INDEX

S. No Topic Page No.

Week 1
1 Introduction to the course 1
2 Clay products 1 16
3 Clay products 2 36
4 Stone 47
5 Stone (continued) 62
Week 2
6 Introduction to wood 76
7 Wood procurement details, properties, classification 82
8 Defects of wood and Wood joinery 89
9 Engineered wood 98
10 Bamboo 107
Week 3
11 Glass 112
12 Glass (continued) 124
13 Glass (continued) 137
14 Glass wall and glass insulation 151
15 Ceramic tiles and vitrified tiles 161
Week 4
16 Introduction to concrete 176
17 Fine Aggregates 190
18 Coarse Aggregates 202
19 Cement 214
20 Water, Plasticizer admixture and tests 229
Week 5
21 Introduction to prefabricated items 240
22 CMU, AAC and Pavement Blocks 248
23 Precast Wall Panels 258
24 Floor panels 266
25 Columns, foundation, ferro-cement 275
 Week 6
26 Introduction to metals 282
27 Ferrous Metal – 1 Cast and Wrought Iron 294
28 Ferrous metals 2 – Steel 307
Ferrous metals 2 – Reinforcement bars, Corrosion, Light
29 Gauge Steel 318
30 Non-ferrous metals 329
Week 7
31 Damp proofing 344
32 Damp proofing methods and materials 355
33 Thermal insulation and sound insulation 366
34 Insulation, Bitumen and Gypsum 376
35 Composites 389
Week 8
36 Paints 399
37 Paints (continued) 406
38 Paints (continued) 413
39 Plastics 421
40 Plastics (continued) 429
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 01
Introduction to the Course

Welcome to all who have enrolled for this course on “Building materials and
Composites”. I am Dr. Sumana Gupta, as a faculty of the Department of Architecture
and Regional Planning, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur- will conduct this
course. So, our course is an eight-week course, and it has eight modules. It will run
through eight weeks, where five lectures will be given in each module.

And I have tried to frame it in such a way so that we can cover our architectural
subject of “Building materials and Composites” in this period. First, I will come to the
contents. And here there are two terms, one is “building material”, and the other is
“composite”, where the term “building material” directly refers to the materials which
are used for the construction of buildings, and “composites” are also similar items
when two or more materials combine together to form one material.

Remember, it is not the composition of a material, but when two different materials
combine, it forms a composite. Now, our first lecture of this module would be an
introduction to the course as we have no other way to introduce you to the course
before we move to the several components of the first module (Module 1), which will
be “Clay products and Stone”.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:46)

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So, the concepts that will be covered in this course will be as follows: Clay products
and alternate items like fly ash, compressed earth blocks, compressed stabilized earth
blocks, stone, stone tiles, stone dust blocks, wood and engineered wood, glass and
glazing systems, ceramic tiles, vitrified tiles, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, cement,
and concrete. So, this is module four.

Then we come to precast items: flooring, roofing, walling systems, hollow block
concrete, aerated concrete, autoclaved concrete, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, damp
proofing material, insulation, paints, and lastly we have plastics, composites,
nanotechnology applications into building materials. So, as you can see that the
concepts covered are quite massive; we will have to structure our lectures in such a
way so that you can get the maximum benefit out of it.

And at the same time, you will be equipped with all the types of materials that an
architect has to come across while planning or recommending for the building you are
going to design.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:07)

2
Now before coming to the materials, we are to concentrate mostly on the permanent
structures, but there are a lot of temporary structures, where too, the application of
materials can be seen. So, how can we define “temporary structures”? It can be
dismantled and used again once it is reset. Obviously, the materials should be light in
weight. It will take lesser time for construction, and it will not be similar to permanent
structures.

These structures may require a shallow (very low) foundation or not so stable
foundation, such as the pandas you may find in your surroundings. You can see
festivals or fairs being conducted in temporary structures. You can see booths being
erected for some particular purpose (such as elections), and then it is dismantled
afterward. It may be any kind of temporary event where such temporary structures
may come up.

However, we as architects need to know these materials also and also more towards
the permanent structures. Now, particularly for temporary structures, what could be
the materials? They could be like bamboo, steel pipes, fabrics (for example, tarpaulin
for covering a space), plywoods to define spaces/areas, or plastic sheets to cover the
roof (for example, by use of acrylic sheets).

It may be the case of temporary shops being constructed, where you can put acrylic
sheets. It can be cycle shades, bus stands (where we can use iron sheets too). These
also are applied in permanent structures. However, we confine our focus only on the

3
temporary structures using such kind of materials. So, the crucial point is they are
utilizing less time of construction, and they are not much weighty (they are
lightweight).

But when we look into the permanent structures, it must have a foundation, and it
should live (sustain) for a longer period of time. And at the same time, it must protect
you from all the weathering actions by the atmosphere in the surroundings. These
effects may be due to blowing of the wind, or rain, or excessive sunlight. So, you
must keep the inhabitants (users) of the building protected against all these natural
calamities.

The building or the structure will be subjected to lateral loads, and it should be
capable of withstanding the force. It utilizes more time to construct, and obviously, it
is a complex process, and very difficult to dismantle. Usually, the materials are rigid
and having higher weight compared to temporary structures. They are fixed to the
ground. The reuse of the materials is only partially possible.

Sometimes you can retrieve some wooden frames from the windows, or maybe some
iron rods from the castings, or a few bricks from the walls. These examples are of the
permanent structures like offices, institutions, schools, colleges, hospitals, etc., i.e.,
the buildings where we as architects usually confine or need to study.

So, brick, concrete, stone, wood, steel, aluminium, glass, plastics- these are mostly the
materials used for building such permanent structures, and we will concentrate mainly
on these items.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:23)

4
Now again, we come to another aspect. Amongst the permanent structures, we have
load-bearing structures where we see a picture on your right-hand side. The load is
taken by the entire building. You can see it is made of brick. The building is not so
high, and the foundation in such kinds of buildings is a „continuous‟ foundation. Also,
look at the region at the top of the windows (where usually a concrete beam or a
„lintel‟ is seen in modern buildings).

Here, you see, it is also made of brick. This is a load-bearing structure where the
bricks are taking the load of the building and is transferring it to the foundation
directly. Here, you need a continuous foundation, and this can be two to three-story
high and spans are not so vast. A „span‟ implies the region from one support (or end)
of the building to the next support.

Between the two supporting walls, the slab or the floor plate rests, and its span is not
very large.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:04)

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Let us move on to the „framed‟ structures, where loads are transferred to the
foundation through beams and columns. Here you can see, in the picture, the columns
and the beams are visible. Some supporting structures (orange color rods) are present
here. These are intended to support the floor because the casting is currently being
done, and between these columns and beams, there is no wall at present.

So, these columns and beams transfer the load to the foundation. The foundation is
holding or supporting individual columns. Now, this foundation may be made
„continuous‟ when the columns are very close. There are various types of foundations
that we will not discuss in detail because they are beyond the scope of the course.

So, if you want to construct high-rise buildings, multi-level, or large-span structures,

you have to adapt such frame structures. Another concept is „cast-in-situ‟ structures.
Here, the primary two items- the load-bearing structure as well as the frame structure,
both are cast in-situ, meaning that they are constructed on-site following the
principles of construction, such as any regular building you will find in cities or
towns- made of brick and concrete.

The concrete is cast and is supported for setting, as you can see, with props (the
orange-colored rods). We will go into the details later. These structures are all cast in-
situ. We have another kind of structure, which is „pre-cast‟ structure.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:53)

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In the picture here, you can see that an entire wall is being placed on-site with the help
of a crane. It will go and fit into some designed space or slot. So, it is a precast
structure. But, in case of brick walls, you cannot pick it up with a crane in this
manner, and carry it to the site for fitting in a particular slot. In the picture shown, the
entire thing is pre-cast, or industry made, following some given specification, using
appropriate materials. In these, you may see gaps or holes already created in the wall.

So, these may be window locations, or door location, or whatever that was pre-
planned. Based on that planning, the item has been fabricated on an industrial setup,
and it has been brought to the site by some mechanism, and now it is being put up by
means of a crane to bring it to the designated position. Now, here you can understand
it is very much weighty, and it has to be operated with the help of a machine (crane).

You cannot transport it using human labor. For a trussed roof, you need a large span.
A large span means implies that space (gap) between two walls is large. Think of an
auditorium or a cinema hall where you have been to. The edge (side) walls are quite
far away from each other. There you need a trussed roof to support the load on top of
the roof.

A trussed roof is a pre-cast item that sits on top of the roof. It may come in pieces.
They are assembled together like the unit that you see. They will be placed one after
the other and will fill in the gaps against a given framed structure. The reason why I
am discussing these is to make you aware that if you go on reading the building

7
materials‟ topics one after the other, you may be indecisive while recommending
appropriate materials to your clients depending upon the type of building.

So, when you are going to design a load-bearing structure, you have to remember the
wall should be rigid enough to take the load of the wall itself. If you are planning a
framed structure, you can make any glass façade of your choice. A framed structure
will give you that advantage whereas, for load-bearing structure, you need to have
adjacent brick after brick (or building block after block) so that the load gets
adequately transferred to the base (or the foundation) very uniformly to avoid any
building defect cropping up in future.

And other is the pre-cast structure where everything is pre-planned, every dimension
needs to be perfect and you have to bring items which are made in the industry and
they are placed into the slots. These are the implications why you need to know about
the kind of structure you are going to build. You will be directed by your client when
you will be practicing as an architect, and you have to understand what your client
wants.

You will also need to know about the client‟s budget. Okay, we will come to that
afterwards.
(Refer Slide Time: 14:50)

When you are selecting a building material, as we discussed in the section on building
types, you must be aware of the kind of building that is going to be built . Mostly, you

8
will have to deal with cast-in-situ structures. If it is a small structure, it is usually a
load-bearing structure. If it is a multi-level structure, it will be a frame structure. Also,
here are the other aspects we need to know.

When we are sure about the kind of building that is going to be constructed, we have
to look into the climatic condition. Information about the site location -where are you
building this structure, is thus essential. It may be a rainy area, a desert area, or a
snowy area. It may have a tropical climate (hot and humid). So, you have to look into
what kind of weather or climate your building is going to face, the range of
temperature difference it is going to face.

Every material will have expansion and contraction properties. You have to remember
or take note of all the items. Because India is a tropical country, we may not require
such details. But, if you are stepping out of the country and designing for, say, a
middle-eastern city like Dubai, you have to consider the vast temperature difference
during design.

Or else, if you went to Canada and practiced architecture, where it faces mostly
subzero (around -20° C) temperatures, you will have to look into the expansion
component of the building material also. Next is the availability of raw material. The
availability of the raw material impacts one crucial factor in the list - in the end, it is
the overall cost that gets reduced. So, if a material is locally available, then it
automatically brings down the cost of construction.

Now, if you have a client who is willing to spend a lot, then you can always
experiment with that component. For example, you can transport Makrana marble,
and you can build something in the far-east regions of our country. So, depending on
the spending ability (budget) of the client, you can look into the raw materials
available.

You may go for more pricey materials, but mostly the primary building material
should be as per the available raw material because the next factor is the availability
of skill and workmanship. You need labor to construct your building. So, when we are
talking of labor or skill or workmanship, you have to understand that the people of the

9
particular area (near your site) already possess the traditional knowledge of building
by using that item.

We, in the plains, go for brick for our structures. Where there are stone quarries or
mines are present, architects consider stone construction to make use of knowledge of
local laborers. So, stone construction is something. In brick-based construction, skill
is essential, because you cannot make a building using only one brick. You need to
know how to bind the building material to form your desired structure.

The other component is time for construction. If you are asked to build something
very quickly (that is, the delivery of the finished product has to be done in a short
time), you may even choose pre-cast items, because that is already made; so you can
just purchase and transport it to your site, and assemble it- to achieve a short time
construction.

Some pre-cast items which are available in the market, you have to buy multiples of
that dimension to comply with your building plan, and then you deliver a fast
construction. Even though that gives you some restrictions to your thought process (or
your design process), you can achieve something within the client‟s given time limit.
Now, obviously, the last point here is aesthetics.

To every architect, no two buildings look the same. Aesthetically, the exact selection
of the material you are making is very important. Remember that the „material‟,
which I am talking of here, does not necessarily mean brick or stone or concrete or
wood- it may be color or texture, it may be construction technique, which gives you a
different aesthetical meaning to the building.

Different color compositions of the same building can make it more aesthetically
pleasing. Different texture within a surface or just a different kind of color
composition with texture can give a different feeling to the client or the viewer. So,
when we are concentrating only on the usage of the building material, we have to look
into all these aspects.

10
Aesthetics is the final product- which is what we (or the viewer) actually sees. Now
we will come to a crucial point- the necessity of following standards or codes for
materials. When you (as an architect) are recommending a building material, be it
brick, concrete, steel, wood, or glass, you have to follow the standards. You have to
suggest from among those materials which are acknowledged by the regulating
organization.

Because in case a building fails, the material will be responsible for it. The building
material is taking the load- so if the material is not time tested, or if the specifications
are not followed- the building might collapse, maybe not in one day, but in a
stipulated period of time, and the architect will be legally responsible. Thus you (as an
architect) have to be careful with your decisions from the first stage of the project.

You always have to recommend items that are acknowledged and considered as
building materials by the Indian standards for materials. Apart from this, there are
also risks of fire. Your building may be involved in a fire incident where the
inhabitants need to be evacuated. Thus your building must be capable of withstanding
the fire for a considerable period of time.

When certain materials comply with the Indian standards, it falls within the
recommended list. Exploration or experimentation with different materials is okay,
but when you are in a profession where you have to recommend a material, it should
be supported by the Indian standards.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:34)

11
Next, the material properties are also an essential factor for several reasons. First is
the physical property- that is, the appearance. You must be knowing the color of clay
brick. Also, I am sure that you know that the color of the concrete is gray. Now, the
color of the brick becomes red when it is made of clay. Also, the texture is important-
you can feel an item and identify it.

The dimension also is a physical property of a material and the form. Certain items
are such that you cannot see, but you can feel. If you lift a brick, you can comprehend
its weight. You can distinguish that is whether it is a lightweight or a heavyweight
material. Usually, when it has a higher density, we think that it is a homogeneous
material. But in the context of building materials, we always refer to the “bulk
density”, because materials are porous in nature.

It has air inside it, and so we always refer to or mention the „bulk density‟ of it. Next
is porosity, which is the volume of pores within the material- that changes the concept
of density to bulk density. The next is permeability- that is the capability to allow
fluid to pass through. Stone is very much hard. It does not allow water to move
through it, whereas a brick allows. But if the stone has cracks in between, water will
permeate through it.

As you know, permeability is the capacity of a material to allow fluid to pass through.
Again, we need to know the mechanical properties of the material, that is, its behavior
under the application of force- say compressive force, tensile force (for example, steel

12
can withstand tension, stones can withstand compression), brittleness of an item (for
example, glass is fragile).

Other mechanical properties are the toughness of the item, hardness, creep. and
deformity. When subjected to a particular load for a long time, a material may „creep‟
(get deformed). It happens in the case of plastics- fatigue and failure. If you keep on
subjecting an item to pressure, or force, it may not react all the time. It may not come
back to its original form; instead, it may break or fail. So, you have to know the
mechanical property of the material too when you are recommending it since you
know the kind of forces it may be subjected to.

The next property is Chemical property. It is usually the atmosphere to which our
building is exposed. If you keep an iron product outside, it will inevitably rust. If you
are not protecting it appropriately, it will rust faster. There are two types of situations-
one is the atmospheric action onto the building, and the other is the environment
where it is. Say in a chemical laboratory, there are lots of acid fumes, and the items
have to face ranges of temperature differences.

So, there the selection of the materials should be such that the items should not get
corroded by acid or other chemicals. Concrete gets withered away by petroleum.
Thus, in a parking lot, the concrete grade and concrete type should be carefully
decided. Then comes the thermal property (heat transmission or the heat-resisting
capacity). If the site has a hot climate, the internal (room) temperature should be
maintained, and the warm air outside should not be allowed inside.

So, you need resistance to this heat flow. Insulating materials are working wonders
for countries- which for example, in Canada. Buildings in all cold countries have
thick insulation to disallow the internal heat to escape. Similarly, in hot countries, you
will require to maintain the inner cold temperature, and not let the cold air to escape
outside. So, your building material should take these into account.

So, whenever you are considering the climate, one crucial issue is the thermal
component and also acoustics. Say, you are building a hospital- if you make wide
windows- if you install single pane glass, it will allow the sound to enter, but if you

13
put double-paned glass, the properties will be different. If you are inside an
auditorium, you need to avoid the outside noise from coming inside. There you need
to have acoustical treatment.

We also have an optical property of materials where transmission of light can be

controlled. For example, you may have clear glass to allow full light. You may choose
tinted glass- so the glass can be chosen depending on requirement- you may want
complete darkness (where opaque items will be should be recommended on such
walls). Suppose, you want to guard your room from the hot western sun, so you have
to build a solid wall. In that case, you would not consider a window over there. This is
what is optical property is about. Glass is used glass, and there are wide variations of
glass.

The electrical property is where the flow of the electric current is also to be
considered. So, now, you understand these material properties- they are to be
considered or thought about carefully when we are you are recommending a particular
material for a purpose- that is, making a building.
(Refer Slide Time: 30:31)

The next topics are about material composition and the role of ingredients, material
making (how they are made), material types (for example, different types of bricks.
Stones also have several varieties), material assembling (the method of joining the

14
materials to make your building), material defects (since the materials may be
defective, and you must be able to identify the defects and their types).

The other topics are- Material use (suggestion of material depending on the specific
requirement), alternate materials (which have replaced the conventional or the
traditional materials). At the very beginning, I told you that we would learn about clay
and clay materials in this module. We will also study the alternate items- that is, fly-
ash brick, compressed stabilized earth block, compressed stabilized blocks, and we
will try to know the advantages, disadvantages of these. Do remember that we also
need to see whether they are included in our Indian standards‟ or not.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:42)

Now, let us talk about the references for this module. I have given you the names of
three books (see the slide), which you may refer to. In the next lecture, we will enter
into the details of the materials. We will go into clay products where we will start
with bricks directly, and then move on to the tiles. We will also discuss alternate clay
materials. We will also discuss the assembling procedure of these materials, the
properties (how to identify the type of brick from its appearance and properties), and
the applications of it.

Next, we will move to stone. So, when we have covered these two basic materials,
then we will proceed as per our schedule. Thank you for today.

15
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 02
Clay Products 1

Welcome students. After the introductory lecture, we will have to progress with one
lecture after the other. We have a lot of items to cover. In this module (module 1), we
will have this second lecture on clay products. Since we have a large number of topics
in this section on clay products, I have named it “Clay Products-1”, and the next
lecture will be called “Clay Products-2”.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:56)

So, if we look into the concepts that will be covered today, they are- clay products and
their composition, steps of manufacturing, brick as the most commonly used clay
product, types of bricks, characteristics of bricks; and we will finally try to discuss
brick masonry.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:21)

16
Now, why did we choose clay, out of all these things available on earth? We must
know the reason behind it and since when it is being used. Historically, since 8000
BC, we find the use of brick- that is the first simplest unit made out of clay, which is
durable, having strength, is reliable (that means it does not fail), as we had discussed
earlier. It is low in cost, readily available, and easy to handle.

So, when we talk of clay, it is actually “Kaolinite”, with the chemical name of
“hydrous aluminosilicate”- here, alumina and silica both are present. “Silica” is sand,
which is the majority portion- 50 to 60%, and alumina constitutes 20 to 30%. Lime
here is around 10% available. This proportion varies depending on the place
(location) of availability. But you must remember that lime has a vital role to play-
which is a „stabilizer‟.

Regarding color, the most common item made of clay is the brick, which appears a
little reddish due to the presence of iron oxide (around 7%). Also, it has magnesia and
lots of alkalis within it. Other than that, there are vegetative items, organic items,
pebbles, stones inside the clay. So, we have to know how to remove the unwanted
items, and then you can make the clay usable.

Now, what are the usual materials which we make out of clay? The most commonly
used building material (in our country context) is brick. When we move to the
countryside, we find the application of clay tiles as you can see in the next two

17
pictures. So, they are again of a different shape; as you can see, the two images differ.
But more or less across the country, we see brick as a rectangular unit block.

Other forms of clay exist, like terracotta, which is again another kind of processed
clay. We will enter into each of these items. In the image, you can see a pipe below a
culvert passing; that is stoneware. Again, we have porcelain and also earthenware.
Thus, we can look into the variety of available items one after the other. But before
doing that, when we convert the clay to any of these items, we do need to know what
is the role of each of them.
(Refer Slide Time: 04:24)

So, silica prevents cracking, shrinkage, and warpage of brick (or any clay item). Silica
gives durability, but remember, excess of it makes it brittle. Similarly, alumina gives
plasticity to the item. It makes the moulding process easy. What is moulding? Every
block of brick is moulded out by either hand or by a machine. Every tile is also
moulded out. Thus, every clay item is moulded out.

Alumina gives plasticity to the item, and it helps in easy de-moulding, but an excess
of it helps in shrinkage and warpage. “Warpage” is a kind of defect where the item
becomes wavy. Hence, it warps. Lime helps the silica in the clay to melt and helps in
binding all the ingredients. So, it acts as a stabilizer, but an excess of it makes it fluid
(or more plastic), and it de-shapes the brick or the item.

18
Iron imparts color. It improves the impermeability and also gives strength or
durability. What is impermeability? It is the property not to allow water through it.
So, it reduces the absorption of a clay item, which is quite porous. Excess of iron will
give it a dark blue or blackish color, and the item becomes yellowish if the iron is less
in amount. So, using just your naked eyes, you can distinguish an iron-rich brick or a
brick that is devoid or less in iron content.

So, it will be pale in color. Again, magnesia gives a yellowish tint to the brick, and
excess of it helps in decaying or breaking of the brick. So, all these items together
impart the properties to the clay product. Here there is another important part- the
initial form of clay is not used directly. All these items have to be put into the furnace
for burning (or baking), and then only the final clay product gets the characteristic.

So, clay in its original form does not appear red. Only after this processing, you will
see its red coloration.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:45)

Let us now discuss the preparation of clay. As already mentioned, you just cannot
take some amount of earth and call it clay. The upper soil or the topsoil is full of
organic material, pebbles, dirt and dust. We need to take out (remove), around 20 cm
of the top layer of the earth until it is silt or riverbed.

So, you have to dig out the fresh soil (what you get after unsoiling) and collect the
usable earth. Allow it to settle in one place where you remove all the vegetation if

19
any, pebbles, etc., by sorting. After doing this, you have to keep it open in the weather
so that it gets exposed to the sunlight. Next comes the process of blending. When you
get some amount of good earth, you can proceed with blending.

So, what is blending? You have to mix it or churn it inside a vessel (or a mill) so that
it becomes uniform all through. The process is similar to kneading (akin to the
kneading of flour). Ultimately, it becomes porous and hence ready for moulding. It is
done in a pugmill, which is a V-shaped vessel which has a central axle and is rotated
by means of a machine. There are tooth-like arms, inside which we have the earth
which is being churned.

In the end, there is a spout from where the mixture is ejected and is thus ready for the
moulding process.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:31)

Moulding is the making of brick. There are two types of moulding: hand moulding
and machine moulding. Obviously, machine moulding will be faster, but in our
country, the process of hand moulding is still popular, where brick moulds are used-
into which the clay is pushed in and then de-moulded.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:59)

20
Next is the process of drying. To avoid cracking and distortion of the bricks, you
cannot put these wet bricks (or moisture-contained bricks) inside the furnace. So, you
have to wait or leave it for sun drying or controlled drying. When you leave it in the
sun to dry, it will take some time (one or two days) when the furnace becomes ready
for the next batch. You can arrange the bricks around the fire.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:40)

After the drying process is the burning process, let us see what happens here. There
are four stages. The furnace temperature can rise up to 1100 to 1200°C, but it
increases gradually. The first part is the dehydration of these bricks. So, around 450°
to 650°C, the water gets removed.

21
Next is the fusing process, where the oxidation of silica and lime with alumina
happens to make it a consolidated whole. By 900°C, the brick is ready, but during the
next 200°C, the process of vitrification (or solidification) or gaining of strength takes
place. Finally, the furnace is allowed to cool, after which you take out the bricks ready
to be supplied.

Now here again, what you see inside a furnace, the layers which will be very close to
the heat may receive a higher temperature (or may get prepared early). But when you
are baking, say ten thousand bricks together, it becomes very difficult to sort them out
(or take them out early), giving you a wide range of bricks from a single burn (or
processing). This situation gives you the opportunity to classify bricks into different
types.

Even though we are referring to bricks here, the same happens for clay tiles and
terracotta tiles too. Unless controlled heating is used, you will get different lots or
different types.
(Refer Slide Time: 13:55)

Let us look into more precisely what a brick is. A brick, as you already understand, is
a clay product. It is a solid rectangular masonry unit made of baked earth. Its‟ weight
is around 2.5 kg. The available size across our country varies between locations.
However, the length to breadth (ratio) is equal to 2:1, and the length to height ratio is
equal to 3:1. The mostly available sizes are 250 mm, 125 mm, and 75 mm.

22
These dimensions are roughly 10-inch, 5-inch, 3-inch, respectively. But these values
actually denote “ready sizes”, already including the thickness of mortar. The actual
sizes maybe 220, 110, and 70 mm (respectively). But machine-made bricks have a
uniform dimension of 100× 200× 100 (mm)- referring to the length, breadth, and
height, respectively. The height may be 75 mm too. Across our country, we have
varying sizes; however, the dimensions are roughly 5-inch× 10-inch× 3-inch (height).
The phrase “Ready height” implies dimensions, including mortar.

A bricks‟ color is bright red- if it is a Class-I brick (or a very good quality brick). If
you strike two bricks together, you will get a hard ringing metallic sound. That
happens because of the right presence of iron. And if you allow it to fall freely, from
around 1.5 m height, it will not break. So, you can test a brick on-site by just
performing these two operations.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:37)

A brick usually has a groove on top, which helps in binding with the next adjacent
unit (of the next layer). The shorter edge is called the “head”. The groove is called the
“frog”. The side is called the “stretcher”. And usually, the brick sits on sits flat on its
bed. The surface below the brick is called the “bed”. It is generally purchased in
hundreds (quantity), but if it is a big project, it may be procured in thousands, and the
cost changes accordingly.

But an individual brick costs around INR 10 to 12. The price may be higher in some
places and generally varies across the country. This value should include

23
transportation costs. That is, the cost of transporting the bricks from the
manufacturing location to the site, also adds to the price. So, if you remember these
essential points, it will be helpful for you. Next, we come to the technical details. The
thermal conductivity of brick is 1.25 to 1.35 W/m²/°C, implying a good resistance to
heat.
(Refer Slide Time: 18:35)

Regarding other properties, it varies between the different types of brick. So, I have
classified them first for your easy understanding. And you see, we report the
compressive strength, the water absorption, and also some defects. So, a first-class
brick (which is the best of the lot from the furnace) has a perfect shape and size,
having no warpage.

As I have already told, warpage is the bending of the brick‟s surface to become
concave or convex (which actually needs to be flat). The maximum compressive
strength of a first-class brick is 10 N/mm², and it has quite a low absorption of water
(10 to 15%). They are used for superior work (or exposed brickwork) because it has
no (or very low) water absorption. Hence, wherever there is no plastering required,
you can use first-class bricks.

Wherever it is dry weather, you can use first-class bricks without any plastering. You
have an elevation; the front part is crucial; you can use superior quality brick so that
the facade looks better because the perfect edges are there. Coming to the second

24
class brick, you see they might have hair cracks, and their edges may not be sharp (or
they may be ununiform). The color of the brick is red, and its‟ edges are not sharp.

The compressive strength for second-class bricks is a little low, around 7 N/mm². Any
value between 7 to 10 N/mm² is classified as a second class brick, and water
absorption is 16 to 20%. The brick has defects like fine cracks or fissures (gaps), and
hence these are recommended for general brickwork. It is suitable for external walls,
which will be plastered. Since water absorption has increased from 16 to 20%, we
would need to protect it with a layer of plaster.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:20)

In the case of third-class brick, the color is dull red due to being underburnt. It may
have a rough surface, may contain high quantities of alumina. It has become de-
shaped (visible warpage). Its compressive strength has reduced. Water absorption has
further increased. Being irregular, distorted- due to these defects, they are primarily
used for temporary inferior work and for construction in dry areas.

Moving to the fourth-class brick- In these, the shape, size, and color has become black
and dark, being overburnt. This type of brick has no use until it is broken down into
big pieces (or large parts). The water absorption may be higher, or it may not, but it
has become a hard block. It is unusable as a building material. However, it can be
used as an aggregate.

25
We will come to aggregate later, but the fourth-class brick can be used in place of
aggregates in concrete foundations, in road foundations and thus does not go waste.
So, it also finds an application in the building industry.
(Refer Slide Time: 22:58)

For checking of brick quality, as I have told you, on striking two bricks, you get a
hard ringing sound. If you let it freely fall, you get to understand that it is a first-class
(good quality) brick if it does not break. How to do the dimension checking?
(Refer Slide Time: 23:20)

If you lay, say 20 bricks, if you lay 20 bricks one after the other, and you measure it,
you will get some dimension. And if you divide it by 20, you get the unit width,
which needs to be checked with a first-class brick. Similarly, you have to immerse six

26
such specimens of the brick type in six tubs for 24 hours. You measure the initial
weight (sum of weights of six items) and note it as W1.

