ways: direct tensile strength, tensile splitting strength or
flexural strength. The flexural strength is about 1.5 times the
tensile stress determined by splitting test
Flexural strength may be determined by using the two
methods:-

Test method 1 – A loading system utilizing centre loading on a

simply supported beam, supported at both ends.

Test method 2 – A loading system utilizing two symmetric

load points equallyspaced from their adjacent support
joints at each end with a distance between load
points.
Fig.2. Wall panel

Table 2. Wall panel specifications

Sl. Designation Dimension (mm)

No. (L x T x H)
1. WL001A 1230 x 100 x 1530
2. WL001B 1230 x 150 x 1530

3. WL002 720 x 110 x 1250

4. WL003 690 x 110 x 625

5. WL004 530 x 115 x 731

Fig. 3. Test Method 1
6. WL005 1043 x 100 x 1248

7. WL006 1066 x 140 x 1250

4. TESTING

4.1. Material Type

The following types of the materials of EPS were tested:
i. EPS 70 – density of 15 Kg/m3
ii. EPS 100 – density of 20 Kg/m3
ii. EPS 150 – density of 25 Kg/m3
iv. EPS 200 – density of 30 Kg/m3
v. EPS 250 – density of 35 Kg/m3 Fig. 4. Test Method 2
Additional types are also available for specific applications;
for example, types with compressive-stress values, at 10%, of Four Point Loading - A loading system utilizing centre loading
0.4 and 0.5 N/mm2. on a simply supported beam, supported at
both ends.
4.2. Tests

4.2.1. Compressive strength 5. RESULTS

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 International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, Vol.4, No.3, March 2016
E-ISSN: 2321-9637
Available online at www.ijrat.org

Table 3. Strength of different types of eps materials Sl. Item Cost of Cost of Cost of Total
No. Blocks Plastering Other Cost
Panel 15 20 25 30 35 (Rs.) on Both Works (Rs.)
Density Kg/m3 Kg/m3 Kg/m3 Kg/m3 Kg/m3 Sides (Rs.)
(Rs.)
Compressive
Strength 0.07 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
(N/mm2) 1. Brick
690 660 322 1672
Bending work
Strength 0.115 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.35
(N/mm2) 2. Cement
546 660 430 1636
Block

Table 4. Roof slab panel test results 3.

LWSP 1170 80 131 1381
Sl.No. Sample Ultimate Remarks
Designation LoadkN/m2
Cost analysis - Savings on using LWSP with respect to:
Used for sunshade,
Non load bearing (i). Brick work : 17.4%
1. RF-001 15.8 roof like sloping
roofs (ii). Cement block: 15.6%

Used for sunshade,

2. RF-002 10.5 Non load bearing 6. CONCLUSION
roof like sloping
The first task of the field study was to determine the
roofs suitability of using Reinforced Thermocol technology in
Used for roof for construction.
3. RF-003 18.4 spans within 6ft

The second task of the field study involved evaluating the
cost of using Reinforced Thermocol as a construction
Used as load
material.
4. RF-004 38.4 bearing, flat roof for
span within 13ft Based on the present work, the following conclusions were
made:
Table 5.Wall panel test results
• The tests for the compressive and flexural strength, as
Sl.No. Sample Ultimate Remarks well as use of Reinforced Thermocol as a filler material
Designation Load kN/m proved that that technology can be used for structural
Vertical faces purposes.
1. WL001A 76.94
Unconfined • A comparison was made between the prices of using
Reinforced Thermocol technology and using the
Vertical faces
2. WL001B 85.93 conventional stone and mortar method.
Unconfined
• The evaluation mainly concentrated on the material cost
Vertical faces as well as labour cost as aspects that greatly influence the
3. WL002 125.5
Confined total cost of construction.
Vertical faces • The cost of materials while using the Reinforced
4. WL003 264.7 Thermocol technology proved to be more expensive than
Confined
using the conventional stone and mortar for wall
Vertical faces construction.
5. WL004 186.32
Confined • But since the conventional method of construction is more
Vertical faces labour intensive, labour proved to be more costly than
6. WL005 352.7 using Reinforced Thermocol technology.
Confined
• Reinforced Thermocol thus proved to be a cheaper
Vertical faces method of construction.
7. WL006 447.33
Confined The hypothesis has thus been proven showing that Reinforced
Thermocol technology can provide a low cost solution to the
Table6. Cost comparison national housing deficit in the country.

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 International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, Vol.4, No.3, March 2016
E-ISSN: 2321-9637
Available online at www.ijrat.org

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Department of Civil Engineering, Sir
M.Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore for
helping us in successfully carrying out the experimental work.

REFERENCES
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Low Cost Construction Material in Malaysia. Journal of
Ferrocement. 25(2):123-128
[2] Carmichael, J (1986). Pumice Concrete Panels. Concrete
International. 8(11): 31–32.
[3] Nahro Radi Husein, V. C. Agarwal, Anupam Rawat.
An Experimental Study on Using Lightweight Web
Sandwich Panel as a Floor and a Wall. International
Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring
Engineering (IJITEE) ISSN: 2278-3075,Volume- 3, Issue-
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[4] Villanueva, GR and Cantwell, W.J. (2004). The High
Velocity Impact Response of Composite and FML-
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