After 24 hours, you get the weight on absorbing water, and let that be W2. Now doing,
W2  W1
 100% will give you the percentage of water absorbed by the brick. Find
W1
the average. This result will decide whether the lot is from the first-class or second-
class, or third-class category. So, say, if the new weight is 2.8 kg and the initial
weight is 2.5 kg, as I had told earlier, it will be something around 12%. So, it will be a
first-class brick.

So, this has to be done across all the six specimens you have picked up from the brick
lot which has been supplied to you. So, from the value, you can understand what kind
of brick has been provided. For the compressive strength test, it is the universal
testing machine, on which you can check the test strength (or the compressive
strength). Next is to check for warpage.
(Refer Slide Time: 26:25)

For warpage, you can place a brick on a table and check if the bottom does not align
with the table. Measure the height from both ends; the percentage difference will give
the warpage value. You can allow up to 3% warpage (with respect to the height). But
a first-class brick does not have any warpage. The warpage may happen in the upper
direction also. So, it may be convex or concave. The diagram shows what the warpage
is.

27
Next, we come to efflorescence. Some alkalis may remain in the form of soda or
potash inside the brick. Now, since brick is an absorber, you need to do this check
because when it is subjected to rainfall, these alkalis will react and become salt and
will deposit as white salt patches on top of the brick. You can perform these visual
checks by randomly picking bricks from the lot.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:54)

You can keep on dipping the brick in a vessel in this way so that a part of it remains in
the water. Repeat the task for four or five days. You dip it and then take it out. After
some time, when kept for drying, you might see white patches in these areas that were
previously submerged. This shows that the brick has alkalis within it and is showing
efflorescence.
(Refer Slide Time: 28:45)

28
Now let us come to the other part, which is the brick masonry (the arrangement of
these bricks). We have seen brick as a very small unit, and if you look into the
dimension of the brick, what do you find? It is around 5-inches, which an adult person
can hold in one hand. It weighs about 2.5 kgs, which any adult person can usually lift.
The person can pick these blocks, unit by unit, and make the construction.

So, the brickwork can be done by a single person. So, what is brick masonry? The
arrangement of the brick in the fashion makes a continuous surface (because you are
using bricks to fill up) or a load-bearing wall that will surround or define your space.
Now you can keep on putting brick after bricks and build a wall.

But if you have observed, you must have seen that there is no continuous vertical line
(joint) on a wall. I will show you pictures- the wall is taking pressure of its own and
of whatever load is put on top of it. So, the lower part is taking the maximum load
(vertical pressure). And for that to be uniformly distributed, you are not allowing any
continuous vertical line to exist.

So, when a day‟s work ends (it may not be possible to complete the entire structure.in
one day), you need to have a „toothing‟.
(Refer Slide Time: 30:58)

29
So, if this is your wall, you will never see a continuous vertical line. Rather, you will
see it is disconnected. When a mason finishes his work, he ends the profile (at the end
of the day), appearing like this (see image). This is called „toothing‟. So, when the
next day‟s work starts, he starts by pushing brick here. So, now there are several ways
of doing this which I will not elaborate on.

It is this toothing that keeps the structure together, makes it monolithic. At the same
time, in one day, you are neither supposed to make more than five meters in this
(horizontal) direction nor more than 1.5 meters in the vertical direction. This is to
make the whole wall structure stable. Otherwise, the mortars will come out from these
joints. So, what is mortar? It is the item which is allowing two bricks to get joined.

So, this frog is where the mortar gets in and allows it to get affixed to the next brick.
So, how do we end a wall if you want a straight wall? You have to break the brick or
make it half. You can break it into two parts, each of which is called a“bat”. It may be
half bat; if required, you may use a three-fourth bat. It depends on the type of bonding
you are selecting.

So, the beauty of brick is that you can cut it into hales in the transverse direction, or in
the longitudinal direction. And when you are trying to achieve any kind of shape, you
can use a “beveled bat”.
(Refer Slide Time: 33:35)

30
So, this is one-fourth here and full brick here. These are called „closures‟ when a brick
is cut longitudinally and „bats‟ when cut equally in the transverse direction. There are
half bats, three-fourth bat, and one-fourth bat, depending upon the extent of the
remaining brick. The „frog‟ is the indentation where the mortar goes into and helps
the next brick to get supported. So, these bats and closures help for turning or ending
a wall.

And you must remember the key points which are to be followed when we are doing
brick masonry.
(Refer Slide Time: 34:34)

So, you can see in one of these pictures; it is the longer face that is being seen
(stretcher courses). In this other picture, you can see, some are stretcher courses, and

31
some are the headers. That is, the head side or width of the brick (the wider/ longer
part) is seen. The overall style is a mixture of header and stretcher.

This (see image) has only stretcher. But as you see, as it had been mentioned, there is
no continuous vertical line. If there is even one continuous vertical line, it separates
the two masses. So, any kind of lateral force incoming towards the wall face will
isolate the masses of the wall. So, the wall may fail; but when it is toothed in (inside
the other adjacent mass), it will behave as a monolithic (single) entity.

So, if you remember these points, you are done with bricks and the brick masonry.
There are various kinds of bonds- English bond, Flemish bond, double English bond,
because different types of widths of walls are required. Walls can hold their weight
from even 3-inches thick. So, brick can be sitting even on its wider (thickness) side.
But, usually, bricks are to laid to rest on their beds.

So, brick thicknesses become higher if it is a load-bearing structure at the base or the
lower floors, and it gradually tapers up, because the load it has to withstand is
maximum at the base. Let me demonstrate the making of a brick masonry wall.
(Refer Slide Time: 36:54)

So, this is a 5-inch thick wall. This is the first layer, and I want this end to be flat. So,
as per principle, we have to start with a full brick such that this joint (line) does not
appear. If I would have started like this (see video), then this part would have

32
separated out (as another mass). So, we start from here, and thus we need to start with
a bat at the beginning and then continue laying the bricks one after the other.

And then again, we have to put one bat to either finish construction, or if it is to be
continued on the next day, we can leave it just like that. So, on top of it again, we
follow the lower course (that is the lower layer). We see the lines will appear just on
top of it. In this (see video) case, it is a continuing line whereas in the other case (see
video), this has broken the line to make it discontinuous. So, again we can arrange it
like this. And we would stop here.

We could have gone the other way also; we could have started with a one-fourth bat
or a three-fourth bat. And then we could have again continued with the bricks one
after the other, ending with another notch which is one-fourth thick. So, we could
have repeated the same thing using bricks after brick. And finally, we get a notch of
one-fourth.

Here we get a notch of half-brick. So, this is the toothing. The next day, if the
construction starts, it will begin with a full brick to be inserted from here (see video).
So, the next day when it is added, the binding takes place at that point. Similarly,
when it is starting from here, we can actually place another brick, which will allow
the binding process, and eventually, what you see in the elevation is that none of the
lines are continuous.

So, no vertical line is continuous all through. The lower two lines are set half brick
apart. They have started with a one-half bat, and then it has continued. In the other
course, we have started with a three-fourth bat, which you can see here, and we have
continued. So, this is how we can lay the brick without getting any continuous vertical
joint. This helps to make it a continuous wall surface.

Now, this is the case when we are doing with the half brick thick wall or 5-inch thick
wall. Let us dismantle it and see what would have happened in case of a full brick
thick wall.
(Refer Slide Time: 40:34)

33
So, in a full brick thick wall, if you keep on arranging like this and follow the same
principle, like having bricks in this direction and then again having bricks in a
staggered way (as you had seen), you are obviously complying elevation-wise. But if
you look the other way, this (see video) entire block can be shifted. Similarly, this
entire block can be shifted (separated as a mass). This happened because these two
walls are not bound together.

So, it has become a separate wall. So, in the vertical direction, and also in the
transverse direction, you have to remember that there should not be any continuous
surface that may detach the two masses which, together, forms a full brick thick wall.
In that case, you need to orient them in such a way so that the header course and the
stretcher course form just one after the other, and also, there should not be the
formation of any vertical line.

And then again, on top of it, you can set your bricks in this fashion. In the elevation,
there is a header course, followed by a stretcher course, and again on top of it, there is
a header course. Now how to end this? You have the „closure‟ brick. Here also, if you
want to end it you have to use the closure.

The next day when you start, you have to start here with a closure. So, when you have
a full-brick thick wall, you will see that the arrangement is having a stretcher course
as well as a header course. The stretcher course is the continuous longer face. And the

34
header course is the shorter face. And this helps in binding the whole structure both
ways.

So, there is no continuous vertical line formed here and has been closed by this layer.
So, the bricks here, which were capable of moving in this direction, are locked by this
layer on top of it. So, in any kind of bonding, the basic principle is to have no
continuous vertical line and the use of bats and closures to achieve it.
(Refer Slide Time: 44:03)

With all these, I finish this lecture, and I would conclude that brick is a unique
building block and it is the most used clay product. Being a small unit, it can take any
shape or form which is desired. You can change the rectangular block to any other
shape if you require. That is desired by the architect, but that has to be separately
ordered. Bricks can be cut into the lateral or longitudinal directions to form bats and
closures for getting the desired bonding. So, with this, I end today‟s lecture.

35
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 03
Clay Products 2

Welcome back. Let us start today‟s lecture, lecture 3 of module 1, which is the
continuation of clay products.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:33)

So, what will be covered in this is- basically bricks made with alternative materials.
So, it is a shift from clay to alternative materials; what are the alternative materials
that help in making bricks, and then we will go back again to the clay items of
terracotta, porcelain, stoneware, and clay roofing tiles.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:01)

36
So, brick, as we have all understood, was the basic building material, which most
developing countries like ours are using, but, it causes a lot of depletion of our natural
resources. At the same time, we need to look into the wastes, how we can take care of
them, and whether we can utilize them up in the form of this tablet or brick. Fly-ash is
one such waste product, which is coming out after the combustion of pulverized coal.

It is very fine, even finer than sand. It moves around in the atmosphere in and around
a thermal power plant (generation area). It pollutes the atmosphere too. But it is
collected in ash ponds wherefrom it can be carried to a brick-making area following
similar principles; it was tried or evolved as an alternate building material replacing
clay brick. So, it is a little lighter than clay brick. It absorbs less water.

It is machine-made and dried in a controlled environment. And, no burning is

required. Hence it is less energy-intensive. At the same time, it consumes a lot of
waste material. The thermal conductivity of fly-ash is 1.05 W/m² °C recall that for
clay brick, it was 1.25). So, it resists heat (thermal energy) from coming inside the
building.

Thus, it is better than clay brick in thermal resistivity. Now, why will people select it
for construction? The Central government in India has declared in the codes (building
standards) (as mentioned in my initial lecture) that all bricks used for building
construction within a 100 km radius of a thermal power plant must be fly-ash bricks.

37
So, what are the advantages? It is energy-wise less energy-intensive. It uses the waste
(as its raw material). It does not take so much time for manufacturing. It has to be
dried in a controlled environment first, and then you can sun-dry it. These are
moulded from machines, as you can see in this picture taken from Gava fly-ash brick
factory in Kharagpur. The fly-ash which is lying here (see image) has been converted
to this brick.

So, a lot of construction is being done by these fly-ash bricks. It has become popular
and gradually at par in price with clay bricks. Earlier it was much cheaper. People
believed that the low price was due to being of inferior quality, and hence many did
not buy them. In reality, fly-ash is of sufficiently good quality.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:20)

The ingredients of fly-ash bricks are around 60 to 80% fly-ash, the rest is sand (20-
25%), and cement of which is about 8 to 10%. It may also be replaced by lime
because cement or lime is the stabilizer which helps the items to become whole.
These are mixed with an adequate amount of water to get the desired consistency,
moulded, control-dried for 24 hours within a factory shed, and later on put under sun,
and finally becomes ready for the site.

Its strength is as good as a second class brick. Weight is almost like that of a first-
class brick—however, clay bricks maybe a little heavier. Fly-ash brick maintains this
2.6 kg weight, and its use is similar to that of clay brick. You may or may not plaster
it. The water absorption is up to 15%.

38
Now, I will introduce another item here, which has been experimented with by the
Auroville Earth Center in Tamil Nadu since 2005. These are “Compressed Stabilized
Earth Block”, that comes in the form of bricks or in different shapes as required. This
is nothing but moist earth (or clay), and under high pressure (around 20 N/m²), they
become building blocks.

They have much lower embodied energy as compared to even fly-ash brick and also
clay bricks. It has low carbon emissions. As fly-ash brick flies around and creates a
lot of pollution, similarly clay-fired bricks also utilize a lot of fuel-burning, which
leads to carbon emission. But since these compressed stabilized earth blocks only use
pressure to make a stable earth (clay) item, the pollution component is much less.

The compressive strength is between 5 to 7 N/mm², which is also quite good. Water
absorption varies between 5 to 20% depending on the type- there is class A and class
B. The Auroville Earth Center has constructed a lot of experimental items or buildings
within its premises, which demonstrates that compressed stabilized earth block is a
building block that can replace fly-ash bricks or even clay bricks.

So, with this information, I think we have covered all types of bricks and related
items, which are the basic building blocks.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:44)

39
Let us move on to terracotta. Maybe some of you are familiar with this kind of image
which has been displayed here. This is the facade of an entry of a temple, and you can
see a lot of ornamental works being displayed. These structures have been facing
inclement weather for hundreds of years, and yet nothing has been damaged. Why so?
The ingredient is not just clay.

Clay has been supported with ground glass, crushed pottery (that is, broken pottery
items that have been grounded), and clean white sand. So, along with clay, which has
the maximum percentage, it also requires adding ground glass, crushed pottery, and
white sand- again mixed thoroughly, multiple times in the pugmill, and then moulded
with this ornamentation on it.

After this ornamentation, the entire product is put into the muffle furnace and is burnt.
Because of adding glass, it provides an impervious layer (or coating) on top of it,
preventing water absorption. The final product has a very low water absorption (even
less than 12%) property. It is very hard and durable and can stand for years together.
This is a very rich ornamental part.

Terracotta ornamentation has to be made uniquely for every building. So, obviously,
the price is higher. Various decorative items (such as terracotta plates) may be
manufactured in a similar way. You may install these terracotta works in building
entrances to emphasize the design (or make it grand). Thus, it can give you a heritage
value to it because these were used in our temples. But the mass-scale production of
terracotta is no more practiced.

In modern times, you can use templates, you can procure (order) it as per your desire
from manufacturers, and only then it can be used. Terracotta finds its use in
ornamental parts of a building, temple facades, and the like. Sometimes it is
entrenched with air to make it porous, making porous terracotta. You can add an extra
amount of glass to produce glazed terracotta.

And you can make use of this terracotta in the way you want and place the order as
per your desired façade design.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:09)

40
Now let us move to the other two items, the porcelain, and the stoneware. You can see
the pictures on your left-hand side. The washbasins, the cisterns, the commodes, the
water closets, the sinks- all the sanitary fixtures have a glass-like coating on top of it,
and it appears seamless and smooth. This is used due to its anti-microbial properties.

It cannot be stained and not affected by acids or alkalis. It has a permanent coating on
top of it, which is the glaze. This is made of China clay, feldspar, kaolin, silica, and
clay baked together at a high temperature to achieve vitreousness. Similar to brick
manufacture, the kiln temperature may rise to 1100°C or similar. These items are
baked further at higher temperatures to acquire the property of vitrification.

The mixture must be baked at temperatures of around 1400-1500°C to get vitrified.

Once vitrified, it does not absorb water, and this glaze on top of it becomes
transparent and gives an impervious look or characteristic to the item. Another
alternative item is stoneware (refractory clay), which is made from silica and alumina.

In the case of stoneware, you add stone dust and crushed pottery (as we had used in
terracotta) and bake it to a high temperature again to achieve vitreousness and low
porosity. It will be hard, compact, strong, and durable. It finds its applications in
places like culvert pipes (see image), where resistance to weather is necessary.

Where there are chances of stain or chemical action, you can put stoneware; they are
not much affected. They are not so porous but not impervious like porcelain. And

41
these are mainly used for underground water services because you cannot replace
them as and when required. It would not even come to your notice if anything has
happened there.

So, these are hard and compact, durable items that are put underground. In
underground sewer lines, you can use stoneware; it can withstand any pressure on top
(vertical load), so it would not break, and it is quite durable. Some sanitary wares are
also made with stoneware.

Another related item (which I have not put into the slide) is earthenware. Those are
not so stable like stoneware and are not much used in the building industry. They may
find some applications in pipes and plumbing.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:15)

Now, after we have finished with all the items, we come to the last topic under clay,
which is clay tile (particularly clay roofing tile). We have flooring tiles, we have wall
tiles which are also made of clay, but we will cover them when we discuss glass and
ceramics. So, what you see here - this clay roof tile is used as a unit to cover the roof.
These are very popular in the countryside.

It is usually sloping (as you see in this section), and the most important point is they
are much thinner than brick, and they cannot withstand heavy loads. Up to one or two
human weight may be supported by the tiles(for example, the weight of two or three
people) who may climb on top of the roof for some repair or replacement work. But in

42
general, clay tiles cannot withstand load. Thus you cannot have an independent floor
constructed on top of it. Its primary use is only to protect the structure from rain and
wind.

So, tiles are used as covering or roofing. What you had already seen is that bricks
were created for walls. But in this case, it is made for the roof. It is usually installed in
an inclined position and are interlocked unit-by-unit. In the case of brick, you had to
affix them in place with mortar. Here, clay tiles are not added or fixed; they are kept
interlocked and are replaceable when needed. If one of the tiles gets damaged, you
can replace it with a new one. So, now how are they fixed?

The picture provides some details. The appearance of tiles may vary across the
country. It may be available in different shapes, but the principle remains the same.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:03)

It has a supporting member or a nib that will help it to hold (or cling), which is called
the „nib‟. It keeps the tile in place to cling to the purlin or the framing system. Here is
a better picture- there are two holes, which are called the “nail holes”, that run
through the tile thickness, which is used to screw it with the support on to which it is
clinging. This nib may be continuous; this nib may be in pieces.

This is the base of the tile (see image) and that is the top part (which you see in the
below image). It is actually like a claw that is holding the horizontal member (the
frame) and sitting there. So, what I drew is a very flat tile or a pan-tile. Across the

43
country, we will see Mangalore tiles, half-round tiles, etc.-having various names and
forms, but you have to remember there is an interlocking arrangement.

I had drawn the flat tile. We will discuss the interlocking mechanism in the next slide.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:45)

So, if this is the framework, your tile is sitting like this.

(Refer Slide Time: 20:53)

And your next tile is sitting like this (see image). You are starting your tiling process
from the base (lower end), and you are moving to the higher (upper) direction because
you cannot place upper tiles first without support. Thus you have placing your lower
tile first and then you are topping with the upper tile, and below is the frame (maybe
wooden) on which it is clinging.

44
So, how much distance will it overlap? The next tile will actually have to protect the
nail hole. Here is the nail hole. So, the next tile should start from here (see image), so
that no water can enter into the system into the room. So, you have to remember this
upper tile should cover the nail hole and it must drain all the water to the next tile, and
this follows downwards.

At the end, you must have a special gutter system which again will collect the water
which is coming down and ultimately gets drained, such that no water can enter here
and seep into the building. On the sides, you see only this circle shape with a very
small gap which is allowing the water to flow.

But actually, the tile starts from here and goes till there (see image). Again, it starts
from here and goes till the lower part (not visible). It may sometimes follow an
undertile and overtile pattern. It may be something like this and then like this (see
image). This is one tile and is supported with an overtile. There may be many types.
On the side, there is again a interlocking method adapted so that water does not leak
through the roof.

So, you have a tight claw-like interlocking arrangement. And the overtile (upper tile)
is covering the nail hole so that no leakage happens. Thus, your roof becomes
watertight. And any kind of replacement required is possible. Also, as already told,
these are not capable of withstanding load. The tiles may break by the hitting (impact)
of even a stone.

You may move or displace the tiles, uncover the nail holes, and replace the tile. At the
ends, there is the eave tile, specially made for eaves gutter. We also have a special tile
for the ridge (or the top). It is made such that no water can enter through any opening
at the top. So, now this sits against the frame below. Let us revisit it.

So, this is the frame (see picture). Now how are these frames to be fixed? You have to
know what is the locally available tiles‟ dimension. Based on that, these wooden
supports (called „purlins‟) are to be fixed, and these are the common rafters onto
which they are to be fixed. And here comes the ridge, and the ridge tile. At the bottom

45
you have comes the gutter tile, the eaves gutter, and in between these, you have to
place your regular tiles.

Here you see further detail of the nail hole; the upper tiles are one on top of other.
This is a very indigenous mechanism. This method is still followed across all our
countrysides in rural India. They easily replace or repair the tiles when needed. Thus
these tiles form a weather resistant or a proper roofing to their house.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:31)

With all these, I conclude with the clay products and also the alternate materials used
for replacing brick. The various other clay products that we studied are terracotta,
porcelain, stoneware and clay tile. Under clay tile, we understood how it has to be
fixed. Similarly, we knew that in case of brick- how bricks had to be arranged to get
brick masonry.

Here, we understood how clay tiles are to be placed to get proper weather-resistant
roofing. We conclude this lecture on clay, and thank you all.

46
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 04
Stone

Welcome everyone to lecture 4 of module 1. We had in the last lecture tried to finish
some of the clay products, and now we will move to stone.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:39)

The concepts that will be covered here are particularly the quarrying of stone,
seasoning and dressing, characteristics of stone, deterioration of stone, and types of
stone. Now, what is the basic difference between clay products and stone? The first
part is that stone is naturally available, whereas, in the case of clay products, we have
to make or prepare it by the process of burning; we had already discussed those.

But unlike brick, tile, terracotta, or any other product made from clay, we have to look
into how we can get or get stone from the mines.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:27)

47
So, let us see how we can obtain the stone. These are some pictures where you can see
the stone has been cut from the quarry. A quarry is the stone mine from where you
can get the stone, and specialized vehicles/ machines are used (see image) to mine or
quarry out the stone.

After doing some treatment to the stone (seasoning and dressing), it is ready for use.
Stones can be used as building blocks themselves. They can be used as a finish on top
of a surface. Stones can be ornamentally used by working on them (like making
sculptures, jafri works).

Stone may be used in ways similar to clay tile, like for roofing purposes, as well as for
aggregates in concrete mixes- identical to the way fourth-class bricks that are charred
(dark brown/ black in color) can be used for a building foundation. The debris from
the stone quarry can be selected and used as aggregates in concrete.

When we visit the module on concrete, we will elaborate more on aggregates, where
we will see how stones are used.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:19)

48
These images are some examples demonstrating the use of stone as a building
material. The entire rock-cut structure of Ajanta and Ellora caves are entirely made of
stone. The stepwell in Rajasthan is also cut out from stone. In our country context,
Rajasthan (particularly Kota town) have lots of quarries.

You can see the monolithic rock-cut temple of Mahabalipuram. So, it is it has been
carved from a single rock.
(Refer Slide Time: 04:05)

Similarly, you can see a very different application of stone. Stones can be used instead
of tiles. You can see here the flooring is made of stone tiles. These are not bearing any
structural load; they are just withstanding human load since people will be walking on

49
top of it. Whereas these stone tiles have decorative use. They are from the Taj Mahal.
Flooring tile is not recommended for this Jafri work.

And similarly, when you see this picture, where the roofing is made of stone tiles, it
serves a totally different purpose. And finally, here are the aggregates which also are
obtained from the quarry. They also do not go waste and have a purpose or use in the
building industry.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:15)

So, let to see what is quarrying and what mechanism is involved in that. The open part
of a natural rock from which useful stone is obtained is called a „quarry‟, and the
operation involved in the production of natural stone is called „quarrying‟. For this
process to be viable, sufficient stones must be available in the quarry; otherwise, this
prolonged exercise will be futile.

A proper transportation facility should be available since you have to carry the stone
from the quarry to the site. You also require a lot of heavy machinery to reach and
perform the operations. Local labor should be available, trained through experience or
through their family lineage (generations who are proficient at the work).

If the quarry faces a lot of rainfall, then draining out accumulated water also becomes
an issue . Knowledge of the locations of prominent structures in the vicinity is also
required to be noted since they might get damaged in case any blasting operations are

50
necessary to dislodge the rocks from the quarry for use. There should be a nearby
dumping or refuse site.

All these points are to be checked while before initiating a quarrying process. There
are specific tools for doing the quarrying, which are wedges, hammers, drills, chisels,
and specialized tools.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:15)

So, if we look into the types of quarrying, one is „excavating‟ (digging out the stone
buried under the earth by use of pickaxe and crowbar). The second type is „wedging‟.
Here, you demarcate a portion of rocks within the quarry by inserting a large number
of wedges all along the perimeter of the part and carve them out.

The area may be a region of 10 m ×10 m, and we have to apply force by hammering.
Obviously, there will be stratas in stones, and this part gets loosened, which you can
carve out by hammering. You may also apply heat. So, by putting fuel in some
portions, you create a localized unequal expansion that will lead to segregation of the
layers.

Small regular blocks, mainly igneous rocks like granite, are extracted in this way. If
you want large and hard rocks, then you may go for blasting. Here explosives are
charged and fired, which dislodges the block that is intended to be separated.

51
Another method is „boring‟. You make deep bores (holes), and then by firing or
tamping, the desired stone (which is useful or productive for the construction) may be
ejected.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:45)

So, after extracting the stone by quarrying, the next step is to leave the stone for
seasoning. Why is the seasoning required? Because when this stone is mined, a sap (a
liquid secretion) oozes out from the stone, which keeps it soft as well as workable.
Thus the stone is still soft in nature.

It is a mineral solution that covers it and keeps on oozing out, and during this time, if
it is dressed (cut into its desired shape or form), it will be less labour-intensive. It
becomes easier to carry it to the site. For complete seasoning, these should be kept for
6-12 months.

The sap keeps oozing till the entire period of seasoning. The sap leaves a crystalline
film on the face of the stone and makes it weather-resistant, and makes the stone
surface capable of withstanding inclement weather for hundreds of years. As you can
see, the Colosseum at Rome (built of stone) has been standing for so many years, yet
it remains mostly unaffected by the weather.

These old structures neither have a paint coat nor a plaster coat. It remains exposed.
The weather-resistance effect will be better achieved if we allow the sap to
accumulate on top of it as a thin crystalline film. That is the purpose of seasoning.

52
(Refer Slide Time: 12:03)

Next, we have dressing of stone. You can obviously dress the stone during the
seasoning process itself because it remains softer than it would have been after having
been put to use. Dressing refers to the cutting of the stone to its desired shape, size,
and form. Dressing, carving, moulding- all these should be done just after quarrying.

Since stone is still softer than it should be, it becomes easier to give it any shape. By
the process of dressing, you are giving a shape or form to the stone, or you are making
it regular. This will reduce or minimize the space (and thereby reduce weight) it may
actually have taken while transporting. The residue remains in the quarry.

This residue does not go waste; we have already discussed one method regarding the
usage of residue as aggregates.
(Refer Slide Time: 13:27)

53
Now instead of moving to how many types of stones are there, let us now move into
the characteristics of good building stone. As you know, stones can be used as a
building block similar to bricks. So, it must have enough strength. Regarding
appearance, the first point is texture and color -it is easy to distinguish stones just by
looking at them.

Here are some pictures; you may be able to identify through your own experience (see
image)- which one is marble, granite, black stone, and sandstone. It is particularly the
texture and the color which provides the clue. Regar strength, a stone should be
capable of withstanding weather as well as supporting loads.

The compressive strength of stones ranges from 60 to 200 N/mm². Compared with
that of a brick (from earlier lectures), a stone has much higher compressive strength.
So, stones are way ahead in taking strength, particularly compressive strength. The
weight or the density gives you a clue how heavy (or massy) it is.

The porosity of a stone can also be ascertained from the image of the structure. Here,
there are three images. The image here, as you see, is quite porous whereas, this is
quite dense. In this picture, you can see the color is black, and the texture is rough. So,
just by observation, you can find out whether a stone is porous or not and also check
its color or texture.

54
Heavy stones obviously have higher compressive strength and are used for supporting
structures. They are usually used for dams and the construction of bridges. They can
stay in the water for a long time. Whereas light (soft) stones can be used for carving
arches, walls, domes, cuttings, jafri works.

A porous stone will keep on absorbing water, but the porosity generally depends on
the mineral constituents. Stone degenerates or disintegrates if it is highly porous.
Granite and slate are the least absorbent. We will discuss the individual stones later.
Sandstone, limestone, shale are most absorbent (up to 10%).

Next is hardness, which is the capability to resist any deformation. If you are applying
load on it, it may bend or get tampered with. Hardness property is demonstrated when
the stone is used for flooring (or pavement), where it experiences a physical load on
top. If you keep on walking over soft stones for a long time (many years), it would
slowly wither out just because of frictional force. Thus, hardness is important when
we are recommending stones for some purpose.

The minerals in the stone get disintegrated due to an increase in temperature.

Particularly for igneous rocks, the quartz part of it gets disintegrated at 575°C,
whereas limestone disintegrates at 800°C. Limestone is softer than igneous rocks, but
it degenerates later if it is subjected to fire.

So, these were some characteristics of building stone. We will now discuss the
weathering action.
(Refer Slide Time: 18:45)

55
Why does weathering happen? As I told you, since your buildings (of any material)
stays uncovered, it has to withstand the natural calamities regularly. Wind, sand,
breeze, rain, frost, sun- you have to be careful against the action of all these entities.
Another property is workability, which arises because of the hardness or softness of
stones. While you can make the jafri walls with marble, you cannot make the same
with basalt or an igneous rock.

To withstand weathering action, very close grain sandstone is suitable. The specific
gravity of stone is between 2.3 to 2.5. The thermal conductivity of stones are higher
than that of a brick. So, that implies stone will conduct external temperature inside the
structure, but since stone thicknesses are usually larger than that of a brick, the
conducted heat may not be prominent.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:03)

56
After knowing these basic characteristics, we will look into what can deteriorate stone
since stones do not have a covering. Stone can be seen bare from the outside. All
stones that are used as flooring, roofing, used as wall surface, etc., all are bare. It has
to withstand rain, wind, temperature fluctuations; thus, it may deteriorate.

So, how fast a stone deteriorates is based on what you are going to recommend. The
lesser the deterioration of a stone, the higher the chance for us to recommend it as a
building material. Rainwater has both physical and chemical action on stones.
Physical deterioration implies the erosion (transport) of the top layer. So, the top layer
may wash out very gradually, with time.

Chemical actions may happen due to oxidation and the hydration of the minerals
within it., due to the rainwater. The rainwater brings the minerals in contact with
water, and the atmospheric oxygen helps in oxidation and a lot of iron compounds in
the form of peroxides, sulfides, carbonates- get oxidized and hydrated.

Similarly, the physical action, alternate wetting by rain and drying (because of
temperature change), can aid in the development of internal stresses within the stone.
Similarly, due to temperature change, water may accumulate inside its pores. The
water will undergo cycles of freezing and thawing. Every time water is gets solidified,
it would expand in dimension, creating pressure on the boundaries (inner surfaces of
the pores in stone), and later it melts back to the liquid (water) state.

57
The force is then relaxed. Again it may freeze during cold temperatures at night. In
the daytime, it would melt back to water (reduced volume). So, this mechanism of
alternate freeze and thaw can bring in a lot of internal pressure that may eventually
lead to the rupture of the stone. Wind can also erode the stone surface and wind along
with sand (if it is located in a desert or a near the sea). Accordingly, the sand may be
saline (contain salt).

These wind and sand are hitting the wall regularly and gradually wearing away the
wall over a long time. This process is called “attrstion”. Other than these, we also
have pollutants, industrial fumes, acid rains, which may deteriorate the stone. Taj
Mahal is a living example of acid rain pollution. And a lot of efforts are being taken to
arrest the decay. Stone decomposition also takes place due to vegetative growth,
pollution, dust, and dirt accumulation.

So, you have to keep these points in mind; we need to also know how to maintain the
stone.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:03)

Before going into that, let us see how rocks are geologically classified. Due to the
lava coming out from volcanic eruptions, we get igneous rocks. That is the first form
of obtaining the rock. And then it gets weathered broken into small parts; they keep
accumulating sediments, giving rise to the sedimentary rocks. When again it is
subjected to heat and pressure, it gets converted to metamorphic rocks.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:51)

58
So, if we go further into the geological classification that is the igneous, sedimentary
and metamorphic rock, we will see that igneous rock is nothing but cool molten lava,
and it is usually the granites and basalts (the hard form). It has a high compressive
strength of around 77 to 130 N/mm², and it is challenging to work with. Its density is
high. It has very low porosity.

Its water absorption is very low (around 1%), and color depends on the types of
minerals present within, particularly the feldspar. A higher amount of feldspar in the
composition may decay the rock. Sedimentary rocks are formed by the accumulation
of sediments due to the weathering action on larger hard rocks. They get accumulated
in strata (layers).

They are stratified and formed over a period of time; the sediments are deposited layer
by layer and become consolidated by the pressure. They are the slates, the limestones,
the sandstones. These rocks have comparatively lesser compressive strength, around
65 N/mm². When they are free from lime and iron content, they withstand the weather
better.

The third is the metamorphic rock, which we had already discussed when due to some
pressure and high temperature due to tectonic movements occur. These sedimentary
rocks, such as limestone, slate, and sandstone, get metamorphosed- Limestone
transforms to gneiss; sandstone forms quartzite, and limestone forms marble.

59
Sedimentary rocks have a crushing strength of 70 N/mm²., are hard, and take a fine
polish.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:19)

If we go to the other classifications, first, we discuss the physical classification. You

can see the strata of rock in this picture. This is called „stratified‟ where you can
identify the layers. This class of rocks are basically the sedimentary rocks. Next, you
see the unstratified blocks which are the igneous rocks formed due to the volcanic
eruption. This classification is basically the other way of naming them.

So sedimentary rocks are unstratified, igneous rocks are stratified. Foliated rocks are
those that have very defined layers in one direction.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:56)

60
Under chemical classification, it may be divided into- argillaceous, siliceous, and
calcareous. Argillaceous rocks are alumina-based. Siliceous rocks are silica-based
ones, such as granites and basalts. Calcareous (calcium-based) rocks include
limestone and marble. The compressive strengths for argillaceous rocks vary from 77-
210 N/mm²; for siliceous rocks, they range between 150 and 190 N/mm², and for
calcareous rocks, the strength lies between 55- 70 N/mm².

Recall that we have already seen the physical classification as the igneous rocks, the
stratified rocks, and the metamorphic rocks. So, rocks may be classified physically as
well as chemically.
(Refer Slide Time: 28:41)

We will conclude by saying that stone is naturally available, unlike clay materials.
Stones can be converted for our use in buildings. Characteristics of stones are
essential to be known. When recommending, we have to make the appropriate
decision because these stones may have to withstand the weather as they do not have
any coating or covering other than the natural seasoning.

The points regarding stone decay and the classification of stones have also to be kept
in mind. We will carry on with the next lecture, which will be again on stone, where
we will highlight the usage, methods of maintenance, and also how to construct stone
masonry work similar to bricks. Thank you.

61
 Building Materials And Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur

Lecture – 05
Stone (Continued)

(Refer Slide Time: 00:34)

Hello, everyone. So, we are at the last lecture of this module, and it is a continuation with
stone. Here, we are going to cover the prevention or the decay of stones, including the
maintenance and uses of stones, along with stone dust. As I told you- in the quarry, once the
stone is dressed, a lot of extra materials are formed- which can be used as aggregate.

The stones leave some dust. Pieces of stones that are not usable can be crushed, and the dust
can be obtained from them. These also have specific uses. Lastly, we will be covering the
stone masonry, which is similar to brick masonry. Stone masonry is constructed with units
(stones), which, although, are different from bricks in looks and properties, but the
underlying principles are similar. First, we will discuss the prevention of the decay or the
maintenance of stone.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:42)

62
The first point here is the necessity of thorough cleaning of stone by water jet or steam. Some
inaccessible portions (crevices, nooks, or cracks in stone) might need the water jet to be
forced (or pushed) to the stone surface for proper cleaning. The basic idea is to remove the
dust, dirt, and organic matter- that generally accumulates over time. Sometimes, the only
option is the plastering of stone with lime (mixed with linseed oil if required).

Plastering of stone is not usually advisable; however, if done, it should be performed only
with lime and not cement, since cement chemically reacts with the minerals present in the
stone, thereby degrading it. Therefore, it is generally best to leave stone unplastered and just
remove the accumulated dust and organic products, chemicals, oils from the surface, which
get deposited over a long period of time. We cover the entire stone surface with paper pulp.

When the paper pulp is stuck on top of the stone and left for a considerable period of time,
the oil, dirt, dust, and chemicals- all get gradually absorbed. Later, we have to remove the
remains with a water jet, which gives back the old color (natural look) of the stone, which
was getting ruined due to the deposition of dust, dirt, or chemicals. Now, once the impurities
are removed, the stone appears clean with its original shine.

Stones may have a lot of pores (voids) within them, which need to be filled in because those
are potential accumulation points of water. Hence, to avoid water accumulation, it is always
better to fill in the pores with stone dust paste (made by mixing stone dust with linseed oil). A
final coating of the stone is done with epoxy (this process is called ‘impregnation’) to avoid
any chemical action directly affecting the stone surface.

63
It is also important that the loading on the stone must be put in the direction perpendicular to
its grain (natural bed). So, if the natural bed of the stone is in this (see video) direction, the
compressive force (loading) should be acting in this opposite (see video) direction.
Otherwise, it will lead to a split of the stone’s layers.

Thus, stones must be aligned on their beds in such a manner that the pressure on them is at
the perpendicular direction to the natural bed. Another significant issue is ‘mutual decay’,
which may happen when two different stones are used together. Minerals of one stone may
chemically react with the minerals of the other stone- mostly observed between limestone and
sandstone. So, we should not use these stones in a combination; otherwise, they will mutually
decay each other (corroding effect).

All these constitute the main points to remember in the case of stone masonry and the
maintenance of stones.for longevity
(Refer Slide Time: 06:08)

Now, coming to the applications of stones in buildings; we have already discussed the
geological classification. Igneous rocks, such as granite, are the hardest ones- and are used
for heavy engineering works. They are durable, strong, resistant to large forces- they can
stand submerged in water for long durations (several years) without significant damage. So,
granite and basalt- are the best types.

64
In the case of a building facing the sea, the wind (laden with sand) hits the structures. The
regular sea breezes can affect any sculpture nearby. Bare surfaces of stones get affected
through a process called ‘attrision’. In such situations, we need a compact type of stone.
Granite and sandstone (a metamorphosized rock) are useful in such cases. For buildings in
industrial areas, fine-grained, compact sandstone can be effective since they can resist
chemicals and toxic fumes from the factories.

These are strong, durable, and resistant to smoke and acidic fumes. Another important
application is in arches or vaults, which are semi-circular (or similar) in shape.These are
constructed with small stones joined together. Marble or close-grained sandstone are
beneficial due to their strength and durability. For building face-works, carved works,
ornamental works, and statues, marble and fine-grained sandstone are popular constituents.
They are light in weight, soft, easy to work with, and have a pleasing appearance.

They may be available in different colors. Compact sandstones are suitable for fire-resistant
structures. Coming to aggregates, crushed stones (such as granite, basalt, quartzite) can be
used as road metal and as aggregates for concrete. They are also fireproof also, so igneous
rocks are beneficial in high-strength applications and fireproofing. Although not within our
domain, railway ballasts are made of coarse-grained sandstone and quartzite. They are hard,
tough, highly abrasion-resistant.

Slate finds applications as roof tiles in hilly regions. Since it is an electrical insulator itself,
slate does not conduct high-voltage electricity, keeping the building safe from electrocutions
during thunderstorms. Since slate is a foliated rock, thin laminas may be obtained (see image
in video). Thus, slate may be recommended for any layer which needs insulation against
electricity.

Hence, slate is recommended for the roof (tiles), and also a useful stone for the construction
of electrical conduits through it.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:45)

65
In the pictures (see image in video), you can see the vast arches below the railway bridge; this
is possible due to the strong structure of basalt. The famous Colosseum of Rome is made of a
particular type of limestone (travertine limestone), which made it durable enough to stand for
thousands of years and still is mostly intact today. Check out the applications of red
sandstone at Agra fort and at Fatehpur Sikri. The usage of slate tiles are also shown; they are
laminar in structure and installed using similar kind of principles as clay tiles.

The lowest layer is the bottom-most layer of tile, and the starting point, on top of which the
subsequent layer is placed, and this pattern is followed. There is an overlap at the edges to
prevent water from seeping in. This arrangement is usually made on top of a wooden support
system. Also, wood is a thermal insulator. So, the overall structure provides both electrical
(due to slate) and thermal insulation (due to wood) of the sloped-roof house (prevalent in
hilly areas).
(Refer Slide Time: 11:02)

66
Here are some more pictures demonstrating the applications of stone as a building material.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:12)

Stones also have several other applications in the building industry. Other than walling
materials, they can be used as floor finish (usually limestone, Kota stone, etc.). Kota stone is
abundantly available in Kota (a town in the state of Rajasthan); granite, marble, etc., are the
most popular stones for flooring applications. Marble is a soft stone and thus is preferred in
areas where the footfall is low. For example, it will not be beneficial for institutional
buildings (say in schools or colleges- where a lot of students are moving in and out on a
regular frequency). Thus, marble is not recommended in high-traffic areas because it withers
away; instead, granite is a better choice.

67
On the contrary, limestone can remain exposed to extreme weather for a long duration
(several years) with minimal damage. You can use limestone, and notably, Kota stone for any
kind of regular floor finish- indoor as well as outdoor. Now, when a stone is used as a floor
finish, it may be used in unfinished form or finished (polished) form. Usually, for outdoor
uses, we prefer rough and unfinished stones (which provides the additional advantage of
being anti-skid), whereas polished stones are favored for kitchens, corridors, lobbies, hotel
rooms, etc.

Marble can be used for intricate Jafri works. With marble being soft, it is easy to work with
specialized carving tools. Stone is also used as a walling material (not as a structural wall, but
as wall cladding). The term ‘cladding’ implies covering the structural wall (say, made of
bricks) with stones (for example, red sandstone). Clamps are inserted into the structural wall,
which supports the thin pieces of sandstone (cladding). The stones hang in an interlocking
arrangement between each other. These clamps help the stone cladding to stay separate from
the actual wall surface and hang, forming a uniform façade.

Stone dust finds applications in aggregates. Larger pieces of stones from the quarry are
crushed down to particular smaller sizes- all these stones below the size limit form the coarse
aggregates or large-sized particles. The dust portion of the stones constitute the component
for fly-ash bricks, as fine aggregates in concrete, and also used in making paver blocks.

Hence, stone dust is used as a replacement for sand. Artificial stones are made by putting a
high proportion of stone dust in the mixture, giving it a stone-like finish. Thus, the use of
stones encompasses a wide range from structural walls, floor finishes, wall cladding, and
ornamental works (such as Jafri work).

It can be used as roof tiles. Moreover, stone dust and stone aggregates also do find their uses
in the building industry.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:25)

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We will now discuss the looks (appearance) of stone flooring. In the picture here, there are
many line marks (apart from the tile lines in the square grid) on the stone. These lines are the
veins of the marble, caused by the deposition of minerals over time, in a specific pattern,
giving such a look. The price of the marble varies depending on these veins. Also, you can
see that this marble has a characteristic shine, indicating that this is polished marble.

In the other picture (see image in video), you can see a granite floor. The texture is different.
In the upper picture, the tiles are of a smaller size, and hence you can see the square pattern.
In the image below, the tile sizes are bigger. Here, the flooring appears continuous. There are
a series of seatings, indicating that it is possibly not a residential building but maybe a public
waiting area, in a hospital or an office. Such continuous flooring is expensive, whereas
smaller tiled floors are less costly since they can be mined easily.

Squaring out large pieces of stones is a difficult task, which promptly reflects by the higher
cost. Here (see image in video), you can see another kind of marble flooring, placed in a
repetitive pattern along the floor, having a different look and color from the upper one. The
four images on the left side are all polished floors, whereas the pictures on the right side show
stone pavings.

This (upper right side picture) shows stone paving blocks used for an outdoor area. The
image below (see image in video) shows Kota stone flooring (unpolished) in an outdoor
setting. So, depending on the location of use, the recommendation of stone should vary.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:55)

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Particularly for marble, the veins must be aligned to get the pattern (see image in video).
Matching the labels 1, 2, 3, 4, and following the alignment will generate the seamless pattern,
and the area will appear like a single continuous piece of stone. These stones with specific
directional vein patterns are custom-made and have to be specially ordered from stone
merchants. These pieces have a larger size and must be carefully handled, and hence their
transportation cost is higher, adding to the overall cost.

Kota stone does not get stained, and hence it may be recommended for kitchen areas. Due to
being chemical resistant, Kota stone is also suitable for chemical laboratories where there is a
possibility of spillage of acids or alkalis. So, before recommending a stone, it is essential to
identify the purpose, specific location of use, footfall (or traffic), and climatic conditions of
the site (for outdoor applications)
(Refer Slide Time: 19:19)

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We will now cover the last part, which is stone masonry. You have already learnt the
methods for brick masonry in the earlier lectures, but stone masonry is a bit difficult to
demonstrate. In these pictures, you see lots of haphazardly arranged stones. Try to find out
regularities in the structure; identify the courses (layering). Even though some stone pieces
are rectangular (see image in video) and some polygonal, there are some lines (layers) that
have been approximately maintained during construction.

If you compare them with the other images, you may recognize that they are different by
style (even if not by color). In one picture (see image in video), a lot of small stones have
been arranged to fill in the gaps, while in the other image, all the stones are more-or-less of a
similar kind and precisely selected.

In this picture (see image in video), the small-sized stones are missing, and the stones used
are polygonal in shape, arranged such that some of the faces match and they become like
regular polygons. In flint masonry, lots of mortar (or binder) is used, whereas the number of
stones is less, unlike in random rubble (which uses lots of small stones).

Here, a regular line is maintained, using a different approach- at every two courses (layers),
of which one may be in the longer direction and the next layer in the shorter direction. A
square pattern was generated, and hence the name ‘square masonry’. What you can see is (see
image in video) a continuous wall from the front.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:51)

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In the section view of transverse direction, irrespective of the appearance from the front, you
will find a combination of three to four stones, which is necessary to achieve the desired
thickness. But after every few layers, it is mandatory to put a continuous stone to support the
courses above- to avoid splitting the wall in the transverse direction.

So, if we had only set small stones together forming a wall, it is highly likely that the wall
will rupture from the middle (see the sketch in video). Otherwise, the wall may move apart
from the center due to any lateral force or movement. However, if it is connected after every
few layers by a single stone that passes throughout the entire continuous thickness, the whole
wall remains bound together. This continuous stone is called a ‘through stone’.

As in brick masonry, for stone masonry too, you must ensure that there is no continuous
vertical line (joint)- in both longitudinal and transverse directions. Also, a ‘through stone’
must always be placed at regular intervals between layers.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:11)

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Thus, the major types of masonry are random masonry and ashlar masonry.The first type has
some sub-types (random stone masonry, random rubble, coursed random rubble, flint rubble,
dry rubble). In dry rubble masonry, no mortar is used. It is basically built by simply arranging
the stones judiciously. Dry rubble may be used for low-height boundary walls. In general,
random stone masonry is seen for low height walls (for example, one-story structures), or as
retaining walls.

For making a building (say a residence) out of stone, dressed stone masonry or ashlar
masonry is used. At first, we should check that the stones on the site are sorted. We had to
make brick-bats (in brick masonry) that were used as closures to end or turn the wall at an
angle. Similarly, in the case of stones, they must be sorted before laying so that you can keep
all sizes of stones ready for use depending on the situation.

Stones similar in thickness and form are identified. When the desired wall thickness is
known, you also have to search for ‘through stones’ which can run along the continuous
thickness. Capstones (ending stone of a wall, placed at the top layer) are also required, which
must be regular in shape. In the section view of a well-built masonry wall, at the top, there is
a capstone, followed by multiple stones placed in subsequent layers, with ‘through stones’ at
regular intervals.

Another crucial point here is the availability of appropriate tools, which were not very
important for brick masonry. For bricks, a person may pick with one hand and subsequently
proceed with the construction without any other help. For stone masonry, more than one

73
person may be necessary for the construction, depending upon the size (since stones are
usually large and heavy), unlike bricks. Though the specific density of brick and stone is
almost the same, the enormous size (volume) makes the stones heavier in weight.

Thus, the key points are that brick masonry is different from stone masonry, owing to
different size and shape, although the underlying principle remains the same. For stone
masonry, more mortar is required (for rubble work and flint masonry). Ashlar masonry
requires less amount of mortar for the same wall area since the stone units themselves are
larger in size than that of a brick, but in general, rubble work comprises around 25% mortar.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:29)

So, we may conclude that the recommendation of a stone must be judiciously made by
considering the purpose and location of use. Also, we learnt that stone pieces and stone dust
do not go to waste; they also have specific uses. Stone masonry, as you have seen, is different
from brick masonry in some ways, although the underlying principle is the same. We also
came across some preventive measures (possible issues and their solutions) that need to be
taken when building a stone wall.
(Refer Slide Time: 28:05)

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I will leave you with some assignments on the entire module. Once you study the last four
lectures (2-5) of this module, you will be able to, hopefully, solve these. I did not deliberately
set any questions on the first (introduction) lecture since it was just for background reading.
Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 06

Introduction to Wood

This module is about another naturally occurring material, wood. You all know what wood is.
We get it from trees and other along with it we see engineered wood and bamboo. So from
wood, a lot of wood like materials or similar kind of materials are made as a by-product from
wood industry.

We also see bamboo, which had use in our system as a structural material which are also
being used as a building material nowadays. Wood, what is the beauty of it? It is naturally
occurring and got from trees. It is a thermal insulator and is light weight compared to other
building materials like maybe brick or maybe stone which we have already covered.But what
is the drawback in it? It is an organic product. How is it made? How do we get wood? What
are the classifications of the different types of wood and how do we process to get it
appropriate for the building industries are to be discussed in this particular lecture.

So if we look into what is wood, it is a hard fibrous organic item formed from mature trees
after being processed. So there are lots of carriers of water, bundles going from the root,
transporting water and minerals to the leaves. As you all know these are called xylems.
Xylems and phloems actually form the conducting system of a live tree. And these are
fibrous; these are fibres moving together and they as a whole form a bundle, which also has
strength. It gives strength to the tree, tree can move, sway and it can face lateral forces and
stay still again when it is in the form of wood processed, it behaves in the same way.

So wood can take both compressions when it is subjected to load from the top as well as if
you hold it, if you allow spanning it, resting it between two walls support walls, you can
allow any kind of movement on top of it. The bundles inside it which are continuous help in
taking the tensile load. So wood can be used as a spanning material and can be also used as a
compressive material. So it can be used as a structural framework for making partition walls
of which, the infill may be made of plywood, which is again another processed wood.
Different varieties of wood can be seen because it is a naturally occurring material. They
grow in different ways and they have different characteristics and hence its use differs.

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In the above picture you see some big logs. You cannot carry huge logs so they have been cut
into a certain size and transported later on as you can see in this picture. Here are some logs
where you can see a human figure, where from you can understand the size of each. So the
base of a tree, the main major trunk is the usable part of which you can make the most.

Yes the heavy branches they also can be converted to our usable wood. So these are called
logs which are taken from the site to prepare usable wood which would be helpful for
building industry. You can see two more pictures here, where you can see some knots, some
grains, some patterns or lines. These are showing the grain, how the xylems and phloem’s are
moving, how they were interrupted due to wind and it has eventually given such kind of
knots. Yes, they may be good, they may be bad, but they give a beautiful texture to the wood
surface and seeing these lines and knots, you can go for some identification criteria also. Also
as you notice in the second picture the colour of these log sections are very uniform but if you
see the cross-section in the first picture, it is little different. You can faintly see some separate
lines, which you can distinguish some layers.

Maybe it will be much clearer in the next discussion because there are different types of trees.
You see, highlighted in red, exogenous trees and endogenous trees. Under exogenous trees
there are conifers and the deciduous. The picture in the top is a deciduous tree whereas the
picture below is the coniferous tree. The conifers are long but not much in the dimension
diameter whereas the deciduous tree has a larger trunk size and are shorter in length. And if
you see the coniferous, earlier shown in the picture, are pale in colour and actually softwood,

77
pine cedar, fir, birch. Whereas deciduous cross sections if you see they are not so light in
colour, they are a little more brown and they are used mostly for engineering purpose. So are
the conifers of no use? No, they can be used for furniture’s and interior items. Endogenous
trees grow inward. Fibrous mass is seen in their longitudinal section. If you cut a bamboo slit,
you can see fibres in the longer face of bamboo whereas the exogenous grows outward.
Deciduous tree grows much larger than the conifers. So you can get a long layer of wood in
the deciduous variety. Exogenous tree grows year after year showing the different shades in
it. Those are called the annual rings. It is not much clearly seen in case of the coniferous
trees. Endogenous trees have annual rings in the vertical direction. So you can see at a
particular time interval they have segments grown together.

You see that bamboo tree is shown in the picture above and you can see that see that the
segments growing at a certain period of time. So let us try to see the section of an exogenous
tree trunk. This is a schematic section where you see the lines which are called the medullary
rays and concentric lines moving outward which are the annual rings. You can see there are
different colour shades, gradually moving from deeper colour to lighter colour. The deeper
colour portion is called the heart wood- the core whereas the lighter colour portion is called
the sap wood and the entire thing is protected by the cambium layer, then the bast and then
the bark or the covering, the top coating. You see a dark portion at the centre, which is the
dead cell, forms the pith. So these are the nomenclatures.

This is a schematic diagram showing very the basic of the exogenous tree and from here
actually we get the wood after conversion. You cannot use this entire log for your purpose. It
is not the entire tree trunk which you can use because you have to transport it. So you have to
remember to make it to sizes which can be carried by the transport vehicle and hence, you
have to reduce it into desired dimension.

Not all sections are uniform; they may be different in shapes. So when you are converting
this to usable timber, you have to look into how the annual rings are arranged and also with
this section where you see everything perfect, there may be a lot of defects or unusable parts

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inside it which has happened due to natural weathering, natural conditions because of
different growth.

And this is what you see naturally. So here one is having a lighter colour, one is having a
little deeper colour, the central part is darker and the outer part is lighter. So which one
should we use for our work? It is the heart wood, which we usually use. Sap wood is still in a
life state, which we usually try to avoid using particularly when it is for some structural
purposes.

Let us see the difference between soft wood and hard wood which we are get from the
coniferous trees and the deciduous trees. As we understood the annual ring, in case of
coniferous trees, the soft wood it is distinct, whereas in case of hard wood it is not so distinct.
Colour of soft wood or the coniferous trees is light that of hard wood is little dark. Density
which is a reflection of weight, the soft woods are lighter in weight, whereas the hard woods
are higher in weight or weightier. Fire resistance: soft woods are poor whereas hard woods
give a better resistance. The medullary rays are not so distinctly seen in case of conifers,
whereas they are distinct in case of hard wood. Sources I have mentioned. Strength: strong
for direct pull and weak for resisting thrust or shear in the case of soft woods whereas hard
woods are very good for both tension, compression, shear and any kind of engineering loads.
Structure wise soft wood is bit resinous and can split away. So it may split along its annual
ring whereas hard wood does not. That is why annual rings are distinct in case of soft wood,
whereas in case of hard wood they are not so distinct. So they are very similar kind. They
have gone through years and it has transformed whereas annual ring in case of soft wood are
distinct, and they split easily.

Now as we were talking of the heart wood and the sap wood, the sap wood is the outer part
where the wood formed is from the live xylem which is light in colour and as you had seen,
they are forming the outer part. The inner part forms the heart wood. So this portion is the

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heart wood whereas this portion is the sap wood. So age wise sap wood is young whereas
heart wood is old and because it is old, it accumulates lots of tannins, oils, which makes it
resistant to decay. It makes it resistant towards attacks of termites, insects, and groats. They
are strong and durable. So which one should we prefer? The old matured portion which is
called the hard wood. Sap wood is also good but they are subject to decay.

Now when we get some wood, what should we do? We see a number of trees and anyone is
suitable for our purpose? No, you have to cut those trees which are rightly matured. So age of
the tree is very important and this process is called felling of tree. If you have a plant
plantation where from you will take wood, thenyou know the right age, you know the variety
of plant and you know the climatic condition. So based on that you make it convenient to cut
when it is a dry season, when the sap movement is not happening and the age is just
appropriate to get the wood out of it. After you get such trees, you need to season it as we had
done for stone. Seasoning is the process of keeping it exposed to the natural conditions such
that it can get acquainted to that particular condition.

Reducing the moisture content of the sap from the tree which was a live one to the average
humidity of that particular region is the primary purpose of seasoning. What will this lead to?
This will lead to less of shrinkage or expansion due to changing humidity or changing
weather condition and this will lead to less of warping. Warping term I have already
discussed when we were studying bricks. So change of dimension leading to convex or
convex or concave surfaces will not occur. The log which is straight would not warp or bent
unevenly or it may not have uneven expansion. It remains straight and rigid to its form.
Seasoning also increases the strength, durability and workability. What does workability
mean? Workability means cutting of log. You can work on it if it does not have more of sap
in it. It also reduces splitting off.

Splitting against the annual ring is a very common phenomenon if it is not properly seasoned.
Attack by decaying items that is the termites, insects, microbes, bacterial growth, algae,

80
fungi, moss growing on it, gets lessened and you can make it suitable for putting or applying
paint. Through seasoning you also control or reduce the weight of the mass.

After the process of seasoning, we need to convert it to timber. So the wood, which we had
obtained after felling of tree and after seasoning, we convert it to usable form and suitable
sections for use. Suitable section is not as per I desire or you desire. It is to be found out
which portion is really usable. After identifying you have to use machines because such huge
logs cannot be worked by one or two persons or human labour.

So you have to use machines to split it into two halves or into four halves or tangentially.
There are various methods of conversion, which we will try to cover in our next lesson. After
converting, we need to know how to preserve the timber because preservation of timber
increases its life. It makes it durable. Some preservation techniques may be external, painting
is also a preservation technique. Sometimes preservation may be required to be done from
inside also. So the preservation process protects this natural resource from attacks of fungi,
insect, microbes, termites, etc. Yes, the term preservation refers to when it is put to use. So
once it is put to use, we need to preserve that timber and increase the life of the member so
that we do not end up destroying it by external agencies like fungi, insect etc. So we may
conclude stating that wood is a naturally occurring product obtained from tree trunks. It can
take both tension as well as compression because it is made of the xylems, the continuous
fibrous carriers of water and minerals of a live tree. These bundles of fibres act together and
help in taking both compression and tension.

It has to be procured and processed to make it usable as a building material. It is similar to

stone. You have to procure it, process it and then cut it into its proper sizes so that it can be
used as a building material and you have to be very careful that being an organic product,
being a naturally occurring product, it is liable to decay due to attack of insects and termites,
which is very common and needs treatment. We use naturally occurring material as a
building material with caution that it needs to be treated, it needs to be seasoned, it needs to
be procured properly from the right mature tree and we can actually use it for our building
purposes. At the same time, I would also say here that we have alternative materials made
from the wood industry, which also replace wood, which we already talked about: engineered
wood.

Again, we are bringing in bamboo for some sustainable structures, built forms and that is also
being practiced. We will try to highlight those also in other lectures of this particular module.

81
 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 07

Wood: Procurement details, Properties, Classification

In the previous lecture, we had started module 2, which is on wood, engineered wood and
bamboo. So in the first lecture we had started with wood and we had gone for the
classification and how do we get wood, what are the stages of getting it from the tree and
finally to how we use it for our purpose. Here we will go into further details and this time we
will study procurement details, properties of wood and the classification. We will study
different types of commercially classified timbers and not just the types of trees.

We will try to cover types of seasoning as we know that seasoning is required because wood
is a natural material and it get weathered; it has to be kept exposed to the weather. So we will
look into the different types of seasoning. Then after getting seasoned wood, we need to
know how to convert it to usable form. We will look into different ways of preservation as
wood is an organic material mostly comprising of cellulose which is attacked by termites,
white ants and various other organic growths. Then we will go into the properties of wood
and the commercial classification of wood and then move to lecture 3.

Let us see the types of seasoning. Seasoning is a long process in which the natural material is
kept exposed for a considerable period of time. This we had also seen in our first module
when we covered stone. So here it actually reduces the moisture content because the tree
trunk is full of sap and it contains a majority of water. So it needs to be brought down to
around 12 to 15% and make it to usable form. It is a slow gradual process because it is
naturally happening. Free air needs to circulate all around. So the entire assembly of logs has
to be kept apart from the soil- say around one feet above and the logs are arranged in
perpendicular direction.

So every layer in perpendicular direction is kept apart at a distance so that free air can
circulate and it is allowed to stay in natural weather. So for sap wood or soft wood you will
see it takes two to three months of time, but for hard wood it takes 12 months of time. So this
is a simple way, cheap way, but a slow way. In this process, the outer part may get more
seasoned, whereas the inner part may be full of sap or the moisture content so one has to be
very careful when they are handling. When the wood is worked on, that is when any kind of
sawing is done it would be understood if it is rich in moisture content. So seasoning is
necessary and it can be found out whether it is rightly done or not.

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Next we come to artificial seasoning. This is a controlled method and there are a series of
methods, which you can see on the slide. It prevents attacks of organisms. In the natural
process when it is lying for 10 to 12 months, then some kind of organic growth may happen
which you cannot solve because there may be rainy season in between. In this particular
artificial seasoning it is a controlled environment and are not allowing the organism to grow.
It is much quicker, less time intensive and wood may lose strength in that case. When it was
happening naturally, the fibres were releasing the water in a very gradual way. The fibres
were not getting affected but here as the water is drawn out artificially or the moisture is
drawn out artificially, it may affect the durability, it may lead to cracking and it may lead to
warping. Again the word warping comes. If you remember during brick lecture we used the
word warping. That means deformation. So the wood may warp or get deformed. That can
happen when it is artificial seasoning. Under this you see there are water seasoning, boiling
or steam spray, kiln seasoning, chemical or salt seasoning and electrical seasoning.

You can see in the brackets the time periods are also given where water seasoning takes three
to four weeks. Here the wood logs are allowed to stay in water and gradually the sap
containing the minerals come out and is replaced by natural water. So the sap which has
maximum organic items gets diffused to normal stagnant water where the log is kept. And
then again you have to take it out and leave it to dry whereas the boiling or steam spray is a
very quick and effective way where you need to allow the logs in boiling water and the
boiling water moves through the grains or the fibers and the sap is replaced by the water.

This is again an expensive process because the sizes of logs of trees are few feet long-even
one to two feet wide and then you are allowing it to boil in boiling water. So the volume of
water required to boil etc, is more and you need lot of energy in it. Maybe you will get the
work done in four to five hours. Next is the kiln seasoning.

Here actually you can control the temperature, you can control the humidity and you can
control the air circulation. So in the kiln these logs are arranged, organized and then it is
control drying. Everything can be controlled and there is no external water. What you saw in

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the other two processes, water seasoning and boiling seasoning, boiling or steam spray, there
you are actually allowing water to replace the sap.

But in kiln seasoning the water is being extracted out. This has to be done for specified time.
So depending on the type of wood, whether it is hard wood or sap wood, whether it is soft
wood or hard wood, you have to control. Next, it is chemical or salt seasoning where low
vapour pressure salt solution absorbs water or the moisture from the tree trunks logs. This
helps in the process of seasoning as low vapour pressure replaces moisture and allows
moisture to come out. The last is electrical seasoning. Wood being a bad conductor resists the
flow of current. Sap wood contains more of moisture and hard wood is dense. When there is
charge flowing through it, they want to resist the current to flow which generates heat inside.
This heat actually helps in the drying process and there you get the dry or seasoned timber.
You may note that many a times I am telling wood, many a times I am telling timber. So
timber and wood you can use simultaneously.

They have the same meaning particularly to this particular course, particularly to our trade.
So what do you understand by natural seasoning and artificial seasoning. Natural seasoning is
a slow process, cheap process and simple process. Artificial seasoning needs intervention
through water, through chemicals, through heat, through electricity and lesser amount of time
gets involved. You get it faster, but yes at the cost of strength and durability of the wood.

We come to the next item. Once the seasoning is done, you need to convert timber or wood.
Now what is conversion? You cannot handle such big logs. Those are not allowed to be used
directly because those sizes and dimensions do not match with furniture or door window
sections, support sections. So you need to convert it to sizes appropriate to your use. You
have to take out the ready wood from this so that it is marketable. This point of conversion
was discussed when we discussed the points. Now you see the first picture which is ordinary
sawing, which is a schematic section where you see the cuts are directly made tangential to
the annual rings. So what is happening?

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You are getting timber with varying wood quality from inside to outside and if there is any
defect inside, all are coming in that section. But what is the beauty of it? It leads to minimum
loss of wood. So you will get wood as a mixture of heart wood and sap wood and thus, it will
have different moisture content. When the moisture content is different, it may have unequal
expansion and contraction and against the annual rings if you are having any pressure applied
here, eg: if you are nailing at this point, it may split. So you have to remember that you are
achieving almost hundred percent wood, by just taking off the barks etc., it will lead to the
central pith or the dry dead part and will lead to some eventually 10% loss, but it is not good
for high quality wood work.

You can get a good amount of wood. So let us look into the next process that is the tangential
sawing. Here you are following the tangent but you are trying to get a little more of similar
quality wood. You are cutting almost at 90 degree and getting usable slices. So you can use
this similar kind of wood from one cross-section between two tangents.

You can get this kind of wood. They will be very much similar and you will have only one or
two annual rings passing through it. Yes, that may have some warpage. It may move and
expansion may be differential but you will get better than what you are getting through
ordinary sawing. So this again is a mechanized process.

The upper one is also a mechanized process because it is not humanly possible but a skill is
required. Here it was allowing the blade to pass through and through. Here you have to pass it
after understanding where the annual rings are passing through. So you will get more or less
same type of wood. Majority of the portion will be same type of wood. Say if this is one this
is one section, you will get majority of similar kind of wood and you can use it for better
cause but remember in both the cases you are not getting rid of any defect which may be
inside the timber or the wood. Let us see what happens next. In quarter sawing, you are
dividing the entire log into four parts and then you are cutting at right angles to right angles
and getting the pieces. This can be done for wood which has no distinct medullary rays that is
mostly for soft wood. That is pine, where no distinct medullary rays and timber may bend in
transverse direction. Longitudinal means when you are cutting it is the longitudinal direction,
the way it is cut. Transverse direction is it may bend on the bed side; it may bend because you
are having mix of different levels of wood.

Next is radial sawing. This is considered to be the giving you the best kind of wood. Now
why? Because you are moving radially and you are getting pieces which you can actually
take it out in this way. So you can get more or less similar quality wood. You can take out
another piece from here like this. You may avoid some defect which may happen. You can
take a big piece and then convert it into your usable pieces. You can avoid, say some defect is
here, you can take this portion and again take this portion separately. What is happening
eventually, you may lead to losses, but you will get good quality timber separated out. So
here you will get similar kind of wood like what you get in ordinary sawing where you are
using up the entire of it, but here you are making it as per your wish by sorting it, finding the
defects and using that particular portion. Yes, you can do that with ordinary sawing also and

85
here you get minimum distortion. You can create; get decorative faces, because you get the
grains passing through it, which can be seen properly.

This has the maximum loss and you can avoid the medullary rays. So the cuts are actually
radial and you can follow the medullary rays to avoid the cracks or those lines which are due
to the formation of those medullary rays, where the things are weak. Now let us move to the
preservation of the timber. Why preservation? As wood is a natural material, we have to
avoid growths. Its capability of drawing moisture or with dampness it may lead to growths
and also to make more resistant to fire as you know wood is flammable. So what are the
different types of preservatives? Chemical salts can preserve. By putting a layer of protective
chemical salts, you can preserve timber.

If you use large, long sections, you can paint it with coal tar. When it is embedded below the
ground, you cannot access that portion and that portion continuously faces groundwater and
also the microbes within the soil. That can be prevented by the impervious layer of tar.
Creosote oil- that is by oil treatment you can preserve timber, mainly to avoid attacks of
termite. You can also impregnate or push in or inject in some oils to give preservation from
inside because timber can have growths externally. Being natural, it may have entrapped
organisms inside which may lead to attacks from inside. To prevent that you can actually use,
apply pressure and inject certain oils. You can also apply paints to preserve it from termite
attacks and moisture decays.

How are the applications made? Obviously painting is one. So you can paint with help of a
brush. You can spray as an arsenic, copper and arsenic, copper and potassium dichromate
mixture which is called AsCu which is hydrated that is mixed with water and is sprayed on
top of the wood surface. So this also prevents the growth of termites and protects it from
white ants and microbes and helps in preservation of timber.

Spraying is another way. Dipping in solution or in a way applying on top of it is another way
where you can dip the entire timber pieces that is the converted timber into solutions. So this
is a better way, why because during through brushing or through spraying some portions may
not be covered. There may be some loose, some non-covered areas, which you do not
experience when you are dipping entirely in the solution and injecting what I told you like
pressure difference applying through vacuum process, you can inject the oils into the timber
so that to avoid any internal defects, internal rots. After converting wood into usable form,
you can use it for your purpose. It may be a structural purpose, it may be making furniture, it
may be making a table-top or it may be for making a partition wall. When you are putting
you have to know what the properties are. You can use it for making a truss, wooden truss.

As you have been told wood acts in compression as well as tension, you can understand.
After the physical properties come the mechanical properties. Under the physical properties
you all know that wood is dark brown or light brown in colour we have seen some pictures of
it earlier. It is mainly made of cellulose and it is the texture along the grain direction, which
gives it a unique look and this texture actually makes it more appealing. If you preserve it by

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coating it, hiding the texture, you may lose its value. Density of wood is around 0.6, it always
floats in water and it is actually the bulk density with pores it .Shrinkage and swelling: Yes, it
shrinks and swells by absorbing moisture or giving out moisture and it may be in the
volumetric direction or it may be in the linear direction.

When it is in the linear direction, it is much lesser in percentage but tangentially it is the
highest. So by volume it increases maximum. Timber is very less heat conductive and very
good resistant to heat and has a very low conductivity value of 0.1213, which is almost one-
seventh or one-eighth of a brick but it conducts sound.

It is affected by acids but not much by alkalis. These are chemical properties. Now we come
to the mechanical property because we use wood as a structural member also. As I told you
earlier, truss is one such. In wooden furniture, you actually putt compressive load or you
subject it to tension. When it is parallel to the grain that is along the xylems, the phloems and
the xylems it takes maximum tension of 80 to 190 Newton per centimeter square. In
compression in the axial direction it is 30 to 77 Newton per square millimeter. In the bracket
it is written with 15% moisture content so we always consider this moisture content as 15%
given.

Defects of timber: Moisture reduces the strength particularly on the tension member. We
have to be very careful when we are using wood as a tension member in truss, in form of
beams, some member spans to ends. You have to remember minimum defect is the better.
Wood is not good at shearing strength at the edges, the values are given.

When you are using wood for flooring, nowhere when you are using as wood panels on walls
they are subjected to loads, toughness is important. Wood splits as I already told in the ways
of conversion, if you are hitting a nail on annual rings, those positions, cleavability takes
place. Ease of splitting is more at those points. It should be looked into that we are putting the

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nail in the right portion, which is the carpenter’s job. When we will discuss joinery in the
next lecture we will look into it again.

Now we come to the simple commercial classification of timber where we see based on
produce in our country, given by the forest department, we say X grade timber which is most
commonly available. Produce is more than 1415 cubic meter. These are not very recent
figures. It may have changed. But yes it is based on some figure based on the produce. Y
grades are common, which is of the mid order produce and Z grade is less common, not much
yield. Based on durability you see highly durable timber that means it is measured through
time, 120 months that is 10 years. Modern moderate durable, you see 5 years to 10 years, 60
to 120 months and low durable is less than 60 months. So it will rot or decay within 5 years.

Another classification is based on the modulus of modulus of elasticity. That is Group A that
is the best quality, Group B and Group C. You see, these are the modulus of elasticity in
bending that is the maximum it can take is 12.5 Newton per square millimeter. That is for A
group and for C group it is within 5 to 10 Newton per square millimeter. So these are the
commercial classifications.

Now we can actually summarize telling seasoning makes wood more durable and workable.
Proper conversion methods are to be adopted to get quality timber. One can understand on
seeing the cross-section, how the conversion had been done. Based on this conversion the
price tag is also given. Once usable wood is obtained, it needs preservation by practiced
methods, which we have already elaborated and appropriate use to be made considering the
properties and its availability. Availability means the growth or how much it is available.
Availability affects the cost and the conversion method also affects the cost.

By seeing the cross section you can understand or an experienced eye can understand what
kind of conversion has been done and based on the availability in the market, the price is
fixed. Here I again mention, wood is purchased in cubic meters or cubic feet. We get the
price according to one cubic feet of wood and then we need to convert it to our necessary
items that require the specialty or the workmanship, which we call carpentry.

Next lecture will be mostly on wood joineries which we require after giving a brief on the
defects which one may come across while obtaining timber and how we can rectify it.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture No. #08

Defects of Wood and Wood Joinery

Welcome to lecture 3 of Module 2. This time we are going to cover the defects of wood and
wood joinery. In previous lectures we have understood wood and how to get it from tree.
After getting it, we need to use it for our purpose. As a building material we need to know
how to use wood but prior to knowing that, we need to know the defects that can happen or
that can appear in these wood or timber, which we get for this purpose. Apart from knowing
these defects, we will also know the different types of joints and I will give you a brief
introduction of engineered wood. Through conversion we have come for the different types
of wood and during conversion, if you are careful of the defects, if you can avoid the defects,
then you will get good quality wood.

Procuring wood of good quality needs to be done after identifying the defects. We as
architects need to know when we look for good wood, we should be able to understand if that
wood contains any defect or not, because we may recommend it for some structural purpose
or it may be framing a window or a door or a wooden truss. We must know how to identify
the defects. Let us come to that.

First defect is shake. Different kinds of cracks that develop due to loss of moisture and the
oily substances, which are natural and are naturally produced inside the timber gets lost due
to maturity or over maturity. Such defects should be avoided when we are converting wood.
As we have talked of different types of conversion, in some cases, we may be able to avoid
such and in some cases we keep the defects along with it and we get inferior strength of the
wood. There are different types of shakes: Heart shake, star shake, radial shake, cup shake,
and upset shake. Let me try to show you few shakes.

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When the shake within the cross-section starts from the center or the pith and propagates
outward, these are fine cracks and are due to loss of adherence of one layer to the other and is
called heart shake. It evolves from the heart wood and moves outside. Similarly, Star shakes
form the same way when it is coming from outside to inside. This may be because of loss of
moisture from the outside surface. So the cracks are from the outside and moving inward.
Then you may find radial shakes where along the annual ring you will find cracks generating
radially outward.

For all these cases, if you go for radial conversion you can maximize your good quality wood
collect. Cup shake is happening in between layers. If you have annual rings you may have
splits in between two annular annual rings. So you will have multiple such and during the
process of conversion, you have to avoid such areas. These are weak areas these are having
loss of adherence of one layer with other. Certain shakes happen due to injury. Say you cut
down a portion of a branch. What will happen, the fibers will try to bend and move out to
grow. Gradually what will happen? This portion from where some cutting had been done
there all the fibers have twisted.

This may happen due to cutting of the branch. Also this may happen when a particular branch
or a particular trunk is subjected to wind. Continuously there is a lateral force which is
allowing it to bend in one particular direction. This gives rise to twisted shakes, so you can
get the fibers twisted. What will happen? The strength will get lost and you cannot saw it,
cutting will be very difficult.

Any ruptured part may lead to ruptured fibers which itself finds direction for growth or it is
due to a continuous wind or continuous force in one particular direction, allowing the group
of fibers, which are the xylems, the carriers of the water and the salt, to move with time in
one particular direction. It has created the fibers in a different direction and are no longer
perpendicular to the rest of the fibers. These areas become weak portions and these all are
together called shakes. Shakes can occur because of loss of adherence or because of injury or
because of continuous force of storm or wind in a particular direction, and the behaviour of
the fibers or the pattern of the fibers get deformed. After this, we come to some more defects:
knots and ring galls, twisted fiber and wind cracks.

Knots are the areas from where the branch has been chopped off. The fibers have moved and
some fibers have cut. Again a set of fiber has grown beyond it, so that portion may not have
bent but have got cut and there weakening has happened. Ring galls are formed after cutting
such kind of branches or the branch has failed because of wind. There a lump kind of growth
happens.

You can see, on a particular portion of a tree, there is a big growth or mass. These also try to
disturb the fiber movement and that actually weakens this portion. So this ring galls, knots
can be very well identified. Sometimes the cells get dead prior to maturity of the tree. These
portions are weak portions.

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The basic message is: in a branch of a piece of log, you can identify these by looking into it.
You may find in a piece of wood, a knot and the fibers moving just like this. So you can see a
dark patch here, which is the dead cell. By looking at the grain structure and the pattern, you
can identify whether there was a knot, which is a dead part and that is the portion which
needs to be avoided when we are proposing the use of this particular timber for a structural
member.

Twisted fiber is a kind of shake because of twisting it is called twisted fiber. Wind cracks
happen due to wind in particular direction of a tree trunk which may get multiple cracks,
dried up. Again weakening in strength particularly the tensile strength is noted. There are
another two types of defect.

Those are called rots. One is dry rot, the other is wet rot. When the decomposition of the
wood brings in, on touching, it breaks and becomes a brown powder. This is not due to age of
the tree, but due to fungal attack and this usually happens inside. Wet rot is happens mostly
on the outside surface due to wet condition.

Damp and humidity helps in the formation of fungal growths and leads to rotten portions on
the tree surface. These are called wet rots. Once you understand this, whenever you see a
timber piece, from the grain alignment you can understand what the cross-section was like
and what kind of conversion has happened. From the features on top of the grain side you can
understand what kind of rots, what kind of shakes and what kind of knots are visible and this
can give you a clue on the quality of the wood. When we need wood for building purpose, we
may require 2 feet length or we can require 12 feet length. When it is subjected to tension or
axial load, we may have a roof truss, it may have wooden members as long as 14 feet or 15
feet.

If we need a chair where I need to sit, it has to take one human load with its 1 feet or 1.5 feet
height foot, the support. So it has to experience compression. These small pieces need to get
assembled to form a chair. At the same time, you can get small pieces for the chair by cutting.

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But if you need a 12 feet member, you may not get in a continuous length of wood, you need
to join it. Now how to join with minimum loss of strength because weak portions are to be
taken out? So you may eventually need two or three joints to make a long piece.

This brings in the process of joinery, which is woodworking that involves joining together
pieces of wood or similar kind means wood or wood equivalent to produce more complex
items. If you can get one long piece you are very fortunate but usually you cannot get such
long pieces. Now you have to join two pieces together maybe in right angle or maybe in an
oblique direction. You may require joining two pieces or two members in right angle. As
seen in the diagram, in case of a chair, you may have framing in such a way so you have
these as taking the load in the tension, these as taking the load in the compression. So this
forms the main structure. Similarly, you may have a wooden truss to be made, where you
may need to make supports in oblique direction.

Here you need to have joints with one member and the other in oblique direction. You may
further strengthen the joint by use of adhesives, fasteners, binders, nuts and bolts. You can
loosen it and take it out and you can refix it. If you eventually have a rotten wooden member,
you can replace it. This joinery has a beautiful way of adding wood one after the other to
make a complex item of it and you can replace individual members if required.

You have to remember some points when you are doing wood joinery. You remember the
xylems and phloems flowing. Whichever direction they are in, the vertical or in the horizontal
when it is tension member they should be in the horizontal horizontal direction. Whenever
they are subjected to compression, the xylems and phloems should be in the vertical
direction.

They ensure the strength of the member. Some joinery may be helped to lengthen members,
some may be required to widen members and some joinery may be for bearing loads. What
do I mean by widening? When you need a table top, you are adding one member with the
other in such a way that it gradually forms a surface which can become a table top.
Lengthening member is required when you have a beam. A small piece is joined together to
get a big beam, spanning between two ends, maybe walls or maybe two other wooden
members, which is where you need lengthening and load bearing is when you are subjecting
it to load. So let us move to the lengthening joints.

To extend members to desired length like beams, truss members, lap joint is the simplest
one. So a portion of one member is taken out and on top of it the other member is sitting as
you can see in this drawing here. To maintain the thickness continuity half of one member
has been taken out and half of other member has been taken out and in the opposite direction
they are placed to form together one member. Now who is holding it? Either you have to put
a nut or bolt or you have to strap it by a metal plate. Otherwise they can separate out. See the
little more complex picture where a beveled cut has been given. So it is a little more slanting.
Here the grip is further better, but even they can move apart.

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Look at the third one which is the tabled joint where you see they can move out but they are
sitting holding each other. Here you may not strap it or you may not nail it. It will remain in
its position but even then you need to strengthen it or to strap it. This is called tabled joint.

They can take both tension as well as compression and they help in joining. You may require
crossing one member because it is long as you can see in the picture. Here these are not
sitting on it, but they are going to get inserted inside it to a small length. Whatever will be the
requirement, based on that you can have cross half lap joint. You can see this detail here.

Let us move to widening joints. You need to make flooring. You all have drawing boards. If
you see the edge you will see planks joined one after the other. Butt joint is the simplest
where no cutting is involved. One sits beside other and they may be held just by nailing. This
can happen only when the surface is supported by some supporting member at the edge.

If you have a support here and here you can keep on placing members one after the other if
you have another support here and here. You can place wooden pieces or planks one after the
other and you can create a surface or you can widen the joint. So there is no basic joinery
involved here. This can happen when you have a connector to a river bridge.

Planks are supported on steel members one after the other inside a groove. So they will move
out and it creates a surface for people to walk. Let us see another kind of butt joint which is
called biscuit joint. In this, two members are placed side by side but in each of them grooves
are made and is connected by a supporting wooden piece which holds the two pieces together
in position.

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They reinforce the joint. This is called biscuit joint and it adds strength to the joint. They
usually do not slide and you cannot separate them. Adhesives may be applied to further fix it
in position. In tongue and groove joint, as you can see in your drawing boards, if you look at
the cross-section of the drawing board, you may see something like this. This projection
continues to form the board and the projection is called the tongue and this is the groove
inside which one gets into the other and forms a uniform flat surface that are called widening
joint. So you get a continuous surface by putting one after the other through tongue and
groove joint.

Now we come to some more joints, which is mitred butt joint which is a bevel joint, half lap
joint. Depending on the structural system the angle of the joints may be oblique. They may be
at 45 degrees. Nuts, bolts, straps, mechanical fasteners, adhesives are added to strengthen
joints. Let us see some more type of joint that is the bearing joint.

In bearing joint we have we try to minimize the loss of strength. So they are usually provided
at junctions mostly at right angles and are capable of taking load. Tenon and mortise joint is
one such. Dovetail is another joint. Housing one inside the other is called housed joint. So

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one member may be very heavy and a new member sits inside. That is called housed joint.
Another types of joint are birdmouth joint, notched joint and half joint.There are several, but
what is to be put in mind is that in bearing joints the weakening of the joint cannot be
allowed. So let us see some bearing joints. In tenon and mortise joint, the tenon is a
projection, whereas mortise is a chase. Chase means a cutout. And if you see this picture, you
can see that one-third of it has been retained on this site, and one-third of it has been used for
the chase.

So this tenon is similarly made with the extra piece of wood and that can go and sit together
to form the tenon-mortise joint. Now this can happen in right angles as you can see. This is a
kind of open mortise tenon joint. This is corner joint but the principle remains the same. It is
open tenon and mortise joint.

Now we see dovetail joint. Here instead of the tenon, which was uniform or perpendicular in
the edges, here you see the projection has fanned out. It has come out like this- splayed.
Similarly the receiving part has also got splayed to receive the tenon, the projection. So this
mortise is made wider to form the form a tail like projection and hence it is called dovetail.
This joint is more rigid considering tenon and mortise. In tenon and mortise you can pull it
out, but in dovetail you cannot pull it out because it is wider at the end and smaller at the
point from which it has to come out. So you have to entirely open the assemblies to get it out.

In housed joint, one portion is a structural member, so if I draw it like this, say this is a
member cross-section which is quite heavy piece will have the notch or the groove which will
go inside up to a given distance and the member which will come out of it will totally be
housed inside it. This member is no way getting weak and this member actually sits inside
this groove. So what has eventually happened? This member is not having any weakened
point. So in that case, this member has to be sufficiently deep and wide. This is called housed
joint.

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There are some more joints, which you can use for wood as well as I told you wood like. We
will come to engineered wood just after this lecture. We see box joints or finger joints. You
see so many projections are there and these projections have just complimentary receiving
members and grooves. When they are set together, it forms a joint. So this is the simplest box
joint and then again you can have dovetail on it. So corresponding cuts to be made.

These can be nowadays machine made. You see here the joint has formed. Similarly, you can
see half-blind dovetail, a portion of it has been retained to give a neat finish to the outside
surface. So this surface you see there is no joint but at the same time it is supporting
something. So that means you can actually make beautiful finishes, neat finishes without
showing the joint you can even create such kind of joinery. These are called half-blind
dovetail joints.

Again as the biscuit joint you had seen you can also use dowels in which part of it will go in
one member and part of it will go and sit into the other member. So these dowels can
strengthen the entire joint. Whatever the kind of joint it is, you can insert dowels and actually
make it a very strong joint. So these dowels can even be metal.

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So how can we conclude the chapter of wood? Wood is obtained from naturally growing
trees and may have defects due to various causes. Defects are to be avoided before putting it
to use. Joinery helps in connecting two or more members and creating a usable item. It should
be remembered that joints should be made along the fiber and not across the fiber. Before
moving to the next lecture I would like to summarize that wood is a naturally occurring
material. We can use wood, but at the same time, we also need to look into what are the
alternatives or engineered wood, which we can use from wood and what are the good points
of it in place of using wood. As you understood that during the process of conversion, there
are losses up to 40% of wood.

What happens to that unused wood? Does it go waste? Does it get burnt and become fuel?
Can we not use it for our purpose? What happens if the defects can be avoided by
engineering the wood? So in next lecture we will go for engineered wood and we will try to
see how the defects or the problems which we have encountered in using wood have been
taken care and we will see that nowadays we are using more of engineered wood rather than
wood. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture No. #09

Engineered Wood

Welcome everyone for the lecture 4 of Module 2, which is on engineered wood. As I had
closed my previous lecture telling that wood is a very important building material, which has
been used since so many years, but people have not stopped researching on how to use the
wood in further better way and even use the wastes or the remnants which are coming out
from the wood industry.

First we will have a discussion on what is engineered wood and the different types of
engineered wood, making of it, using it, advantages and its disadvantages. So what
engineered wood is, it is made by human beings and it is not only wood, but it is a wood
composite. It is made with help of adhesives and we use up the waste, which is generated
after getting usable timber. As you had gone through the process of conversion you learnt that
a lot of wood goes waste. At the same time, wood has to be joined to make it a total big
surface. So wood is very good when it is in cross sections and you are using for support.

When you need to cover long spaces, to make flooring there you understand that you have to
go for joinery, and then only you can use it. If we can convert wood, we can use it in a much
better way as a spreading element. So let us see the first one which we will discuss is
plywood, which is not a by-product but a converted wood. Others what you see is laminated
board, block board and batten board which are made from the remnants of the wood industry.

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On the other hand, you see, we have another set which are the boards. We see particle board
which also is called as low density fiber board of which again we have oriented strand board
which also is a kind of particle board. We have medium density fiber board and we have high
density fiber board. So you can see the pictures maybe you have seen these applications in
furniture. So let us come to what is plywood. We talk of plywood every now and then and let
us see what it is made of. So you all have used a pencil and a sharpener. So let us see if a big
log of wood can be pushed in and rotated against a blade. What you do in case of a sharpener.
You can get thin sheets of wood or the lamina. So you can split the wood into a lamina. What
advantage happens here?

You are taking it out and the grains are all in the in this direction in this direction. Now if you
take another lamina of the same wood and place it in the cross direction, then one layer of
fiber moves in this direction the other layer moves in the opposite direction. So then it
strengthens, Just think of the clothe you are wearing, the fabric. It is a mesh. So here you
cannot do that. So you are placing one layer on top of the other with the grain direction
perpendicular to each other. So two adjacent sides are placed, such that the grains are in the
perpendicular direction and that gives strength. You are not weaving it, but you are joining it.
So you are using adhesives in between. So the quality of adhesive is also very important.

When you keep on doing this you will go to more thicknesses as you can see in this picture.
So you can see the different layers, one joined after the other and if you can see, when there
are only three layers, as you can see in the picture, you can differentiate this is the first layer,
in between there is a sandwiched layer and then is the next layer. So it is all made and
combined with adhesive and when you see these three such layers, you call it a ply.

So only one layer like this, we call it a veneer. And when three such combines, we call it a
ply. How thick you can go. 13 plies are the maximum and that will achieve you a thickness of
one inch or 25 millimetres almost. So you can get ply boards of different dimension and what
is happening here. Here you are getting more strength. It would not bend in this direction;
neither would it bend in this direction. So it is much stronger than wood. You can apply any

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kind of load on it. Let us come to the salient points. How do we prepare it? We have the log
as you saw the pencil, there is a blade through which the wood has to be rotated, as the wood
was dry, we could do this with a pencil because it is soft. In this case, we have to again wet
the log by putting passing steam through it and make it pliable.

So the blade when it rotates, it should be little soft it should have little more of moisture. So
you are again putting it putting moisture into it and then you are rotating in a veneer cutter.
So the entire log is put in a veneer cutter. So now you understand you can get long sheets that
gives a dimension almost up to 8 feet. That was not achieved with wood unless and until you
could join them. So if you have the width of the blade known and you can around 8 feet long.
So it is usually coming in sheet form of 8 feet by 4 feet. Now when the thing comes out, you
need to trim it. The edges are to be trimmed then they are to be placed for drying. Sun drying
is possible if there is abundance of land, otherwise you can go for controlled drying and it is
desired that the moisture should go down to 4 to 10%.

Next you are to glue each of the veneer with application of adhesive in between. So once you
are gluing one over the other, this crisscross of the fibers or the grains happen which gives it
more strength. What more happens there? Say there was a rotten part in the wood log. So this
would log is being converted. So say there was a rotten part in the wood log. So this will
come somewhere here. The next sheet when you are overlaying on top of it that rotten portion
will shift somewhere here. So when you are placing this on top of that your weaker portion
comes here. So when this happens, the weak part gets spreaded in layers.

So that is again another advantage of using plywood. So you are spreading the knots on
different sides. So maybe the next layer which comes you can just orientate it little different,
this knot which was supposed to come here if in the same orientation could go here. So you
are spreading the defect within the surfaces and that reduces its weakness. So at single point
when the timber was not good at this part you have utilized it in this way.

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So let us come back. So this while you are orienting during gluing this has to be kept in mind
and then after it is done with the specific number of plies you require you can go for redrying
after subjecting the entire thing under pressure, you are going for the redrying. That is, it will
set, the adhesive will allow the plies to get together and the strength will be gained. And
finally it is cutting the board in, chipping out the board uniformly in all directions. So finish
should be neat because it should be marketable. So this is how we make plywood and get the
advantage of it that you need not go for detailed joinery, rather you can use it in a different
way as a covering material. You can use it as a partition wall. You can use it for furniture.
You can cover the top surface with a nice finish.

You can have a finish similar to that of good quality wood and no one can understand what is
inside it unless it is moistened and the adhesives get loose. So that has to be remembered that
adhesive should be proper. It should not absorb moisture. Once it absorbs moisture, these
plies these veneers will just come off. So that will lead to the decay of the item. So usually
the top covering is made of a better sheet.

That is called the face veneer. Even by orienting it in different ways, you can create some star
patterns, some diagonal pattern and those will all be giving you some aesthetically pleasing
look. You can have a teak ply finish. So it is very difficult to understand exactly what is it
made of. Furniture, partition boards, office partitions, wall paneling, formwork for casting
concrete, seats for chairs, internal doors, all can be made with plywood.

Exterior grade plywood is also made of hardwood veneers and it should have waterproof
adhesive. Organic adhesives are not preferred, because wood itself is an organic item and
adding organic items to it organic adhesives to it, makes it more vulnerable to termites,
attacks of growths. Now how to allow the edges to remain better? You can actually seal this
edge, what you see with the help of a lipping.

So once you finish this lipping with a good paint or a good varnish or a polish no one can
understand what it is. So the edges are protected so that they do not come out. Water cannot it

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cannot get affected by water and this is made of pure wood. So this is called a lipping which
closes or ends the edges. So you need to add it at the end to give a neat finish and also allow
this edge to be protected from moisture. Now let us again come back. We have summed up
the merits. Shrinkage and expansion is low due to this cross grain structure which I have
explained to you. It is stronger than wood in some cases. It does not split when you are
nailing, you have seen the property of cleavability. When you are putting a nail along the
annular ring, wood might split, but in case of plywood it would not.

Large sizes of wood panels are obtained, which is very difficult to get through proper joinery,
when you are using pure wood. Defects can be spread out as I have shown you. Thicker
plywoods can stand as a partition wall without any supporting framing also. So you if you use
internal partition walls you can directly go for thicker ply woods and you can allow it.

The greatest enemy is the moisture and low quality adhesive. Good quality adhesive and
proper lipping or sealing the edges would give a life of around 10 years of plywood which is
comparable with wood. Yes, interior uses are much preferred. You can even go for joinery in
case of plywood, which we had discussed while we covered wood.

Now let us move to boards. The first one you see here is the wood lamina. The thin pieces of
wood which comes out from the wood industry they are to be shaped in such form of 5 to 7
millimeter. So first you need to sort out what are the by-products from the wood industry. So
these are all coming out from the waste generated. So these are wood laminas. See the
dimension it is 5 to 7 millimeter thin. Now if you can have same thickness by cutting through
machine and keep on adding one after the other you can get a core of thin laminas of wood.
So every time it is joined by means of adhesive. So if the height is uniform that is the
thickness is uniform and this varies from 5 to 7 millimeter, you get an assembly of laminas,
which will similarly work like wood. But what are the good points here?

You are using up the waste generated and then you can cover it with the help of a ply on top
of it and on the bottom of it. So it becomes one whole. Unless and until you see the cross-

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section, you cannot make out what it is. Yes, it can be used for any kind of superior work.
Joinery can be done with it and this is laminated board.You can also have very thin laminas
added like this one after the other glued together, which will also give a wood like finish that
is called glulam. So glued lamina is called glulam. That also behaves similar to that of wood.
Now when this lamina size increases, let us go back to the slide, you see wood blocks 25 to
50 millimeter that is one to two inch.

You can assemble them one after the other and you can create cores. You can cover it with
ply on both sides and you can hide that how it is made. Yes, you can do go for any kind of
furniture work. The other one you can see wood battens. Here also as the pieces are big,
maybe only adhesive is not good, it cannot hold. So in that case, the joints are created that is
tongue and groove joint keeps on adding one after the other. So glulam, laminated board,
block board, batten board are the names and you see the grains of the lamination runs parallel
to the length. So you have to identify the pieces and orientation first. So sorting out and then
you create such boards which are equivalent to wood but you are using up the waste from
wood after doing some refinement of it.

Covering it with the veneer or the ply gives it a better look, gives it a uniform look and allows
the adhesive to be protected and the entire internal core to be protected from exposure to
moisture. These are all suitable for carpentry work also. Let us move to the next one which is
the MDF the particle boards which have majorly three classifications the light one, the
medium density one and the high density one. How do we attain it? We attain it again by use
of adhesive and application of pressure. So denser it is the name is changing. Low density
fiberboard, medium density fiberboard, high density fiberboard. What are these?

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Particles which are all leftovers which are after sawing the waste they are made into a pulp by
adding adhesive. Then they are subjected to pressure. In case of high density fiberboard you
have to also additionally put heat. So what you see in the first one in the pictures, you can see
the particles in the cross-section. Here also you can see the particles.That is why here you can
understand them because they have not gone compaction properly. The pieces are also bit
crude so they were not made finer. So the grains are visible, the particles are visible. This one
the third image is oriented strand board. See the orientation of the strands that is the long
pieces are oriented in one direction when they are being made and they are then pressed.

So these oriented strand board is a particular type of particle board where wood pieces or
straws or pieces are placed. Wood fibers are placed in a particular orientation. So low cost,
lightweight, insulation, all these are the key points to be remembered of these particle boards.
These are weak, not for structural purposes, but as a filler wall as a thermal insulator.

Because of the addition of adhesive, they have further improved thermal properties means
they give you thermal insulation. Sound insulators, you can use it but remember they absorb
moisture. You cannot apply screw because they would not hold it. The fibers are not there to
hold the screw rigidly. So they will loosen with little bit of push to the member. So usually
they are not giving rigid rigidness to the screwed items, nailed items. Let us see the medium
density fiberboard and high density fiber board. I have a sample here.

You can see the sample where you can see a little bit of the small fiber grains, but if you see
the cross section, you cannot see what you could see in the particle board from any direction.
But yes you can understand it is made of something together. So this is not like particle board
but much denser. So there is application of pressure in the whole thing to form this kind of
board.

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You can get big pieces, the edges are dressed. This can become a table top. This can become
a chair top. It can take load. It can become a partition wall. All interior purposes you can use
it because of its high density, it can hold screw, but screws are specially made for it-
remember that. Not the normal screw which we use for wood where the screw actually the
fiber actually winds into the screw and gives it the hold.

Here actually you are not doing that. So there special screws for MDF and HDF boards. For
the high density fiber board which are also called as masonite you also need to add heat when
you are making it. So that makes it more compact and the name just changes from medium
density to high density. So it is the same material and these fibers are also cut down into
smaller smaller pieces. So minimize the gaps. You can protect the edges by lipping to avoid it
from moisture. So moisture is the enemy because these are all wood items. Termites are the

105
enemy but yes, you can do a lot of coverage with such kind of material. So here are the uses
and the disadvantages.

With this we conclude by saying that engineered wood is obtained from natural wood and
the defects can be reduced. Large continuous surfaces can be made without use of joinery. So
it is more and more being used. It is stable because plywood has grains in both the directions.
So they do not bend. There is minimum of warping. There is role of adhesive in the strength
of the item. Usually it is almost at par with wood so far as strength is concerned. Joinery can
be done for most of the cases. It is preferred to be used for internal uses. Cores when made of
laminas, cores made of block boards, batten boards can go for doors. All internal doors can
be made and we have to look into water absorption, how to check it by use of lipping.

So that gives an end to this engineered wood lecture. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture No. #10

Bamboo

So welcome everyone. We are in the last lecture of module 2. So we started with wood. In the
previous lecture we tried to understand engineered wood. So these are all being used, readily
available in the market and they are all acknowledged by our codes, standards. So all
plywood what we discussed, MDF boards what we discussed have an ISI stamp. Wood also,
particular types of wood have their stamps. They are recognized by Government of India.
Across the country, if we move into the rural areas, we see most of the houses we use
bamboo, particularly in this tropical climate, it is a grass. We have discussed bamboo also
when we were doing the classification of trees. It was an exogenous tree sorry endogenous
tree, it was endogenous plant.

It is a category of grass and it grows and at a particular rate on the upper side, on the longer
side, vertical direction and every time it moves, there is an internode distance and then there
is a node formation and then again a particular length, again a node formation and it grows
longer and longer. This has been used traditionally for supporting roofs. It has been used as
wall supports.

It is used as a support in scaffoldings of any urban scape, any urban construction. You can
see use of bamboos as props, supports to hold the plywood in position when it is a roof
casting, when it is a concrete casting. So structurally, strength wise it is very usable, people
are confident in using it. But even then it takes a long process to enter into the code. Yes, as a
structural member, it is now being included in NBC National Building Code 2016, SP 7
includes it. So we will go through its advantages, limitations and some applications.

In China, in Malaysia, in such tropical weather conditions it is being used for construction
purposes. So it is a secondary member in our building industry. So it is a low cost temporary
material and is used majorly as a supporting construction system. But recently it is being
used, it is being explored, it is being researched and it is getting its popularity gaining its
popularity.

Though the durability, lack of structural design data, lack of proper joineries has restricted its
further use. So when Sbamboo member crosses one bamboo member, it is not cut. So there is
no joinery as we had in case of wood. So there are certain limitations. One does not make the
joint weak and at the same time it is temporary. it may not happen in the same position next
time. So why to cut it?

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If you cut it, what should be the way to cut it? So those things are now getting into the code
and it is gradually becoming popular and getting into practice. So what does it have?

It has internodes transverse direction, which actually acts as stiffener. So at a regular interval,
it is having a stiffener kind of thing, which actually gives it support. So if you see the bamboo
like this it, will be inside here you cannot penetrate further. So this is closing this is
connecting. So otherwise it is a hollow section, in section it is hollow. But at these points:
these are like ridges.

So bamboo culm is this tubular structure consisting essentially of its nodes and internodes.
That is called a bamboo culm. In the internodes the cells are axially oriented similar to wood
fibre. You see the fibres are in the longitudinal direction and the nodes are preventing it in the
transverse direction. The disposition of the nodes and the wall thickness that is the thickness
of the bamboo are significant in imparting the strength to bamboo against bending and
crushing. Hence it is suitable as a spanning material. It can be used for bamboo as a truss.
Bamboo for roof holding, framework, tiled roof, bamboo can go as a continuous beam
member in foundation and by splitting it you can make it usable for giving strength.

So bamboo splits half culms, you can split it in the longitudinal direction so it needs proper
workmanship. So you can actually slice it into two halves, I will come to some picture. And
you can slice it further to get slivers. Those are also quite rigid, quite strong and they can
bend. You can make wall with it, the support system within a wall with it. These are called
bamboo slivers.

So after knowing these terminologies, let us see what are the advantages of it. As I told you,
it grows in the longer direction. It is a fast growing grass. It grows 30 centimeter that means
one foot to one meter in one day, extremely strong, natural fiber. Obviously being natural, it

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has all the disadvantages like wood that is it may be affected by termites. It can absorb water
and you have to check those. It is at par with hard woods. And the strongest parts are those
nodes where the transverse supports are there and it is so close, it gives it the entire strength
and stability. A large number of species are found. And mostly as I told you, it is used for
scaffolding, but bamboo is highly flexible too. You see this particular picture where the
bamboo has grown in a trained way. So if you want to make a bamboo arch, you can actually
make it by training it.

You can create such kind of arch just by giving it a way to grow in this direction and allow it
to grow in this direction; after it gets matured you can cut it and use it for your purpose. So
walls, arches can be made with help of trained bamboo. It is a shock absorber, particularly
useful for our earthquake prone areas. And finally the most advantage is, it is a tropical grass,
it grows much in number, light in weight. Hence it is cost effective. You see any kind of
temporary structure which till date crops up is all made of bamboo. Any festival pandals, any
fair kiosks you will see the extensive use of bamboo. As it is light in weight you can carry it
for distances by human carts and they can be transported. You use it as props, for holding as
scaffolding. So these are the major advantages of it.

Now let us come to the limitations. You can see the red bullet points: Joining techniques,
flammability, lack of design guidance and codification. So traditional joints exist, but they are
structurally not efficient and that is why they are not put into code because who takes the
responsibility. So proper joining techniques are to be developed were to be developed which
are now being developed or researched.

Flammability, yes similar to wood. Bamboo is also not fire resistant, they are highly
flammable, and you have to either treat it with proper paint or you have to embed it so that it
is not exposed to fire and then only you can use it. And coming to the last point it does not
have proper codes to be followed as a structural member. Though it has lot of or equivalent to
wood, it has not come so much into the codes because there is not much design guidance.

Lot of embedded that is bamboo as a reinforcement has been started nowadays. Researches
are being made. It is being embedded to replace iron rods. Yes, the span may be limited, you

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cannot go longer. So lack of guidance has restricted for its codification. But yes, researchers
are working on it to bring it to the forefront of forefront of building construction. So let us see
some joints. These are some cuttings. You can see on the upper side you see a number of
cuttings; one ear, two ear, bevelled that is splayed at 45 degree, flute like. So one side is half
is at the same level that is a horizontal level and part of it is bevelled. And this one is the most
useful which is called fish mouth. So this is giving a circular profile, which you can see
which can sit on top of another member.

So these are composite bamboo concrete foundations. This is a single foundation and this is a
strip footing. So this is a continuous footing that is in the foundation. You can see at the edge
or the corner where it is going to take the load here it is strengthened by more members. So
this is the continuous member and you see the cuttings are being done. Now how to fix it?
You see the grouting of rods in the column.

You can see reinforcement rod here that can actually be there, go and get embedded inside
embedded inside the concrete. So these are details being developed. Architect Laurent
Fournier works in Kolkata area where he has developed this kind of grouting methods. He
has made cold storage in the rural area with bamboo. So experimentations are being done. Let
us see some more.

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Here you see the slivers, the bamboo slivers which are woven to form the bamboo wall. Now
what has happened? After making this wall, it has lots of holes. So it would not give the
protection for which a building is being made. Air will pass through, privacy will be
disturbed, it will allow water inside, it will decay. So now you put a plaster on top of it, mud
plaster: rural areas.

You see in between you are strengthening it with means of full bamboo culms. So these are
put inside and the woven bamboo matrix is passing on top of which you are plastering. So
you are not allowing air, visibility, water to touch this bamboo sliver wall. You can see
another interesting way of making a wall is with half culms. Now how are they joined?

If you can recall putting the tiles, over tile and under tile. See they have cut it and they are
actually pushing, supporting one within the other, again strengthening it with half culms at
intermediate distances as you can see here also. They are protecting it. They are fastening it
from this end to that end, by straps so that they do not move and then they can cover it with
mud or they can keep it such like that to give it an aesthetic appeal, give it a rural setting.

So you can use such kind of details for making a boundary wall of a say rural tourist centre.
Here you can see this is a bajareque wall where the inside is mud and to strengthen that mud
wall, you are intermediately putting bamboo splits, split bamboo, not as thin as the slivers,
but something in between half culm and the sliver. So these are split bamboos, which are
placed to reinforce the mud wall.

So after putting, they are again covered with plaster to keep it protected from the weather.
Inside at intermediate locations through the mud wall you can even put columns of bamboo.
So in all these cases, you can see bamboo has been protected by a layer of plaster. It may be
mud plaster, but it is keeping it protected from the moisture and also termite attacks.

Other way is if the bamboo goes underground, you can put coal tar. That gives it an
impervious layer, water does not penetrate inside it. So with this, we can say that yes in the
future, we as architects can also experiment or can go or recommend bamboo as a building
material even if it is low cost construction, it should be having proper tests and it should be
within our code.

So let me come to the end of this particular module. And I leave you with some assignments,
which actually is considering all the five lectures. Some are from wood. As you can see, few
of the questions are from wood; few of the questions are from plywood, engineered wood and
the bamboo part. So you can try all these. Hopefully you can answer all these and any
questions can be raised in the portal. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 11
Glass

Today we are going to start module 3. So, Module 3 is about glass and ceramics. You
always see glass around you. And you already know that it gives transparency to a
building. You can see through it across to the other side. You are aware of the most
popular applications of glass - on windows and sometimes doors. There are many
other uses which we will discuss gradually.

But what is the more critical property in glass (as compared to other materials) is its
transparency; it connects you with the outdoor when you are indoor. At the same time,
it connects you to the indoor when you are outdoor. This is also the beauty of glass
which you may not find in almost all other materials. Another challenging property of
glass is its‟ brittleness. Whenever we come across a glass item, we always remain
alert that we have to handle it with care because it is brittle and may break.

So, any kind of uneven treatment (or any impact force) to the surface of the glass may
cause it to break. Along with glass, we will also discuss ceramics, particularly ceramic
tiles, which we use on floors as well as on walls. It has a coat of glass that imparts the
ceramic property. Another crucial property of glass and ceramics is they are very
much inert towards chemical action.

Glass has specific uses, and we have to take care of this brittleness factor depending
upon the type of usage, so that it has a prolonged life. Similarly, ceramics also have
particular applications- mostly in clinical, chemical, or biologically safe
environments.

Also, there are ceramic tiles that have replaced stone, marble, granite as building
materials. A higher version of ceramic tiles are the vitrified tiles.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:15)

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So, we will discuss a small introduction on glass, followed by steps of its
manufacturing and the ingredients necessary for it, the properties of glass, and also a
list of different types of glass, which we will elaborate it in our next lecture.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:38)

Glass is a super-cooled liquid, amorphous in form. It does not form crystals. It does
not make crystal formation but has random and tightly packed atoms, and it is this
structure that makes it brittle. It breaks easily because the bonding does not occur as a
crystalline structure, and it is homogeneous in texture. As you know, glass is
transparent.

Thus, any kind of impurity in it would be visible. If there is an air bubble entrapped
while the glass is being made, then it will be visible. If, say, a small stone or any

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foreign particle or metallic particle remains embedded in it, that will be visible by
naked eyes. Hence, you need to produce clear glass. You also expect the glass to be
perfectly flat. If you hold a glass piece horizontally, and you look at it along its
horizon (directly parallel to its surface), you may find it is a bit wavy.

So, when something is on the other side of the glass, the image may not be properly
seen. The waviness in glass can also be tested. Glass in architecture is mostly seen in
three areas- glass in facades, glass as a construction material, and glass in insulation.
In facades, you would find its application in the building fenestration (that is, the
doors and windows), and also the claddings in facades.

There may exist glass walls, where adjacent glasses are fixed, creating the glass
facade. Glass may also be found as a partition wall. It comes in the form of glass
blocks too. Another application is in skylights. Say there is a space (such as an
atrium) that has a roof. To provide appropriate natural light access, you have to create
an opening on the high ceiling and cover it with glass, which is called “skylight”.
Solar rays enter filtered into that space and provide natural lighting.

We may have glass floors, where transparency allows us to look at what is happening
on the upper or lower floor. This gives a sense of transparency, and you can see the
entire space at a time. As a construction material, glass staircases are very popular,
provides a transparent look compared to brick or stone staircases. These are the
important application areas of glass.

But as you know, glass is brittle. However, there are different types (specially treated)
of glass that helps in developing special qualities like the ability to support loads or
being less brittle, or being more safer when broken. We will discuss how those
properties are achieved and what are the appropriate glass types to be proposed for
specific application areas.

With all those unique qualities, the price of glass increases. There exist glass for
insulation (glass wool), which are basically threads or strands of glass used as
insulators. We will discuss that topic later.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:46)

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Here, you see the use of glass for viewing, for example, glass pane in windows- they
are crystal clear (you can easily see the outside scenery from inside). We can also use
glass as a shelf- they are popular in showrooms, shops (for example, in small grocery
shops- glass top counter, you can easily see the display area below counter). The
shopkeeper puts glass as the top below which he actually displays his items on glass
shelves.

You can have glass as a guard wall. Instead of having a conventional railing, it creates
a transparent barrier, through which one can see what is happening below (or on the
other side)- the primary function is to guard the place. No one would usually push the
guard wall, but at the same time, if something hits on it, it would not fall or break. In a
strengthened glass, a mesh is provided inside the glass, which provides reinforcement
to the glass.

If this glass somehow breaks, a certain characteristic effect will occur, which we will
discuss later. Here, you can see the entire glass and steel structure in front of the
Louvre Museum. This one of the most popular display of glass in architecture.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:24)

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Next, we talk about glass facades with frames. In this picture, glass has been put
inside a framing system. The strong frame lines are visible, of which a portion is
openable, even though you do not see the actual frame. Glass fibers may also be used
as reinforcement in corrugated items (see picture). These fines strands, which you can
see inside, are all glass fibers.

These have strengthened this corrugated surface. If the base surface is of plastic, you
get a special material called “Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic” (GFRP). So, we can use
glass in different ways for multiple purposes in buildings. We will discuss them one
by one. Here is another picture of glass fiber being pushed into a wall for insulation.
You can see some wooly material being pushed in.

As you see, the person is wearing thick gloves and a helmet, and even his eye must be
protected with goggles (which is not visible in this picture due to the helmet). Even
though the glass fiber is a soft wooly cotton-like item, the person has to protect
himself because those fibers are sharp and thin. He should also wear a face mask
because these thin strands of glass may otherwise get inhaled into the respiratory tract,
causing massive internal injuries.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:11)

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We will now discuss the stages of manufacturing and the ingredients that make this
totally transparent material. The three stages of manufacturing are- „melting‟,
„forming‟, and then „finishing‟. „Melting‟ implies the melting of the ingredients in
their prefixed proportions when mixed with water and heated in a furnace. A lot of
bubbles will come out, and gradually, the product converts into a mass, very fluidic in
nature.

After that is the stage of forming (or shaping). A viscous material will come out at a
temperature of 800°C. There are multiple ways of “forming” the glass- by blowing, or
flat drawing, or compression moulding, or spinning to get fibers; another method is by
annealing (to get different strengths).

We will discuss these one-by-one. In blowing, you can get the desired shape. The
glass has to be allowed to cool in that particular shape, which finally becomes the
item of the specific (as desired) shape. What we are more interested in our subject is
„flat drawing‟. By the term, it is quite clear to understand that the final product will be
a flat surface. Here, we get the glass in sheet form. One crucial point is to know the
size limits of this sheet of glass; how large or small can they be?

As you know, it is brittle. Thus, we cannot go for huge sizes, where there will be
limitations of making it and also address the issue of brittleness. Glass sheets can be
flat drawn by rollers, and you get around 3 m × 4.5 m sheet of running length. You
have to allow it to cool to get the flat-drawn sheet.

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In „compression moulding‟, you put the molten glass into moulds and allow it to cool
down- the glass gets the desired shape according to the mould. „Spinning‟ is again
another way to obtain glass fibers, and annealing helps to obtain glass of different
strengths as desired.

Annealing is a process of slow cooling of hot glass after they have been formed glass.
Due to slow cooling, we can get different strengths (particularly higher strength glass)
of it. And after performing these operations, we can get the desired form of glass-
mostly, it is flat drawn. For obtaining glass fibers, spinning is employed. If we want a
set of strengthened glass, we consider annealing.

Once the glass is formed, we proceed to the finishing stage- which involves cleaning,
polishing, and cutting. You have to clean the surface, polish it if required, and finally
cut it to get sharp edges. If you see the cross-section of a glass piece, you will see it is
light-greenish in color due to the presence of iron oxide in it. Thus, with the addition
of iron oxide (at the manufacturing stage), this greenish tint comes naturally to it.

You may also add mineral oxides or metal oxides to get different colors. We will
discuss those towards the end of this lecture.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:28)

Let us see what the ingredients that constitute glass are. In clay bricks, we had seen
that one of the main constituents is sand. It is again sand here, along with soda or

118
potash and limestone. You add some broken glass in the furnace, which is called
„cullet‟, and it acts as a flux. It helps to reduce the temperature in the furnace. Flux
prevents the loss of alkaline compounds by volatilization.

The sand, soda, potash, limestone, and cullet- all these are finely ground, and this
entire item is mixed (called „batch‟) with water and heated to a temperature of 1000-
1200°C. Carbonates of sodium and potassium are added to it, which reduces the
melting point of silica from 1700°C to 1000°C.

Thus, adding carbonates of sodium and potassium reduces the furnace temperature
(results in energy savings). It makes the liquid silica more workable and viscous. This
workability and its viscosity should be maintained so that the glass can be properly
drawn. The functions of soda, potash, oxides of iron, coloring agents are mentioned
here. Soda is the accelerator for the fusion of glass.

Potash makes it resistant to fire. Even borax makes it resistant to heat. We know about
borosilicate glass. So, borax and silica make it fire-resistant. Adding oxide of iron,
oxide of lead changes the hardness, brilliance, and color. The term „brilliance‟ in the
glass industry relates to the manufacturing of artificial lighting, which is not directly
in our domain. Thus, we can add lead to make it more brilliant.

Regarding coloring agents, the different metal oxides impart a varying set of colors to
the glass. We will elaborate on the colors obtained from specific metal oxides later.
Borax increases heat resistance; lead gives shine, iron oxide imparts strength. This is
how glass is made with specific ingredients.

You can change the proportion of ingredients to some extent to obtain varying
properties or characteristics, resulting in different kinds of glass.
(Refer Slide Time: 18:53)

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So, let us now focus on the properties of glass. As already mentioned, glass is
transparent and much thinner compared to other building materials. Due to being thin,
the knowledge of its‟ thermal properties becomes crucial. Glass is brittle due to its
amorphous structure, as already discussed. It is not affected by ordinary chemicals or
reagents, air, and water. It is impervious and does not allow air and water to pass
through it.

Glass is not affected by acids at all but may be affected by alkalis to some extent. So,
this is an ideal, non-reactive item that can be used in chemical, biological, and
medical laboratories (finds popular application in pathological laboratories). It does
not absorb any kind of microbes and provides a completely clear, stain-free surface.

Its hardness, reflective power- all can be altered by treatment. The reflective power of
glass implies the amount to which the light gets reflected after bouncing off the glass
surface. It will transmit some portion of light. We will discuss those when we discuss
the different types of glass. Glass can absorb, refract, transmit light and also reflect
light as required. Its‟ specific gravity is 2.5. As far as the mechanical property is
concerned, the tensile strength varies between 30 to 60 N/mm².

For glass fiber, the tensile strength is much higher, around 700 N/mm². Its‟
compressive strength varies between 700 to 1000 N/mm². So, glass possesses quite
satisfactory mechanical properties suitable for use. Coming to the thermal properties,
the U-value of glass is 1.05 W/mK and varies from 0.8 to even 1.25.

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Here, I am mentioning the average value. Notably, glass wool has a much lower U-
value (0.04 W/mK). Therefore, glass wool is much effective in providing insulation.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:50)

Now, we come to the workability of glass. Can we work on glass with similar ease as
that of wood? We can cut glass into the desired size. Regarding drilling holes into
glass- it is possible for only a few particular types of glass. Welding glass like other
metals is possible, but we must be cautious since grass is brittle.

As far as the temperature transition during welding is concerned, glass needs to be

cooled very slowly because during welding operations, a temperature gain (heat)
occurs in the local area at the joint (between the two pieces which are being joined)
where it is being welded. So, sudden cooling of the area is not favourable; otherwise,
it will lead to cracks.

The same precautions must be maintained for drilling. When drilling glass, you must
remember that you cannot be careless and treat it like wood or brick since glass is a
fragile or brittle item. The experienced workman already knows these facts, but as an
architect, you should also be aware of the possibilities and corresponding precautions
needed for these three main operations during usage- cutting, drilling and welding
glass during building construction.

(Refer Slide Time: 23:38)

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Let us move to another property, the “Solar Heat Gain Coefficient” or SHGC of glass,
also called the g-value. It is the ratio between transmitted solar radiation through the
glass surface and the incident solar radiation on it.
Transmitted solar radiation
SHGC 
Incident solar radiation
Thus, if there is a window with one glass pane, the transmitted solar energy inside the
building, divided by the total energy incident on is the g-value of the glass.

Since it is a ratio, it must lie between 0 to 1. If the glass transmits the entire energy,
then SHGC= 1, and if it is filters some radiation from penetrating inside the building,
then SHGC < 1, and you have better control of the solar energy. Higher the value of
SHGC, more is the solar energy transmitted into the building through the window.

Thus, reflection, absorption, transmission- these three factors affect this solar heat
gain coefficient. In cold countries, glass with a higher g-value is favourable. For hot
regions, we want the value to be lower. Here, most of the incident energy should be
reflected out. In other words, the transmitted solar energy should be lower than the
incident solar energy. This is also is a specific quality of glass and is essential when
choosing glazing systems having different values of solar heat gain coefficient. We
will discuss this part later on.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:40)

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Now, let us look into the different types of glass (which we will elaborate mostly in
the next lecture). As mentioned earlier, we have sheet glass, plate glass, float glass,
colored glass. Another group of glasses consists of translucent glass, ground glass,
frosted glass, obscure glass, etc., all of which are mostly similar in function. The other
types include tinted glass, laminated glass, reinforced wire glass, tempered glass, and
switchable smart glass.

Lastly, there are two special types- hydrophilic and hydrophobic glass. So, you can
understand that it is not just one type of glass that is used in a particular building. For
different types of buildings with varying purposes, we can use the corresponding type
of glass, which we will elaborate on in our next lecture. Thank you.

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 Building Materials And Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur

Lecture – 12
Types of Glass

In this lecture 2 of module 3, we will elaborate on the various types of glass, which are
essential knowledge for architects.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:35)

Here, we will discuss the types of glass, their special properties, and uses, such that you can
recommend the appropriate glass type based on a specific use-case. Mostly, you will see plate
glass, sheet glass, float glass in buildings, all of which were mentioned in the earlier lecture.
The other specific types of glasses are required only when we have a distinctive use-case.

You may have an entire building façade made of glass. The entry for a shopping mall may be
of glass, or say, in an office, the interior partition walls are made of glass. In a restaurant,
glass wall partitions may be made between the dining tables. You cannot generalize the same
type of glass for all applications alike. Here we will explore the individual glass types meant
for specific uses, the methods for their manufacture, their characteristic features, and typical
uses.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:02)

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We will start with sheet glass, which is the most common of them all, domestically very
popular as glass window panes. These are made by blowing glass. You may recall that glass
is blown into thin (2 to 6 mm thickness) sheets, having a glossy surface. If the glass is not
uniformly cooled, the final surface may be wavy. You may find some distortion in vision
when looking through such a glass.

You may not clearly identify someone or something on the other side of the sheet glass due to
this waviness, typical of sheet glass. Sometimes, air bubbles may remain entrapped in the
glass during the blowing stage. The sheet sizes can be a maximum of 1.6 m × 2.2 m, which
is almost 5‟ × 7‟ (feet). Sheet glass needs polishing. Once it breaks, it will shatter into small
sharp-edged pieces (shards), which poses a risk of severe injuries if not carefully handled.

Plate glass is of comparatively superior in quality than sheet glass. Their sizes are relatively
larger, 3.5 m × 4.5 m, and not produced by blowing; instead, they are manufactured as rolled-
out sheets. Due to this gradual roll-out, no waviness is formed. Plate glass may be bent into
any desired custom shape according to requirement (customer‟s order). We will discuss how
the glass is made. The details of the rolling operation are given below.

The “forming rolls” on the two sides help the glass sheet to form, and the gap between the
rolls maintains a uniform thickness for the sheet. The multiple support rollers allow the glass
sheet to move forward. As the sheet moves outside, it gradually cools down. In the furnace
(towards the right side of the figure), the molten glass is filled to the brim, which basically
comes out to ultimately form the sheet.

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In this process, the sheet size limit can be up to 4.5 m in length and 3.5 m in width, and there
is no waviness generated. The support rolls gradually move, and the glass sheet gets cooler as
it passes on them. If it has to be bend as per customers‟ requirement, the shaping should be
done before the cooling stage, while the glass still in its unset form.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:19)

Next is the float glass. It was invented by Sir Alastair Pilkington (a British engineer and
scientist). We will see the fundamental differences between a float glass and plate glass. Here
too, there is molten glass- this passes on top of the molten tin. Tin has a higher specific
gravity (7.3) and a low melting point compared to glass. Since glass has a lower specific
gravity (2.5) than tin, it will float on top of the molten tin.

So, gradually, the glass sheet will come out, gradually moving on top of the support rolls. It
will get cooler as it comes out. All of the processes happen in a controlled environment, and
the product is called Pilkington glass. Also, since it floats over the tin, it is also called float
glass. One unique feature here is that float glasses can be obtained in sheets of 50 m (long) ×
3-4 m (wide). The rollers carry it when it is at 600°C, and the glass gradually sets while
cooling down.

Float glass is of higher quality than both sheet and plate glass. It does not require polishing.
They are obtained in thicknesses of 6 mm and above, are rigid, and have slightly higher
strength than plate glass. Float glass can be custom-shaped (bent) as desired, but only during

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manufacture. This type of glass finds applications in glass furniture, insulated glass glazings
in windows and doors, shop (showroom) shelves, and tabletops.

Float glass is relatively rigid and can sustain a bit heavier load than both sheet glass and plate
glass.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:02)

Let us discuss another type of glass called „wired glass‟. At the stage of formation, during the
manufacture of float glass at 600°C, and before it gradually cools, an iron wire mesh can be
put (or „impregnated‟) inside it. Since the glass has not yet set at this high temperature
(600°C), the mesh reinforces the glass. Such a type of glass is called „wired glass‟.

The specialty of wired glass is that unlike other glasses (which shatter and fall in sharp
wedge-like pieces), here, the broken pieces are held together by the wire mesh. Even if some
of the glass pieces fall, the broken parts will not have sharp edges. Thus, these type of glass s
preferred in skylights or high-level windows, atriums, and industrial buildings, which do not
need to be accessed frequently.

Hence, even if the glass breaks due to gusty winds, storms, or thunder, it would not shatter
and fall like the other glass types. The wire reinforcement holds it together. The wires are 0.5
mm in diameter, and the thickness of the glass is around 5-7 mm to accommodate the wires.
Due to this fact, wired glass is generally heavier.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:55)

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Next is frosted glass, which is also available in the market under various names- ground
glass, translucent glass, or patterned glass. This type of glass is obtained by sandblasting or
acid-etching on plate glass. Sandblasting is a process in which fine sand particles are hit at
high velocities onto the surface of the glass. This erodes (“eats away”) some portion of the
glass, giving it an obscure look.

Hence, the glass loses its‟ shine and becomes translucent. Light falling on the surface refracts
only partially (entire light does not pass). Therefore, although you can see diffused shapes,
you cannot distinctly identify any object that lies behind the glass. Due to this semi-opacity,
frosted glass is good at providing visual privacy, simultaneously maintaining a formal
environment, such as office interiors.

For example, in the manager‟s room in an office, obscure glass is used at eye level. Hence,
although you can check if the manager is inside the cabin or not, you cannot distinctly
identify him/her from the other side. There can be no direct eye contact, and thus the manager
is not distracted by people moving around. Similar, translucent (frosted) glasses are used in
interior partitions in restaurants, washrooms to maintain visual privacy.

These glasses are basically plate glass, sandblasted, and acid-etched. The acid-etching helps
in creating aesthetically pleasing artwork patterns on the glass surface, say, by keeping a part
as groud/ frosted (translucent) and other parts transparent.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:25)

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Another type of glass is laminated glass. Here, too, if the glass breaks, it does not shatter or
fall down like plate glass. The term „laminated‟ is due to the presence of an intermediate
lamina between the two glass sheets. So, there are two glass sheets and an intermediate layer
that is made of polyvinyl butyral or (PVB). This layer is transparent, tough, and resilient- and
holds the two glass pieces together.

Even after these glass pieces are attached together, it is difficult to identify the middle layer,
which helps the product retain its see-through properties. Since the glass has been
strengthened, it will not easily break, and even if it breaks on impact force, the broken parts
will remain stuck to the PVB lamina that is present between the two layers. The middle layer
helps to block ultraviolet radiation and also makes it soundproof.

This type of glass is mostly found in the automobile industry. In the domain of building
construction, laminated glass is used in tall buildings, which helps in entrapping solar energy.
They are used to block the UV rays from entering the interior. You will find them in public
buildings, high-rise residential buildings, etc. As you have seen, the two positive points here
are that it does not shatter (or fall) on breaking and also helps minimize ultraviolet radiation.

Considering these two potential applications, you can use laminated glass in a building.
(Refer Slide Time: 14:31)

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Another type of glass is colored glass. As already told, this is made by adding different metal
oxide powders in molten glass. It should be planned beforehand. When the glass is being
manufactured, the metal oxide corresponding to the desired color must be put into the
mixture (viscous liquid) so that the final product becomes colored accordingly. In this picture
(see image in slide), you can see the rose window of an old church. The use of colored glass
is a very old concept- the applications can be found in several ancient buildings.

In the other picture (see image in slide), the facade is made entirely of colored glass. This
emphasizes the look of the entrance area. A list of colorants and the corresponding color is
given. Iron oxides (ferrous and ferric) impart a green and brown color to the glass. As you
already know, greenish tint is naturally occurring in glass (due to iron oxides in the sand).
Manganese oxide gives a deep yellow color (like amethyst).

Cobalt imparts deep blue color. Gold chloride imparts a ruby-red color. Selenium compounds
give reds. Carbon oxides give amber brown. A mix of manganese, cobalt, and iron will
impart black color. Antimony oxides give a white color. Adding uranium oxides will give a
yellowish-green color. Sulphur compounds give an amber or brown color. Tin compounds
impart white. Lead mixed with antimony impart a yellow color. As you can see, most
coloring agents are metal oxides, and some are metal chlorides. These are added to the mix
during the melting process to impart the desired color to the glass.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:23)

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Another type of glass is „tinted glass‟. This is obtained by sticking an additional plastic layer
on the top surface of float glass or plate glass wall, making the overall product translucent. As
you can see, such an application does not need to be specifically planned beforehand. Even
after the glass is manufactured, you may later desire to have a specific pattern or tint, and
accordingly, a plastic layer is pasted on top, creating such a pattern on the facade.

Due to the plastic layer, it will absorb (and hence, block) a portion of the solar rays. So, the
entire daylight (100%) would not enter indoors. During the daytime, you can see the outer
scenery from the room interior through this glass, but from the outside, no one can have a
glimpse of the interiors. At night, however, it becomes difficult to see in both directions.
Thus, tinted glass is good at providing privacy.

The appearance of the tinted glass depends on the color of the coating (plastic layer/ sheet) on
top of it. Depending on the type of film chosen, some desired effects may be achieved. For
example, putting a silver film will block 80% of the ultraviolet rays. In hot places that receive
large quantities of solar radiation, the application of the tint on the glass surface will help in
improving the energy performance of the building.

This kind of film that reflects the solar radiation outside is suggested only in case if the glass
itself has any inefficiency. Adding this film makes it less fragile (less brittle). So, if there is
any chance that the glass may break due to any impact force, the tint applied to it will prevent
the breakage. You may have interesting graphic patterns with this film to avoid a monotonous
glass façade design.

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Variations in tint, graphic patterns, etc., may be developed. It may be a reflective coating if
desired. You may also put a spectrally-selective tint (layer) that only allows specific
wavelengths of light to penetrate inside the glass- while absorbing the near-infrared rays.
These are protective coatings that block harmful radiation from impacting the interior
environment.

Here, you are protecting the building interior from the external solar radiation. It blocks
around 80% of the ultraviolet rays; the near-infrared rays are absorbed. The spectrally-
selective tint only allows the visible portion of the spectrum to enter the interior space.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:05)

After discussing the different types of glass, such as sheet glass, plate glass, and float glass,
we now come to another variety called tempered glass. You will find glass facades, walls,
and entrance lobbies entirely built of glass in modern showrooms, jewelry shops, etc. Even
the main shutter door at the entrance is mostly made of glass. Think about how do the shop
owners assure themselves of security in case of a burglary, particularly at night.

Although the glass facade may appear vulnerable, in reality, the glass is much tough and
durable to provide sufficient protection from break-ins. They are at least three to five times
stronger than ordinary glass. The strength is achieved by a process called „annealing‟, which
is basically heating followed by gradual cooling. This alters the hardness, strength, and
ductility of the glass. As you can see in this diagram (see video), before the cooling stage, the

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entire product is hot. When the cooling starts, the glass surface cools faster, whereas the
internal part still remains hotter.

When further cooled, the upper surfaces get closer to each other and compressed, whereas the
internal portion is still in its hot liquid form. On the upper (surface) layers, glass in its
amorphous form and is under compression. The inner part is under tension. The sudden
cooling changes the material properties of the glass, giving it a heat resistance of at least two
times higher than that of ordinary glass.

Unlike the other types of glass where shaping, drilling, cutting, or welding were possible
even after installation, they are not feasible for tempered glass. Any desired drilling or cutting
must be done at the formation stage, much before the tempering stage.

Thus, if you need any kind of custom shaping, or any holes for attachment of screws, etc., the
shaping has to be done at the „float glass‟ stage (during manufacture). Thus, tempered glass is
basically float glass treated by the process of annealing, which helps it gain strength and heat
resistance. This type of glass is preferred in showrooms, shop windows, load-bearing shelves,
facades, entrance lobby, etc.

Tempered glass is expensive, tough, and does not break easily. Even if it breaks, it will
crumble to crystals (akin to sugar crystals), as can be seen in the picture (see image in video).
The edges of the broken chunks are small and blunt- that does not pose a risk of injury, which
is the main specialty of this glass. As you can understand, tempered glass is mainly used as a
replacement for non-load-bearing walls.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:15)

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Our next topic is switchable colored glass, which s also called „smart glass‟. This is very
common in airplane windows. If you are flying at a high altitude, sometimes you may not
want the sunrays to enter inside. There are specialized mechanisms that can change the color
of the glass at the press of a button. Emerging technologies have nowadays made it possible
to have spectacles with photochromatic lenses- where the transparency level of the glass is
automatically altered from transparent to translucent to fully opaque.

This is achieved by blocking some wavelengths of light from penetrating the glass. The glass
has a liquid crystal switchable coating that is bonded directly to the toughened (or tempered)
glass and keeps on changing the transparency label from time to time (based on current
temperature or light level), hence the name „smart‟ glass. Thus this can save energy costs for
heating or cooling, as per immediate requirement.

Thus, we can effectively regulate the quantity of sunlight to be filtered into the interior space.
I had already listed hydrophilic and hydrophobic glass in the list for various glass types, but
we will discuss that topic later. Here, there is a photograph of the application of the
switchable glass in the Taipei-101 building. The entire façade is a vast expanse of glass, fully
coated with this switchable liquid crystal layer. This technology has been found to immensely
contribute to energy savings by changing the allowance of solar radiation to the building
interior.
(Refer Slide Time: 26:32)

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Glass blocks are another application of tempered glass. Two pieces of tempered glass are
moulded and pressed (joined) together to make a glass block. In the process, the air gets
entrapped in between, which acts as an insulator. Hence, even though it is glass, and you can
still partially see through it, the images are blurred and obscured, providing visual privacy.
Thus, it will admit some portion of the light, yet, you cannot fully recognize an object or
person on the other side.

This is again another case of tempered glasses being converted into such glass blocks, and
two such parts are fixed to form a single block. We will cover the details later.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:30)

So, in this lecture, we have explored several types of glass and their variety of uses. The
strength of glass can be altered by heat treatment. Different glass types may be produced by -

135
either inserting a lamina in between two layers, or putting a tint on top of the glass, or
creating graphics (artwork) on top of it. The fragility of glass and subsequent safety are
crucial issues in the usage of glass that can be addressed in various ways. Glass can also be
used in block form for walls. I end today‟s lecture here, and we will now move to the third
lecture of this module, where we will learn about fixing glass in a system. Thank you.

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 Building Materials And Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur

Lecture – 13
Glass (Continued)

Hello, everybody. Today we will study lecture 3 of module 3 on “Glass and Ceramics”. In the
earlier lectures of this module, we discussed the different types of glass, methods to reduce
fragility, and increase the safety of the glass- by various ways, such as lamination, increasing
the solar heat gain within the system, etc. We also focused on strengthening the glass by
tempering (or heat treatment).
(Refer Slide Time: 01:20)

In this lecture, we will talk about the fixing of glass in a system. As you can understand, glass
is a thin and fragile material. We have to be very careful when fixing it. In the building
industry, the primary applications are in the domestic windows and doors. Also, there are
some specific areas where particular types of glasses must be used. In India, single glazing
windows are most popular, which is basically one layer of glass protecting from the
environment and allowing visibility. Also, it must be sufficiently safe.

The glass should not fall off from the system where it is attached. In windows and doors, we
use wooden, iron, or aluminium frames with glass panes in them. Also, there should be no (or
minimal) any gap between the outside space and the interior to protect from the weather.

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The glass should be placed in such a way that dust, dirt, wind, or rain cannot enter the
interior. At the same time, this helps in preventing the interior thermal environment get
exposed (or intermixed) to the outdoor weather conditions. Thus, neither the external
elements should be allowed to enter inside nor vice-versa. Therefore, the glass should be able
to provide thermal protection.

In offices, institutional buildings, commercial plazas, etc., in cities across the world, large
entry spaces with complete glass facades (without any framing) are trendy nowadays. It is a
kind of application where the glass stands without a frame and still provides the same level of
protection as a regular framed glass panel or a masonry wall.

This kind of frameless facade may be seen in shopping malls, hotels, etc. So, we will also see
how the framing is done. Quite obviously, such glass must be of the strengthened/ toughened
type (tempered glass). Also, we will discuss the double glazing units- which have unique
thermal advantages. This will be followed by the techniques to clean glass. This lecture will
be a long one.

Cleaning of glass is necessary because the real charm of glass lies in its see-through nature. If
full of dust and dirt, it will lose its appeal. But at larger heights, it becomes a challenge to
clean glass surfaces due to limited accessibility. Cleaning may be somewhat possible from
the inside, but not easier from the outside. We will discuss those issues towards the end of
this lecture. We will also discuss hydrophilic and hydrophobic glass- types of nano-coated
glass that can “self-clean” itself.

Self-cleaning glass is somewhat modern technology and, therefore, has limited popularity.
Although it works only under certain conditions, it is beneficial in the maintenance of vast
glass surfaces.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:41)

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In this slide, you see the diagram of glass fixed on a wooden frame. It may be simply a plate
glass, sheet glass, or float glass, and is thus, very fragile. This attachment is done without any
drilling or welding. In the wooden frame system (you can see the upper and lower frame in
section view), the glass piece is being inserted and fixed in place by putty (see diagram in
video).

This putty may be replaced by a glazing bead too. There must be a small gap to allow the
expansion of wood or glass. The sealing must ensure weatherproofing to increase energy-
efficiency (i.e., disallow movement of heat energy). This keeps the internal condition intact.
As you can see, the putty may be replaced by a bead (wood piece) attached to the wooden
frame by nails.

The glass pane is initially held in the position either by glazing beads or by nails. In the
second case, the edge joints must be later finished (filled) with putty, acrylic latex, or silicone
caulk. The most used filler is „putty‟ - which is calcite lime mixed with linseed oil.

The linseed oil gradually evaporates, and the putty (a sticky substance) remains in position
for a few years. Since nails were already used to hold the glass in position, the glass will stay
in place even if a part of the putty lining comes off. If necessary, the old putty may be taken
out, and the joints re-sealed by a fresh putty. Except for any sudden impact force, it is
unlikely that the glass would fall off or break. So, visibility is achieved through the window,
and the glass is now held in position.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:48)

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In this next slide, we will talk about the fixing of glass in an iron frame. The sectional details
are given here. This is called a Z-section, which forms the frame. You can also see the
sealants into which the glass is embedded. Again, here is a T-section.

The putty holds the glass in position. Also, you will find no nails because it is not possible to
fix nails within an iron section. Unlike earlier cases, here, it is only the putty that holds the
glass in position. Periodic maintenance (replacement) of the window putty is necessary,
particularly if it is at a high level so that the glass does not accidentally fall off.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:09)

Let us see what happens in aluminium frames. Nowadays, we refrain from using wood
frames for environmental reasons. Iron and aluminum frame sections are becoming popular.
In the picture (see diagram in video), the glass (blue color) is set within the frame, and a

140
sealant is applied, which not only keeps the glass in position but also makes the joint
waterproof.

Gaskets or press-fit clips may be used. Aluminium press-fit clips are soft- that go inside the
space to hold the glass in position. Aluminuum frame has a better locking capacity with the
glass than wood frames. You may use sealants, but gaskets or aluminium press-fit clips are
generally used. Aluminium is the best choice compared to iron and wood frames.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:37)

We will now discuss the structural glazing or the frameless glazing system. In the pictures
here, you can see the „spider joints‟. These help to fix glass at intermediate points, without
the need for a frame. The views of the assembly (after installation) from the front, back, and
sides are given (see images in slide).

On the image at the upper right (see image in slide), a door is seen installed with this
frameless joint. You can see the wooden supports, with pivot-type of fixing. The hinge is
pushed into the glass panel, which helps it rotate. The glass used here is tempered glass, since
it must be strong enough to withstand any impact force. Moreover, there are no frames to
support the structure, so a high-strength glass becomes necessary.

The entire assembly rests on a glass member; that is, the joint is resting on a glass support.
Thus, the support should be strong enough to sustain the load of the entire façade.
Sometimes, the support may be a steel rod. All these images are from the Technology
Students Gymkhana at IIT Kharagpur.

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Here are some pictures (see image in video) of a two-floor atrium with a glass façade. The
glass support holds the glass in position. Steel rod supports are mostly found in shopping
malls whose facades are much taller in height (two to three floors height).

Any hole that needs to be made in the tempered glass must be made before the tempering
stage, as already mentioned. After tempering, any kind of cutting, drilling, welding, etc., is
not possible. So, the locations of the spider joints- all have to be designed beforehand and
ordered accordingly. On the site, you just have to install them.

Panes must be sealed using silicone mastic applied to an extruded silicone seal. In this picture
(see image in video), between the gaps of the four glass panes, you can see the silicone
mastic (not the putty). It has a longer lifespan and almost colorless. Hence, the joints that are
formed are very thin and seamlessly merges with the glass, preserving an all-glass look, even
though silicone mastic has been used for joining them. It seals the interior from the external
weather conditions and transfer of heat.

Furthermore, glass surfaces may have laminations. For tall buildings, it is essential to
calculate the solar heat gain within the buildings. So, it is necessary to reflect a part of the
solar radiation reaching it. The laminations on top of the glass help in controlling heat entry.
Laminated glass is popularly used in external facades and curtain walls of buildings,
showroom windows, shopping mall facades, etc. Glass walls are almost as strong as a brick
wall, with the added benefit of transparency.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:55)

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Now, let us move to the next slide. Till now, our discussion had been limited to single
glazing, and its U-value was 5.9 (see diagram in slide). Now, when two glass panes (each 4
mm thick) are used, with an air gap (around 12 mm distance) in between, the U-value of the
assembly reduces to more than half (becomes 2.7) than in the single glazing. For this third
case with a dotted line (see diagram in slide), the U-value has further reduced to 1.9. Both of
these are Double glazing units (DGUs).

Here, the dotted line represents a low-E lamina. Thus, if you can add a lamina when
assembling the product, it will further reduce the U-value. In this situation, the solar radiation
(red-colored line in the given diagram in slide) first strikes the outer glass pane- when a part
of it is absorbed by the glass, and the rest is reflected out. Whatever part is entering the
window undergoes convection when it comes in contact with the air gap sandwiched between
the two glass panes.

The heat is conducted from one surface of the glass to the other surface, and some part is
radiated inside. So, only is a fraction of the total solar radiation is entering the interior. If
there had been only one glass pane, a part of the incoming radiation (red line in the diagram
from video) would have been absorbed by the glass, a part reflected outside, and the rest-
reaching the interior.

Some of the incoming radiation will pass through the glass pane by the process of
conduction. It will get further reduced on touching the air gap between the panes. Hence, this
kind of assembly helps in minimizing the radiation that finally reaches inside. A low-E

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coating on the glass decreases the radiation further. Additionally, if the air inside the DGU is
somehow extracted and replaced by an argon infill, the performance of the unit will reach its
peak.

Thus, with a double glazing unit using argon infill, the U-value is 2.6, whereas, with air infill,
the value was 2.7. If you use an additional low-E coating in the DGU with argon infill, it will
further come down to 1.6. In the case of a triple glazing unit with air as infill, the
performance will be similar to the DGU with low-E coating and argon infill or the double
glazing unit with just low-E coating (without argon infill).

In this triple-layered assembly, we are basically increasing the weight,.and thereby, the
material cost. By inserting the lamina, the U-value gets reduced. These insulated glazing units
are generally used where the glass surfaces are large, as in high-rise building facades, where
we want to control the heat entry.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:04)

Let us see what happens in double glazing units. Here, the insulated glazing unit (IGU) has
two layers, i.e., two parallel glass panes, with an intermediate buffer zone- which may be
filled with simply air or argon infill. The quality of sealing of the assembly is essential here.

If you look into a larger detail of this area, you can see the two glass panes. In the frame,
there is a primary sealing, a secondary sealing, and desiccators. The sealings eliminate
chances of any leakage that may lead to malfunction of the overall system. This is crucial

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since any small gap remaining would render all calculations wrong, and the advantage of the
double glazing units would be lost.

The window section shown (see image in video) that is eventually developed- is available in
the market. The structural integrity of the system remains maintained, only if the sealing
keeps a long term adhesion to the system. It should remain unaffected by the ultraviolet rays
of the sun and should be durable even in a moist environment.

The part (outer) of the DGU will always face the external weather conditions, and the other
part (inner) faces the controlled (interior) condition. Thus, the assembly must be able to
adjust to the temperature differences throughout its‟ lifetime. As discussed, the integrity of
the sealing is mainly responsible for the overall performance of the product.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:33)

Another application of glass is in solar panels. We will not cover the details. Basically, on top
of every solar assembly (solar photovoltaic cell), there is a glass layer protecting the entire
system. This diagram (see video) has been redrawn from a separate image, and you can see
the glass, the aluminium frame, and the sealant. Below them is the photovoltaic assembly (the
device that stores the electricity)

The glass that covers the photovoltaic panels should be highly transmissive, such that any
portion of received sunlight is not reflected. The glass should be able to attract or entrap the
solar radiation. Since the panels have to be oriented in such a way that maximum sunlight is
captured, it must be strong enough to withstand any accidental impact force. Also, as it is

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difficult to replace the glass frequently, a transparent or anti-reflective coating is added to it
to increase efficiency.

This is another area for the application of glass as a building material. Glasses in solar panels
may be cleaned with liquid water or vapor (steam), such that it remains free of dust and dirt,
to capture the maximum energy from the sun.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:23)

Let us talk about the cleaning of glass surfaces. As I have already said, a glass surface can be
appreciated only when it allows visibility through it. A dirty glass surface reduces visibility,
efficiency, and therefore its‟ charm is lost. So, periodic cleaning of glass is essential. At
heights, cleaning poses a formidable challenge. In general, a water pressure washing system
is the easiest. From the ground level, it may be possible to clean glass surfaces by throwing
water up to a maximum of two or three floors in height.

But this system is not effective enough at higher levels. Sometimes, a hook-and-loop system
is used, where a person is hooked up and moves along a cable parallel to the glass surfaces,
gradually cleaning them (see image in slide). However, this is quite labor-intensive and takes
a lot of time for completion. Another technique utilizes suspended “gondolas”- an elevated
rig that moves on rails parallel to the building (see image in slide). Cleaning workers stand on
the gondolas and clean the glass surfaces.

In this image (see image in video), the crane (stationed on the ground) is lifting the person on
a platform who will perform the cleaning job. This is a time-consuming but effective way of

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cleaning. Another way is to position the crane on the roof of the building and move the arm
along the building façade- in the vertical direction and sideways (as necessary), carrying the
worker who performs the cleaning operation.

Hence, having large glass facades also demands the availability of proper maintenance
facilities; otherwise, the façade would look poor and also may be functionally inefficient.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:29)

We will now explore the self-cleaning glass, a novel application of nano-technology. Such
glasses are mostly seen in the automobile industry but are also being used in the building
industry. Here, the glass is coated with titanium dioxide, or a loosely crosslinked polymer,
which attracts water. The process has two stages- photocatalysis, where the titanium dioxide
gets electrically charged in the presence of sunlight. The electrical charges destroy the dirt or
grease adhering to the surface and change them to water-soluble substances.

The second stage is the attraction of water by the surface- the water-soluble substances get
washed away by the water . Thus, in this method, initially, the dirt gets loosened (converted
to water-soluble substances) in the presence of sunlight. Later, the loosened dirt is flushed out
by rainwater.

Self-cleaning glass requires a proper amount of sunlight (in the presence of titanium dioxide
or cross-linked polymer coating) to break down the dust and grease to water-soluble
substances. Also, the rainwater is necessary for efficient final cleanup. So, if the amount of

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rainfall received is higher, the cleaning would be better. Here, the presence of coating is also
vital- without which the oil and grease would not get washed as easily.
(Refer Slide Time: 29:35)

Another kind of system is that of hydrophobic glass. Think of a lotus leaf. It always grows on
water, but any water on top of the leaf does not spread out throughout the leaf surface- it
forms clusters (or droplets), always trying to get off from the surface. This surface may have
serrations, and the dust or dirt are gradually carried (washed) down by the water droplets

The recessed contours do not attract dust, i.e., the dirt does not get into the serrations and
remains on the top. Alternatively, the surface may be coated by silica gel or oxides of
polyurethane to achieve a similar effect. A hydrophobic surface is oil-resistant, anti-smudge,
and stays cleaner for a long time. The water droplets that trickle down now develop a much
lower contact with this surface. Below this hydrophobic layer is the actual glass surface,
which remains clean.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:27)

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Here is a better picture adapted from the internet. There is a hydrophilic surface, where the
dust and dirt are shown by brown-colored granules, and the water droplet is not cleaning
them as it trickles down. On the contrary, on a hydrophobic surface, the water droplet
actually carries the dust granules and moves down. The force required to carry the dust
particles may be sufficient by regular rainfall. But the grease and oil will get „digested‟ in the
same place.

The term „digested‟ implies to change or transform into the other form due to the action of
sun rays. The dust and dirt roll down with the droplet. These are two nano-technological
phenomena that occur here- a relatively new application in the building industry.
(Refer Slide Time: 32:40)

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Thus, we conclude that glass can be fixed in various ways. The process of fixing is called
„glazing‟ (in this context), although the term has another meaning. Glass can be effectively
used as a thermal barrier when used as a composite (subsequent layers of glass, air, glass).
Cleaning glass is crucial to maintain visibility and is a challenging task at heights.

Various advanced technologies are being adopted in modern times for high-rise structures,
such that the cleaning process becomes less cumbersome. However, they have some
preconditions, which must be followed. We conclude this lecture here and will move on to
the next (lecture 4), where we will try to explore another form of glass. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 14
Glass Wall and Glass Insulation

So, we are back with lecture 4, module 3. In this section, we will focus on the glass
wall fixing and also the use of glass as an insulating material. So, we had looked into
the various ways of fixing glass in the previous lecture. Prior to that, we had discussed
the different types of glass. Earlier, in the beginning, we had studied the properties
and manufacturing details of glass.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:07)

By now, you are already exposed to the concept of glass walls (in the previous
lecture) made of glass blocks fixed adjacent to one another. Now, we will discuss the
binding agent between the glass blocks (like in brick masonry, we have mortar- sand,
cement, water mix). After that, we will go to glass as an insulator.

We also have two more interesting things, which employ the use of glass fibers as
reinforcements in gypsum and plastic.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:51)

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Let us start with the glass block, which we had already studied in lecture 3 (of Module
3), where we said that if you have two pieces of glass, which are moulded, brought,
and fixed together, we get a glass block. That gives an obscure view on the other side,
which implies that any object on the other side of the glass can be seen but cannot be
accurately identified due to the hazy image formed owing to the semi-transparency.

Glass blocks provide an obscure, translucent view of the object. The fixing joints for
glass blocks are visible and are different from the masonry work. That is why it is
crucial to study this fixing detail. Glass blocks are usually utilized as a partition wall
in between two spaces- a majorly internal application, and has much limited external
application unlike that of the spider web joints in the glass façade.

This gives an elegant look, and at the same time, you will feel somewhat connected to
the other side, even though you are not physically associated with the other side.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:17)

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So, in the glass block system, the mortar is a premixed blend of Portland cement, fine
sand, and chemicals, or it may be Type-S Portland cement-lime mortar. What is
important here is that unlike brick masonry, here there is no absorber for the water
component. Glass does not absorb water at all (zero absorption).

So, the water absorption being less, the mortar should be stiff, and to improve the
mechanical bonding at the edges, it may be coated with polyvinyl butyral or PVB or
even latex paints. Later in this course, we will have a detailed chapter on paints. For
now, we will concentrate on improving the mechanical bondage between the glass
wall and the adjacent wall by coating it with a PVB or latex paint.

Steel reinforcements may be pushed (embedded) in the mortar to make it more strong.
You may recall that these glass blocks have partial vacuums inside them. So, these are
almost equivalent to the double glazing units (DGUs). It is sealed when the two parts
are joined together- it locks in the air and acts as a DGU.

Sometimes, windows are also made of glass blocks. Further thermal resistivity may be
achieved by adding argon as an infill. However, these blocks find most applications in
colder countries that face subzero (around 0°C or below) exterior temperatures,
whereas it is simultaneously important to maintain +23 to +26°C room temperature in
the interior for human comfort. These glass-block windows are highly effective in
such a climate.
(Refer Slide Time: 06:02)

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After knowing this glass wall fixing system, let us move to the glass wool, where
glass works as an insulator. In the schematic diagram that some blue lines are coming
out from a heated plate, and on top is some molten glass. There is a nozzle, which
sprays air at a very high speed. The temperature at which the molten glass comes out
from the furnace is around 1450°C

The thin strands (of the order of 4 to 15 µm in diameter) come out through a mesh.
They are spun by a rotating head and are gradually cooled in contact with air. It
finally reaches the gathering spool (a connecting spool). So, it is a diagrammatic
representation of the entire process.

What you eventually get is very fine strands of glass. The glass was cast as sheets (in
the earlier lecture), and now we see glass being transformed into wool-like fibers.
They become glass-wool when they are arranged in a particular fashion, produced in
rolls or in slabs (also called bats). These are non-combustible and recyclable like the
other types of glass.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:02)

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In this picture, you can see how the glass wool looks. Inside it, the entrapped air
serves as the layer of insulation. Hence, it is crucial that the internal surface of glass
wool is dry. If somehow moisture or water can seep inside, the thermal insulation
property is lost. Glass wool also acts as an acoustic absorber.

The thermal conductivity value of glass wool is of the order of 0.023 to 0.04 W/mK.
This can be used for acoustic absorbers, too, in the form of infills in walls or ceilings.
The workmen who install the glass wool must have their hands covered with gloves.
In the image here, you see that the person is wearing eye goggles and a mask to cover
his nose and mouth.

This is because glass wool contains thin strands that may easily cause various internal
injuries (of the respiratory tract and oral cavity) if inhaled. This is a significant
disadvantage of glass wool. Otherwise, it is an excellent material for being used as a
thermal or acoustic (sound) insulator.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:51)

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Other than using glass fibers in bat or wool form or as thermal/ acoustic absorbers, we
may use them as a reinforcing material in gypsum to produce Glass Fiber Reinforced
Gypsum (GFRG). But in this case, the diameter of the thread must be higher (around
9- 17 µm). The process where filaments are spun in larger diameters of threads is
termed as ‘roving’.

You can actually insert these rovings in gypsum, and they will still remain
lightweight. Lightweight panels weigh around 44 kg/m² and are made from phospho-
gypsum as the major constituent and also glass fiber rovings. Cement acts as a binder
(for attachment between the constituents). You also need some water and
waterproofing chemicals.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:08)

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Let us discuss the various characteristics of GFRG. You can get continuous sheets of
12m (width) × 3 m (height) × 125 mm (thickness), having gaps (hollow). Here, in this
image, you see a section, and this glass acts as a reinforcement. GFRG is hard, tough,
and can withstand impact forces. Within these hollow spaces, you may plug in
reinforcement or plain cement concrete, if necessary, to impart more rigidity to the
panel.

Otherwise, you may use GFRG sheets as a partition wall within a building system.
The hollows spaces also allow passage of pipelines when installed. More than the
applications of GFRG, we are more interested in the glass strands, which imparts a
compressive strength of 7 N/mm² when hollow. Its U-value is 2.85 W/mK, and it has
a fire-resistance up to a temperature of 1000°C.

GFRG comes under green building technology. It reduces a lot of carbon dioxide
when compared to conventional panels. The product has also been approved by the
United Nations’ agency.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:52)

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Let us talk about the appearance of a GFRG panel. In this cross-section, you can see
hollow portions. Each hollow part is 250 mm in width and has a rib to strengthen the
panel. At every 0.25 m (250 mm), there is a rib, which strengthens the wall. These
ribs and the ends (flanges) are composed of glass rovings mixed with the gypsum.

GFRG is an enlisted material by the Central Public Works Department. It is

mentioned in the specifications and has been promoted by the Building Materials and
Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) as well. You may find all details regarding
GFRG in the BMTPC manual. We will discuss more of this product when we go into
prefabricated items.
(Refer Slide Time: 14:03)

Another product of glass is the Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) which is made
with thermosetting plastic (details will be mentioned later). Glass fibers rovings are
used as reinforcement. Resins are the binders here and you can also use additives,
coloring agents etc. An image of a GFRP panel is shown. The fibers may be aligned
in several ways.

In the first image (aligned fiber panel), the glass fibers are aligned, all in one
particular direction. These are having a unidirectional reinforced strength. You may
also have woven fibers in such a way that where the strength is in both directions.
You may bend it in either transverse or longitudinal directions, because it is ultimately
going into plastic. In this unidirectionally aligned fiber, you may see the a pattern of

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waviness (or corrugation). This corrugation is always in the direction of the glass
fibers, but not in the opposite direction.

But with the woven fiber panel, you may have the corrugation in any direction. You
may use GFRP panels as glass fiber reinforced plastic sheets. In the case of a random
fiber panel, you can see the glass rovings are randomly spread in various directions.
All these panels are lightweight, translucent, heat resistant, strong building material
and may be used as roofing (sheet) for temporary structures, such as bicycle shade
roofs.

So, we do not stop exploring glass. You have seen many applications in your daily
life (as window panes, glass doors, washroom louvers, etc.) in our homes, schools,
colleges, offices, etc. Obviously, those constitute the major part of the possible
applications, but usages of glass are still being explored by researchers across various
domains.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:01)

Thus, glass has versatile uses and we are often seeing newer applications. In modern
times, glass is being increasingly used as insulation materials, structural components,
external glazing material, cladding materials- other than the conventional windows
and the delicate-looking fenestrations on the facades.

Glass may undergo special transformations; one such example is in solar-powered

glass and in switchable glass (E-glass), where you mechanically alter the translucency

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value and control the entry of solar energy inside the building. These are modern
applications coming under the purview of intelligent building systems. With these, I
conclude the fourth lecture of this module on glass.

In the last lecture of this module, we will discuss the ceramic and vitrified tiles which
have a glass coating; thus, their properties are related to glass. That will be the
concluding topic for this module. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 15
Ceramic Tiles and Vitrified Tiles

So, we are in the last lecture of this particular module on glass and ceramics. Here we
will cover a slightly different topic from the earlier discussions on glass. We will talk
about ceramic and vitrified tiles and have bunched the topic here at the end of this
particular module. You must be able to recall our discussion on clay roofing tiles
under the clay module.

These tiles have a coating that is glassy in nature, and therefore, we decided to bunch
the topic under this particular module where you learn about glass. The main
difference between the other materials which you have studied and this material is
that tiles are a finishing material. It is not used for directly making walls, floors, or
roofs but as a covering (or coating) on floors, roofs, and walls.

So, it is a layer that will bring in aesthetics and various other qualities, which one
needs in a space.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:45)

Let us now see the content in this particular lecture. First is the introduction, followed
by the manufacturing process. Ceramic tiles are mostly placed on the floors and on

161
walls. Vitrified tiles are tougher and are gradually replacing stones. We had already
elaborated on stones in Module 1.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:18)

The basic materials used to manufacture ceramic and vitrified tiles are majorly clay
and sand. Thus, composition-wise, they are not much different from bricks or even
glass. These tiles also contain sand (silica). Ceramic tiles are entirely made of clay
and sand. Vitrified tiles are made from clay, feldspar, and quartz.

Hence, this brings in a lot of difference between the two materials. Ceramic and
vitrified tiles are finished materials. Here are some familiar pictures. As you see, this
(see image) is where wall tiles are used. The dado of the washroom (in the urinal
zone) is made of wall tile. Whereas here, you see a floor tile (fixed to the floor).

You can also see a lot of patterns on these tiles- they can also be made. Here you can
see a large-sized tile, whereas, in the other picture, the tiles are small. but it is very
difficult to identify the edge-line (joint) between the tiles. These are made of vitrified
tiles. These are smaller in size, and here (see image), they are almost invisible and are
larger in size.
(Refer Slide Time: 04:08)

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If we glance into history, we will see that this kind of tiles have been used for
hundreds of years, and they are not a new product. During the Renaissance period,
Italian buildings had seen a lot of applications of these tiles. The tiles you see on these
walls (see image) were also called ‘Majolica’ tiles. Those were put on wall and floor
surfaces for beautification. As evident from the images, all of these were hand-
painted.

On top of it, a coating (or glazing) was applied, which is the reason behind studying
this item under glass. You may recall that when we studied terracotta, either
grounded-glass was mixed with clay or was put in the furnace. So, glass gets fused
onto the surface- the fumes from the furnace gets coated on top of terracotta,
imparting an impervious coating on it.

Recall the term ‘impervious’, implying that water absorption is minimal. This assures
a long life for the product. A lot of historical examples can be found for these tiles. In
those days, either lead glazing or tin glazing was used. Tin glazing gave an opaque
look, while lead glazing provided a transparent look. The city of Delft in the
Netherlands is famous for its tin-glazed earthenware, popularly called ‘Delftware’.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:59)

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We will now discuss the manufacturing process and how it is different from brick
manufacture. Here, the raw materials are very fine and have to be consolidated (or
compacted) to a great extent, such that porosity (which was widely prevalent in the
bricks, causing 15 to 20% water absorption) does not impact the final product.

The coating would impart more density, strength, hardness to the product, with
additional benefits. The basic material is clay for both vitrified and ceramic tiles. The
process of manufacture of both tiles are the same- only the ingredients are different.
Clay, as you already know, is the hydrous silicate of alumina, which provides
plasticity and bonding to the product.

Silica sand decreases the unfired strength and plasticity but facilitates the escape of
gases (fumes), which are generated due to the reactions during the manufacturing
process inside the furnace. It reduces shrinkage and increases the whiteness of the
fired body.

Feldspar provides the glassy phase of the ceramic bodies and decreases the firing
temperature. Talc (hydrated magnesium silicate) enhances the fluxing action of
feldspar. These two items are added to vitrified tiles. It makes the tiles more rigid and
strong. They also attain a characteristic white color, unlike clay ceramic tiles, which
are red in color.

164
I will show you the pictures later. The mix is heated at high temperatures, when the
silica recrystallizes to form the glassy material, which imparts additional qualities to
the tile. It makes it frost-resistant and chemical resistant. The dimensions of the tiles
do not change (warpage is negligible), unlike what was seen for clay.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:57)

Coming to the stages of manufacture, the first point is raw material batching. Here,
the word batching imply to assimilate the proportions of the items which are to be
mixed together. So, a measured amount of items are to be brought in batches (in
required amounts), after which they are mixed together.

This is an essential part because it provides the entire quality of the material. In the
next stage, the batched items are inserted into the ball mill for thorough mixing,
before it goes for compaction. The final mixture becomes uniform (homogeneous).

Once that is done, it is put into the mould where it is pressed with the help of a
hydraulic press, leading to the compaction of the material. These tiles are compacted
to the maximum extent possible. For ceramic tiles, the compaction requires a pressure
of around 300 MPa, while vitrified tiles require a higher pressure (350 to 400 MPa)
for compaction.

The stage of compaction is necessary in order to make the tile more dense and
consolidated, such that it gains strength. So, nothing is fired till now. These tiles are
actually quite thin (within 5 to 6 mm thickness). After pressing and shaping, the tiles

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are sprayed through these nozzles, which gives the final coating to the tile surface. It
is again put back into the hydraulic press.

Again, as earlier, ceramic tiles are compacted with a pressure of around 300 MPa,
whereas the vitrified tiles get a pressure of 350 to 400 MPa. Then the product goes for
firing. The ‘unfired strength’ , as mentioned here, is determined by the compaction.
This compaction step is essential since it aids in making the tiles less water-absorbent.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:03)

In the firing process, the unfired tiles are put into the roller kiln, where vitrification
takes place, and this imparts dimensional stability and vitreousness to the tile. The
glaze (top layer) fuses on the surface of the clay body during the firing, and thus,
these tiles are called glazed ceramic tiles.

If the glaze is not sprayed on top of the tile during the spraying stage, it will remain
unglazed. Hence, ceramic tiles are of two types: unglazed type and glazed type. Here,
the term ‘glaze’ refers to the coat of enamel or liquid glass that is applied to almost all
the ceramic tiles. Again, the glaze can be of different types- matte or glossy in finish.

So, those are further details of the manufacturing process, but we are more interested
in the various types of tiles and their corresponding applications (usage).
(Refer Slide Time: 13:33)

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Let us come to the ceramic glaze, which is the glass-like layer or coating that imparts
imperviousness to the tile. This layer is fused (not separable) to the tile. It has now
mixed with the main body of the compacted clay tile. You may add colors to the tile,
similar to the ones mentioned during glass manufacture. That will provide a single
uniform coloration to the tile.

This also imparts waterproofing to the item. The glaze has different functions. As
already mentioned, it is non-reactive to chemicals, particularly acids. It also possesses
antibacterial and antifungal properties. After applying the glaze, the glazed tile will
develop similar properties. They find applications in chemical, biological laboratories,
operation theatres in hospitals, etc.

These tiles are applicable for interiors like pathological laboratories, surgical cabins,
even in washrooms and toilets. For example, in a bathroom, if a wall surface was kept
bare (just plaster and paint on a brick wall surface), it would have easily absorbed the
bodily discharges from people, getting stained and stinky. Due to the presence of this
glass-like finish on the tiles, the bodily discharge will neither react nor get absorbed
into the wall and can be washed away with water.

You are now aware of these properties and can use the product appropriately to fit the
specific purposes. These tiles may be tin-glazed, lead-glazed, double glazed, or fast-
firing glazed, which constitute the various types of glazings. We will not cover those
specific details.

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Sometimes, you may have colorful art on tiles; they are actually fused behind the
glass. There are methods using specific templates that generate such patterns. In early
times, this was done by hand, and then the glass coating was applied on top. Those
were handcrafted, but nowadays, the process may be easily mechanized.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:34)

Other than these glazed tiles, we also have the unglazed ceramic tile, which looks a
bit dull, and are mostly seen outdoors. They get their color from the minerals present
in the clay, so the color is natural. You may add natural pigments to make it a bit
different.

The unglazed ceramic tiles are pressed on their top surface and have only one thin
layer of colo. They absorb liquids and therefore are very much vulnerable to stains.
Though these floor tiles are thin, they are slip-resistant because they do not possess
the glassy, non-slip, frictionless coating.

Since they are slip-resistant, they are suitable for outdoor areas where water can reach
that, but it does not leave the surface slippery. These tiles may be polished if
necessary, which is named as polished unglazed ceramic tiles. In the market, there
will be a variety of options to choose from. But as an architect, you must have the
insight to pick the appropriate product depending upon the use-case (where the
product is intended to be used).

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Therefore, if your area of application is a dry area, you do not need to consider the
degree of water absorption when choosing your tiles. If it is a washroom, you have to
think of water absorption. If a lot of people are expected to move on it, then a product
with high strength and durability needs to be selected. As you had seen in the first
picture, a set of urinals are attached to the wall. Since the tile is never going to be
walked upon, we do not need to consider its strength.

Thus their compaction may not be up to the extent of floor tiles. But it can get stained,
so the water absorption factor should be considered. Tiles are made in different ways
keeping a specific application in mind. The architect has to choose the product
accordingly.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:00)

We will now study the differences between vitrified tile and ceramic tiles. The
constituent materials are obviously the first point. Vitrified tiles are made of clay,
silica, quartz, and feldspar, while ceramic tiles are made of earthen clay only. Next,
the vitrified tiles are always glossy, easy to clean, but very slippery, whereas ceramic
tiles have a rough surface (only top glazing may be given). The vitrified tiles are more
durable because of their composition and also compactness (since the pressure applied
during the compaction stage is higher for vitrified tiles), whereas the ceramic tiles
maybe a little weaker.

Fixing is easier for vitrified tiles, while in ceramic tiles, it should be done much more
cautiously (to avoid any accidental water absorption). We will discuss the fixing

169
details in a short while. Vitrified tiles are a bit more resistant to scratches than ceramic
tiles. However, in some cases (for example, on using sharp tools), even vitrified tiles
might get scratched.

Vitrified tiles are very low on water absorption (0.5%) and stain-resistant, while
ceramic tiles have higher water absorption capacity (7%), and susceptible to stains.
Vitrified tiles cost more and promise a longer life. Ceramic tiles are cheaper, and the
unglazed variety has a shorter lifespan. Aesthetically, they both deliver a marble-like
or granite-like finish. Such patterns are sometimes used on countertops nowadays- but
the appearance becomes artificial- it is easy to distinguish it from stone tops. Using
ceramic tiles can provide a more natural look.

The color of the ceramic tiles may fade away gradually due to ultraviolet light, but
vitrified tiles do not face the same issue because the color gets embedded thoroughly
with the tile owing to the vitrification process. In the case of ceramic tiles, the coating
stays only on the top surface. Vitrified tiles are also available in larger sizes (600 mm
×600 mm) as compared to ceramic tiles (mostly 300 mm × 300 mm). A more detailed
list of sizes is given later.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:09)

Now, we will focus on the area of use and the condition of use of the tile. The location
of use- wet or dry, and the traffic condition (frequency of people walking over it)
what is important to be considered. Think of a busy airport or a railway station. You
cannot allow commuters to slip when walking on them. At the same time, a rich look

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may be necessary (particularly in airports). Also, it has to be very sturdy, since the tile
has to frequently bear the weight of people walking, along with heavy luggage being
pulled across the floor. In short, it will face a lot of traffic.

So, we have to be careful in the selection of the tile. Consider office buildings, which
regularly face exposure to several phenomena involving hydrothermal stresses,
temperature change, rain (prolonged contact with water), etc. (depending upon
location and climate)- so, these points must be kept in mind during product selection.
The slip rating of tiles is mentioned on their packaging box. They are usually of three
categories- Group C, Group B, Group A. (In European standards, the slip rating is
measured by R-ratings, a higher number of rating implies better slip resistance).

Group C tiles are meant for wet areas, such as sauna, bathroom, swimming pools,
kitchen, and operation theatres. These tiles do not get slippery even if water
accumulates on them. Group B tiles are used for areas that get wet occasionally.
Group A tiles are used for mostly dry places (such as living rooms). Considering
friction, there is another class of tiles- class 1 and class 2, which depends on the
dynamic coefficient of friction- a value of less than 0.4 is grouped under Class 1 tile,
whereas values above 0.4 make it a Class 2 tile.

he dynamic coefficient of friction is measured when someone is walking, or

something is moving on the tile. Thus, you can see that there are various
classifications of these. As an architect, you have to understand the purpose and
location of use, depending on which you may choose or recommend the product.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:31)

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Here are some spaces and corresponding characteristics (see table), so that it is easier
to match the kind of environment you need and the corresponding properties of tile
that is desired. Say, bathrooms or laboratories, where chemicals are involved - there
you require stain-resistant and chemical-resistant, and obviously slip-resistant tiles.
For high-traffic areas such as hospitals, shopping centers, restaurants, meeting halls,
you will need durable, high mechanical strength tiles that offer resistance to abrasion
and are slip-resistant.

So, that kind of flooring would be designed accordingly. For public (busy) areas, such
as airports, railway stations, etc., you require heavy-duty vitrified tiles. There is
another area- mild traffic zones, with a moderate amount of people visiting (such as a
private residence). There, you may go for less-expensive flooring tiles which has
medium strength and is abrasion resistant (such as class 2 tiles). On the right side of
the table is another list, which matches the Tile class (Class 1 to 5, based on strength),
with corresponding application areas.

Here, class 5 is meant for the airport, subway, supermarkets, which see a high amount
of goods and human movement, whereas class 1 tiles are meant for walls subject to
little mechanical stresses (compared to the floor), and therefore, their strength is quite
low.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:21)

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After knowing all these, you also need to understand how to place the tile in position.
The given pictures are illustrative. A serrated (grooved) base is made. Similar
serrations are made on the walls too. This pattern is made using a specialized trowel.
Thus, something is spread on the wall, on top of which this tile is fitted. These
photographs are taken from the back of the tiles.

The second image at the bottom shows the backside of a vitrified tile, while the third
one shows the back of a ceramic tile. They have checkered ribs that grip the slurry
that has been spread, such that the tile does not come off easily after it is fixed to the
floor. The tile remains in position. But in the case of a wall, it may fall off.

As far as falling off is concerned, adherence is more important in the case of wall
tiles, but not so much for floor tiles. For floor tiles, cement and sand (1:4) mortar is
used as the base (sometimes some cement slurry is also directly used). For walls, the
quantity of cement is higher (4:1), and at times chemical adhesives are used to keep it
in position to ensure adherence. If the tile falls off accidentally, it may hurt someone.

Another vital point to note is the color of the tiles. As you can see from the images,
the ceramic tile is red in color (at the back and cross-section), basically because it
should possess the same color as that of burnt clay, similar to a brick. The vitrified tile
is white in color throughout.

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So, you must have understood the significance of knowing about the fixing of tiles.
Now, how to fill in the gaps? Eventually, there will be a large number of gaps
between the tiles through which water can seep in and loosen the tile. You have to
seal it with white cement. These tiles are spaced by means of ‘spacers’- which helps
maintain a fixed 2 to 3 mm space to allow any expansion; otherwise, it may lead to
cracks. Like every other material, installing tiles also requires specific workmanship.
(Refer Slide Time: 28:44)

In the market, several sizes of tiles are available. Wall tiles are the smallest. Typical
sizes include 4×8, 8×8, and 8×12 (all values in inches). Higher dimensions are not
available because there is a chance of falling due to their own weight. Ceramic Floor
tiles are usually found in 8×8, 12×12, 12×18, or 18×18 (all values in inches). They
may sometimes be as large as 48 inches × 48 inches.

Vitrified tiles are bigger than ceramic tiles, and thus they make a lesser number of
joints. They are a minimum 2 feet × 2 feet in size (that is, 24-inch × 24-inch or 600
mm × 600 mm). The larger the tile, the lesser the number of joints formed but are
heavier. Thus, wall tiles are preferred to be smaller to avoid damage due to falling off.
(Refer Slide Time: 29:49)

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So, we can conclude this module with this short summary. Tiles are a finished
material, unlike glass. When it has a glass-like coating, it is called a glazed tile.
Vitrified tiles are all glazed tiles. Ceramic tiles are abundantly used due to their
nonreactive glassy layer and are cheap. Vitrified tiles are often used as a substitute for
stones and they impart an elegant look to the area. Also, we need to consider the slip-
resistance and the ease of movement on the tiles.

Absorption of water, chemical actions, and the expected volume of traffic over the
tiles- all have to be considered before tile selection. Before we finish this module, I
would again request you to look at your surroundings and find out some areas where
the discussed items are used. Many of the types may be easily found at your homes or
at your institution.

You may visit a temple, a shopping mall, a restaurant, or any other public place and
check out the type of glass used. Applications of tiles may be found in gymnasiums or
swimming pool areas. Whenever you are visiting a place, train your eye to explore the
different building materials used there. Analyze the space mentally and check whether
the material is actually suitable for that space or not. This inquisitive behavior will
make you a more successful person in this domain of architecture. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 16
Introduction to Concrete

Hello everybody. So today we will start module 4, which is entirely on concrete. Now
more or less you all are aware of what is concrete not as a student of architecture, but
as a general observer, you have or you may have seen different areas or sites where
such kind of casting is done, where an entire thing is held with or supported with
some bamboo props and someone is waiting to for some period of time to get it ready
for use.

So concrete is again another building material, which we all need to know as

architects and the beauty of it is, it can be given any kind of shape, which you as an
architect desire. Yes, the civil engineers are with us to design exactly whatever shape
you want. They will come up with the reinforcement plan.

But yes, some basic ideas you will have for reinforcement, because concrete is a very
good material in compression, but it cannot take tension that much.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:52)

So if we look into this particular lecture, we will try to cover what is concrete, the
basic constituents of it, use of concrete and particularly making of concrete. Now why

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do we discuss what is concrete first instead of going to the details of its ingredients?
We will go to its ingredients one by one in the later lectures of this particular module.

But presently we will deal with what is concrete and what are the major points of
making it because that is also a very important part in the entire process.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:42)

So we will start with telling that concrete is a man-made composite, consisting of hard
chemically inert materials that is known as collectively aggregates, which again has
two parts. One is fine aggregate other is coarse aggregate. Now this fine aggregate
usually refers to sand and this coarse aggregate usually refers to the gravels or the
stones of a particular dimension.

So as we will go into details into the fine aggregate and the coarse aggregate and the
cementitious material, which is in context of concrete, it is mostly or generally
cement, but we also use lime and gypsum as a binder. So who will bind all these
things? Cement, when it is given water to it, a number of reactions happen and the
whole thing gets bound together.

As we had seen, if you remember in case of wood, engineered wood it was adhesive,
which was binding the whole thing and it was pressure, which was the next item
which helped in the compaction or compactness of it. So here also you have your raw
materials and you can actually make the concrete which is called unset or raw
concrete. You can place it in any shape and it will you will get your desired shape.

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But yes, remember as I told you, it is good in compression but not good in tension.
You have to remember that to take tension; you might have to use something called
reinforcement. They can be metal bars, they can be mesh, means metal mesh. It can
be even bamboo as reinforcement. So reinforcement is the stiff that you are adding
something which will be capable of taking the tensile force.

However, when we are embedding it within the concrete, we still keep the name as
concrete with reinforcement. Now you can take any shape means, you can have a
flowing form, it may be vault like, it may be circular, it may be meandering. When
there is no reinforcement in it, we call it plain cement concrete. So any kind of
compressive load it can take, but it is not capable of taking any tensile force.

So there should be a support below. Usually, you will have this kind of flooring on the
consolidated ground at the plinth level. And it forms the ground level support, ground
level floor. Concrete with reinforcement, is known as reinforced cement concrete or
RCC.

And these are used when you need to span between two walls, the floor plates of the
building i.e. first floor level, second floor level third floor level, the floor slabs, which
is of regular use for any kind of building structure, which we see quite often. Even the
floor on which I am sitting, it is a reinforced cement concrete slab. The roofs, yes
roofs may not have further floors. So it may have different shapes.

The staircases through which you are moving up and down, maybe partially of
reinforced concrete and it may be entirely of reinforced concrete. So these are the
major areas where we see the use of reinforced concrete.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:22)

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These are some pictures you see concrete being cast in the first floor. You can see
something very raw, which is here, which is not set, it is little messy item and within
through the reinforcement it is being placed. So the reinforcement is a separate entity,
but this mix is a concrete mix. Here you see a free flowing form supporting the
staircase and it is entirely made of concrete. So the staircase is winding up.

So that particular shape in that curvature it has been cast. That means this raw
concrete has been placed in a support which showed like this and once this concrete
got set or consolidated the support has been taken off. But more regularly you see
concrete application in such kind of structures, where you can see the floors are made
of concrete. Even the parapet walls, the weather boards up to the sill level, many
items are made of concrete.

So now we need to know if you have a small building and small sized rooms on top of
which the floor has to be cast, you may not use such strong mix. You can go for lesser
strength mix because you do not need more strength. But if you have a huge casting,
huge span, that is distance between two supports, then you might have to use much
stronger concrete. That means stronger in compressive strength.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:16)

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So being manmade, you can alter its proportions and hence, you can change the
strength. So it is not only one kind of concrete existing obviously, there would be a
minimum and a maximum strength and if we come down to the list it will be 10
N/mm2 (Newton per millimeter square) to 80 N/mm2 of compressive strength.

So on mixing with different proportions of the fine aggregate, the coarse aggregate,
the cement and the water, we can get different strengths of concrete. So let us try to
look into it, where again the important point is, they are needed to be tightly packed
and bound by cement and water that is the slurry, resulting to the concrete of different
strengths. We have generally M20 to M40 as standard concrete.

Below that M10 and M15 are lean concrete. And M45 to M80 we have high strength
concrete. Usually for our buildings we vary between M20 to M40. So we need to
know the proportions where you see all the first ones are 1 and that accounts for the
cement. So cement is one, which means against 1 unit of cement, you are using 1.5: 3
of fine aggregate and coarse aggregate.

Then you see M25, it is the amount of cement and the amounts of fine aggregate are
same and double the amount of sand or cement is the coarse aggregate. And if you
also look into the proportions, you can see 1.5:3, 1:2, 0.75:1.5, 0.5:1, and 0.25:0.5.
You see that fine aggregate is always double the amount than coarse aggregate in all
the cases from M15 to M40. And for latter you need to go for mixed design.

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Now what you see 1 is the cement and the rest other two is the fine aggregate is to
coarse aggregate. So this means, 1 is the mandate, which is against one bag of cement
as we have large volumes usually of concrete mix, it is a bag of cement, which is the
unit. And one bag of cement is 50 kg of cement. And it can also come in a particular
volume we will come to that.

But, M refers to the mix and the value against it refers to the strength of 150 cube of
concrete in Newton. So for qualitative terms we can say low strength cement, medium
strength cement, high strength cement. But finally it is cement is to sand is to coarse
aggregate, which makes the variation.
(Refer Slide Time: 13:11)

Now why two kinds of aggregates? You see in this jar with a specific volume, you
can actually pour this amount of water into it. It will move through the spaces and will
get accommodated. If we look into the fine aggregate, and the same amount of water,
the same amount of water will go into it. But if we mix the two, the fine aggregate and
the coarse aggregate, you will see even with the same things, the fine aggregates can
go into it.

And then if we add the water, you will require less amount of water because the inter
particle space reduces. So what is happening? If instead of water, this is cement mixed
with water that will go and actually gel the whole thing. If it is a cementitious material
and water it will go and gel this whole thing and requirement of this solution would be
less doing the same task, what it was doing here or here.

181
So you can reduce the volume or use of cement and still get the same thing, same
product because cement is costly. This coarse aggregate and fine aggregate itself can
be together and with addition of the cement solution, the further it gets consolidated,
in a better way.

So we need to use two kinds of aggregates to fill in the gaps between the larger
particles with the next size granules and then we use the cement solution to make it
one. But no, we are not making things like this; we mix it outside, take it to the site
and place it. So let us see what happens.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:32)

So the steps for making concrete, number one is batching. I think I have discussed this
term when we were doing glass and batching refers to measuring in fixed amounts
which are designed already, considering the design strength. Next is mixing. We will
come to each of them. Mixing means the mixing of the different ingredients together.

Next is transporting the mixture to the place where it needs to be needs to be cast. So
you need to transport and take it to the site and then you need to place it. After placing
you need to compact it and finally, you need to allow it to cure.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:30)

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Now when we talk of batching, that is measuring the amount in amounts measuring
the items in given amounts or defined definite amounts. You can do it by volume.
You can do it by weight.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:50)

Maybe you have seen an item like this on site. Or maybe you have seen an item like
this on site These maybe two bamboos. This is a sac which is called the gauge box.
And this is a kind of container which contains a specific amount and this is a kind of
measure like a spoon. So this actually can contain 50 kg of cement and its volume is
some 0.035 m3 (meter cube).

So one bag of cement as you remember the proportion, it was one bag of cement
versus one bag of fine aggregate, two bags of coarse aggregate or whatever is the

183
strength required, you will have to take amounts considering the gauge box as your
unit or the vessel or the container as your unit and you can carry on. What is the
problem here? Here you are not taking things by weight, you are measuring it by
volume.

Weight batching is considered to be more precise, where actually weights are taken.
This ratio is taken as per weight and it is done by using the weighing machine.
Another is automatically done when it is large scale construction. You can have a
batching plant, where the items are coming out in definite proportions.

You are only using an electronic board where you are entering your data and the
mixing is happening and the concrete mix is coming out. So you have to understand
what is the scale of operation, how big is the site. If it is a small residence, you can do
it by gauge box you can go by volume batching. But if it is a large scale construction
you can go for mix that you have to buy the mix against as per the order.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:56)

So let us come to see the mixing. Here you can see it is a small scale domestic
operation, where you can actually mix the items when the coarse aggregate is laid
below.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:18)

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On top of which the coarse aggregate is placed below at the lowest layer. Then on top
of it is sand, again coarse aggregate, again cement spread on it and at the center a
circle is made. So this is coarse aggregate, this is fine aggregate or sand, this is coarse
aggregate and again on top of it, it is cement and you are digging up a kind of hole.

So this takes a trapezoidal shape and you are putting water to it. Now this water is to
be measured. We will come to that later, but you have to measure the water and you
have to put it here. And then it is a manual operation of mixing the whole thing. So
you can see the picture now, the manual picture and below it is a little large scale
construction where labor may not be that cheap.

Or you can manage to order this machine and you can hire this machine and you can
use it and you can get your mixing done avoiding the manual part. So these are the
two ways and obviously this will happen very near to the site and transporting it will
be not so difficult. You have to carry it from the point to the level where it is to be
transported.

Whereas, for a ready mix machine, where you need to transport it to site in one hour.
As you had seen in the batching plant, it can actually take orders from several points
and it can actually supply the mix as per the order. But they are to be transported. So
this is the vehicle to transport and it should be done within one hour of the
construction or one hour after being made to the construction site.

185
And that too when it is carried, it should be rotating very slowly so that no setting
starts there. Because ultimately this mix which is unset, will start setting in a given
period of time. So this unset concrete needs to be transported.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:15)

After being transporting to site, here you can see the item is being placed. If it is done
at a very nearby site, it may be pumped through nozzles. As you can see the concrete
is coming out at this point and it is being poured in between the reinforcement. So
reinforcement had no connection with this concrete. Reinforcement is given as per the
design of the tensile load that the structure is going to take.

But this concrete is given poured on top of it. And how are they holding this? It is a
shuttering there which is supported by props (steel props). You can see the steel
members that are the props, which is holding the shuttering in place. This is the
shuttering onto which this entire mass is being poured. So usually it is plywood, metal
sheet used as shuttering, steel props or bamboos used as the support to the shuttering.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:31)

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Next is the operation of compacting for the entire concrete. So what will happen? You
are already pouring it. What is the point of compacting? It is done manually when it is
a small project. When it is a big project you can see the person wearing Wally boots
and doing the operation of compaction. It is a vibrator, which is actually moving the
concrete and it is allowing it to release the entrapped air.

So the entrapped air, whatever has been inside the mix gets released and the voids are
avoided. As you can see, marked in red, 5% of the void leads to 30% reduction in
strength of concrete. And again 10% void leads to 50% reduction in strength of
concrete.

Now if you keep on vibrating, so as to get rid of voids, the items may get segregated.
That means the ingredients with which the concrete was made, may get segregated.
So you cannot do any operation beyond the given time. So this vibrating operation has
to be very carefully done and the entrapped air has to be released. Once that is done,
the entire casting is ready for curing. So it is totally unset now and gradually it will
set. How gradual?
(Refer Slide Time: 26:40)

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It will be taking 28 days or 4 weeks. So curing refers to the consolidation of the
concrete to build up the strength. During this time concrete has to be kept moist,
because the hydration of cement takes place. So a series of reactions take place to
make the cement, achieve its maximum strength keeping all other ingredients with it,
the entire thing becomes a monolithic item. So there is no gap, there is no joint in the
entire unit.

Unless it is a huge casting, you may require a joint. But otherwise there is no need of
any joint. Usually the casting has to be made continuously. It may be a day and night
operation. If it is a huge casting, you can get your ready mix concrete transported,
placed, and it continues with different sets of laborers of people. But, it is best to have
the casting in one period of time i.e. one continuous period of time.

And after the period of 28 days, the entire support system can be withdrawn and the
concrete is ready for carrying load. So as we learn this entire step of making the
concrete and also knowing that by changing the values, changing the proportions, you
can get different strengths. From the next lecture, we will try to enter and know each
of the ingredient and the role there.

I have not discussed on the items which are admixtures, which you can add to
concrete to get different further properties. You can change the plasticity of it,
because you may have to transport it for a far distance. So that the beginning of the
setting process can be prolonged.

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So we need to know what are the admixtures or additions apart from the basic items
that is the cement, the coarse aggregates, the fine aggregated and also the other
ingredients. But more and more important is the amount of water which has to be very
much fixed, very much controlled in the entire process, because water also has a role
in achieving the strength of concrete.

So we will move to the next lecture and we will see how we can achieve a good kind
of concrete by using the different materials.
(Refer Slide Time: 30:02)

So with these opening with this opening lecture, we will move to the next where we
will understand the water cement ratio, we will understand how the concrete mix
would be workable and the slump tests and we will further know the details of each of
the ingredients. So thank you for today.

189
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 17
Fine Aggregates

So today we are going to discuss in this lecture 2 of module 4, we are going to discuss
on fine aggregates. So in our beginning lecture of this module, we had discussed how
concrete is being made. So as it was told that concrete is a mixture or a man-made
composite of fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, cement and water mostly.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:59)

Now fine aggregate as we had told mostly refers to sand. So first we will go to the
definition of fine aggregate and why sand? So sand as a fine aggregate and the
grading of sand and bulking of sand. With these four actually we will try to cover
what is the phenomenon or what is the purpose of this particular ingredient in
concrete. So let us proceed.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:31)

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So any naturally occurring material, which has a dimension in the order of 4.75
millimeter and below (mostly below), that we will term them as fine aggregate. But,
at the same time we have to remember that anything below that may even refer to clay
or very fine particle of soil. So if we consider those as fine aggregate, we will end up
in a lot of problem.

So fineness, this fine particle size should be restricted to the dimension given that is
0.0625 millimeter and beyond that it should be discarded out from the sand. Now sand
is one fine aggregate. As you can see in the picture, you can even touch sand and you
can feel that it is granular and the granules are fine. And that is why the term comes
fine aggregate. But is it only sand? Yes, sand is the mostly used.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:57)

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But if we see others are cinder, which is a residue obtained from the furnace or
granulated slag which is coming from the industry or even quarry dust coming from
the stone quarries. So sand is not always available at all points. So alternatives are
there and it is mostly having a very small dimension granules.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:28)

So usually it is sand, which is SiO2 and refers to the naturally occurring finely divided
rock. It is obtained mostly from the river beds and obviously it is free from salt. We
all know on seashores you get lot of sand but that is containing high amount of salt.
So that is not appropriate for use. So what does sand actually do in a concrete mix? It
brings the economy in the mix by reducing the use of cement.

We had seen in the previous chapter that if we have a container of coarse aggregate
that is bigger granules, if you pour water in it, it will be consumed. But if you have
sand and the granules together the amount of liquid going into it or the solution going
into it would be lesser. So obviously, it will bring in economy to the entire thing.

It will also prevent because coarse aggregate have bigger particles which are larger in
size and the cement water slurry is very fine. This intermediate layer helps to prevent
the shrinkage and prevents the development of the cracks in the structure. So in
combination with cement, it adds strength against crushing and it also allows air to
enter into the construction and helps in air hardening. So the air can penetrate inside
and help in the process of the reactions.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:30)

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So if we move further, we will see that if you touch sand as I told you, you will
understand the grain size. So sand is not always the same in feel. Some may be
coarse, some maybe not so coarse. So you need to know how to grade sand and why
grading is important. Grading of sand is important because it affects the workability
of concrete. So in a concrete mix, when you are adding the sand the mixing process
becomes easier.

So workability is how you need to work with it. And very fine grade sand makes a
poor mix. What it does?
(Refer Slide Time: 06:33)

It actually coats with the cement particle and does not allow the cement to actually get
associated to the larger aggregate. So if this is the coarse aggregate and this is the

193
sediment particle, this sand that actually coats it becomes clay like. It actually coats
the cement particles and stops adherence of the cement particle with the coarse
aggregate. So the binding becomes difficult.

Similarly, we have coarse grade sand that is the other end. It gives a very harsh mix. It
leaves voids. As I told you, in compaction process you try to get rid of the voids, but
if there are coarse particles of sand used, then voids may remain in the mix. So best is
the medium grade sand for construction purposes. Now is it possible from a very large
heap of sand to find out which sand is of what type?

It is very difficult. Yes, maybe a very trained person can touch and feel and say okay,
this is good. This is okay for the construction. Yes, but there should be some technical
method to find that out.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:27)

So we have a sieve test, which gives helps us to calculate the fineness modulus of
sand. It is not possible the way which we had learned in case of brick to find out
whether it is a first class brick or a second class brick. In case of fineness modulus of
sand you cannot separate out individual granules and go for testing. You cannot go
and measure each and every particle. We can take help of a sieve.

So sieves are of different dimensions. You must have seen a sieve. Whenever you are
pouring tea, the tea leaves remain and the tea goes out of the sieve. Even you shift
flour, you keep the husk, keep the larger parts up and the flour of desired size will go

194
below. So you must have all seen these at domestic level. Here you see there is a
stand which has a number of trays 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 trays, where actually you can put the
sample mix and you can move it or shake it.

Now how will it help you? You can pass the sand from the topmost till the bottom by
shaking and what will happen? If the sieve sizes are different starting with 4.75
millimeter as we have told, it will gradually come down, the larger particles beyond
that size will be remaining on the top and at the bottom it will be strained down. So
each of the sieve will retain the dimension which is above that sieve size.

So this method is called sieve analysis. So it can be calculated by taking sample from
given sand and conducting sieve analysis. As for brick it was thousand of bricks and
you can take a sample of six to eight bricks and you could have done the testing. Here
you need to take maybe one kilogram of sand or two kilograms of sand and pour it
inside, pour it in this first top tray.

So the entire sand is received on this top tray and then it is shaken. So gradually it
trickles down, further trickles down, further trickles down and whatever is retained
you can actually collect the mass. Once you collect the mass, you can create a table
and find out the fineness modulus, which is defined as
∑
=
100
If the value is within 2.9 to 3.2, we will call that as coarse sand. If that value is
between 2.6 to 2.9 we will call that as medium sand and fine sand when it is going
below 2.6 to 2.2. What do you understand by these figures? If you have more on the
top tray that means if you have larger particles, top tray means they are having larger
dimensions.

The cumulative will try to grow from this point and it will end up with a higher value
of say up to 320 you can see which when divided by 100 will give you the value of
3.2. So the fineness modulus will be higher if more number of the aggregates will be
retained by the top part of the sieves. We will see through an example. So more
amount on the top tray, the cumulative is the summation every time that values are
getting added.

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So the overall value will become larger. Since it is a mix, it will also get values from
the lower trays. So you are restricting the upper limit by 3.2. You are restricting the
lower limit by 2.2 so that you do not end up with very small particles only at the
lower shelf. So if it is only on the lower shelf, the cumulative starts only in these two
shelves or these three shelves and it will give a very low value. So value below that
also is not to be entertained.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:08)

So let us move to this sieve analysis in details, which I tried to explain. So the overall
gradation by distribution of particle size expressed in percentage of the total dry
weight is the objective. The gradation is determined by passing the material through a
series of sieves stacked with progressively smaller openings from top to bottom. Hope
you understood in the previous picture I actually discussed these points.

Weighing the sand in individual sieves and finding the percentage retained is the next
step. Finally the cumulative percentage is worked out for the sand retained in each
sieve. So sum of the cumulative percentage retained in each sieve divided by 100
gives the fineness modulus. So I think a demonstration through an example will make
it clear.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:29)

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Say you are given 1 kilogram of a sample that is 1000 grams and this side you see
there are sieve numbers 1 to 6, which is starting from 4.75 to 0.15 millimeter and here
is the sand, weight of the sand, which you have got after shaking the sieves. So you
have allowed that 1 kg of sand to separate out in all these trays of different dimension.
So you see in the all the sand has passed the 4.75 millimeter sieve.

100 grams are retained by the 2.36 millimeter sieve. 250 grams are retained by the
next layer. 350 grams are retained by the layer next to it. 200 grams are retained by
the 0.3 millimeter sieve. And 100 grams are retained by the in the last sieve. And that
completes your 1000 grams. So all the sieves excepting the first one, the top one the
entire sand is distributed as 100, 250, 350, 200, and 100.

So if you take the cumulative weights it will be 100 for the first tray, next tray will be
100 + 250 i.e. 350. Then 100 + 250 + 350 is 700. Then with 700 another 200 that is
900 and then another 100 that gives 1000. What is the percentage weight? 100 grams
is 10% of 1 kg or 1000 grams. 350 grams is 35%. Similarly 700 is 70%. 900
cumulative weight is 90% and 1000 gives you 100%. So this is the cumulative
percentage retained. If you add up all these values you get 305.

That is the cumulative percentage is 305. Hence, the fineness modulus is 3.05 which
mean it is coarse sand. Sand comes in truckloads. You can take another sample from
another side of the entire mass, but you cannot do it for the whole. So you are taking

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samples and doing such test and giving it a tag, this is medium grade, that is coarse
grade and that is fine grade.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:38)

After knowing this, we move to the important phenomenon, which is called bulking
of sand. If you remember, in the previous lecture, when we were discussing batching,
where we learnt that one is volume batching and the other is weight batching. And in
many domestic level works, we go by volume batching because that is easier, rather
convenient.

You have a measuring unit and you are using two times, one time, three times
whatever is the mix, you are going and using that as the unit. And yes, one bag of
cement always comes dry and it is 50 kg. You call it by weight or you call it by
volume that is perfect. But in case of sand, if you are doing a construction during the
rainy season or in a very humid season part of the year you will understand you will
see that your volume of sand will increase.

That is called bulking of sand. And that happens due to the presence of moisture and
because of the very small fine sand particles. As you see here in the picture, water is
actually coating the sand particles and it is not breaking. And they are actually
pushing the particles; the water is pushing the particles, one from the other which is
giving an effective increase in the volume.

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So whatever you see as volume, it is because of the moisture or water encircling it.
And that gives an increased volume and that is not a very small amount. You see 20 to
40% volume increases with 5 to 10% of water or moisture. So it is not to be
neglected. So if the volume increases in this order 20 to 40% that means, you are
doing something wrong when you are taking the sand by volume.

So in that case, maybe weight would have been a better measure and dry sand is the
answer. But, you may not have always access to weight batching. So you have to
check that whether the sand is dry or not. On the other hand, you are actually adding
more of water to the system to the mix, which is also not desired. As I told you water
you have to give it in a very measured quantity to achieve the maximum strength out
of the same mix.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:20)

So if we see in this graph, wet sand, which is fine, will have more number of particles,
more amount of expansion and it will push the particles more. So if you see this
graph, the fine sand is actually growing the maximum and reaching almost 40% when
the amount of moisture is almost 5 to 6%. Yes, medium may grow up to 30% and
coarse will go up to 20% because the particle sizes are larger.

So fine sand bulks most, coarse sand bulks least. How can you measure this? What
happens if more amount of water is added, more amount of moisture the sand is
facing, this water coating breaks and the sand reaches saturation. Then the water
gradually comes out.

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(Refer Slide Time: 24:49)

So if you have a beaker and if you put bulked sand up to a level say this is 150
millimeter measure and in the same sand you now add or pour water. You are pouring
water from top. This was bulked sand. Now you are pouring water the sand gets
saturated with the water and it separates out and this part is water say and only this
part is the sand, say this is 125 millimeter.

So what is happening here? This was bulked sand which was having 150 millimeter.
Now it has been saturated with adding some water. You have got the sand separated
out. That is showing 125 millimeter. So
150 − 125
x 100
125
is equal to 20% increase. So here you are neglecting the area because they are the
same. So you are getting some 20% increase and this is how you can measure. So if
you would have used this sand, you would have used 20% less of sand in the mix.

This graph shows fine sand having the maximum bulking, coarse sand having the
minimum bulking, but it is in both the cases or in all the three cases it is quite huge.
So if we keep these points in mind you will understand that yes sand by the name it is
sand but yes it has lots of tasks in a concrete mix.
(Refer Slide Time: 28:28)

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So we can conclude by saying that sand is the mostly used fine aggregate, though we
also use other items as fine aggregates. Particle size is important as they give strength.
Particle size is important as very fine sand also coats cement and does not allow
cement in the binding process. Fineness modulus can be worked out and medium
grade sand is preferred for construction work.

Yes coarse grain and fine grain sand have their particular uses. Dry sand is
recommended because of the phenomena of bulking. It may not always be possible to
get 100 percent dry sand. But if you keep the point of bulking in mind, then some
additional portion of sand in a proportionate way maybe increased. Fine sand bulks
more than that of coarse sand. However, bulking is a huge process.

It is in quite good percentage. So we just cannot ignore the process of bulking. Once
said all these points, I think we are in a position to move to the next item that is coarse
aggregate, which we will try to cover in the next lecture. And we will always have to
keep in mind that we are targeting to achieve a good mix for the concrete, which we
will use it every now and then in our building industry.

So this is a very challenging material and with these few words I end here. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 18
Coarse Aggregates

So we are in lecture 3 of module 4. So module 4 is on concrete and on this particular

lecture we will be discussing on coarse aggregate. The earlier two, we tried to explain
what is concrete and then in the previous lecture, we had covered define aggregates.
So we are coming into the next ingredient that is coarse aggregate.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:55)

In this particular lecture, we will try to cover the definition of coarse aggregate,
classification of coarse aggregate and again coarse aggregate size and grading. Unlike
the fine aggregate, which was very fine particles, which you all had seen, which you
all know, it is mostly sand predominantly used across India. Here we will deal with
the larger particles, which are known as coarse aggregates.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:26)

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Already we had discussed that particle sizes below 4.75 mm (millimeter) were
considered as fine aggregates. And you can go down and down and in the calculation
we had seen if something is passing through 0.15 mm of sieve size, we consider that
as clay, which actually is not to be considered as good quality sand if it is more in
percentage, because it does not allow the mixing or binding with the coarse aggregate.

So however, in this case particle sizes above this particular threshold, we are
considering as coarse aggregates. So will we go upper and upper as per our will? No,
we have to look into particle sizes. We usually restrict ourselves to particle sizes up to
20 mm, which we will discuss it little later. However, particle sizes up to 40 mm are
used as coarse aggregate in large scale mixes.

So generally for regular building industry we go up to sizes of 25 mm and below, up

to 4.75 mm. So in the picture here, you can see different sizes of coarse aggregate,
which is differentiated by the line and it is visibly much clear to you all. So what are
the sources?

Unlike the sand which was mostly from the rivers, here you see these are stones
obtained from the igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, the gravels obtained from the
river, the lime stones with specified dimensions as I already told and they are mostly
clubbed under coarse segregates. Why we go for igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks,
gravels? We use it because ultimately these are imparting the strength to the concrete.

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Instead of bringing a rock which had a definite shape here you are binding the rocks
of lesser dimension together to form something like a rock. So what is concrete? It is
a man-made mass, which is one, you cannot break it. And it is coming or being bound
by these particles. And if you see, proportion wise you will see the aggregates in the
mix had the maximum share, largest share.

If you remember 1:1:2, 1:1.5:3, 1:2:4. So the largest share is that of the coarse
aggregate and that is the strength provider of the entire concrete. So the mix actually
comes from this. The strength of the mix comes mostly from this aggregate, but do
remember that the binding is also very crucial, how it is being bound. So we will
come to that also.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:12)

So coarse aggregates are basically inert fillers and are essential component of
concrete. Porosity, thermal expansion, shrinkage are the key points, which should be
minimum, because it is having the maximum share in the mix. Any kind of expansion,
any kind of shrinkage, any kind of allowance of moisture inside it will lead to cracks.

So it has to be kept in mind which is more easily available, which is higher or better
in case of the igneous rocks, the basalts, maybe the sedimentary rocks too and these
are responsible for strength, durability, workability as well as economy of the entire
mix. If we talk of the density you see it should be less than some 1500 kg/m3. So this
also gives a clue of the density of concrete.

204
A good concrete mix is said to have around 60% to 75% of its volume and it is
furthermore 70% to 85% by weight of the coarse aggregates. So now you can
understand from these figures, the role of this coarse aggregate it is actually the
component which is bound very precisely, and the preciseness in the binding will give
better strength to it. So who binds it?

It is the cement, the sand, water together binds it. We will come to that in our next
lecture later.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:25)

Now apart from the stones, we have some other source like the vermiculites and the
perlites which are obtained from the volcanic glass. They are quite light in weight.
You see the figure is less than 1100 kg/m3. So they will give you lightweight concrete
and these items are compressible, insulators, fireproof, non-combustible, and non-
reactive too.

So you needed inert materials. So these are chosen when we need lightweight
concrete.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:15)

205
Sometimes there is non-availability of stone. In our country context, say in Tripura
etc., there you may not get lot of stone in abundance. So you cannot get coarse
aggregate. Is it so? Or you have to transport it from a location which will increase the
cost. Then the economy would not be achieved. There also you can use this
lightweight broken brick aggregate as a coarse aggregate in the mix.

These are also used for road constructions. Fourth grade bricks, brick parts are all also
used for constructions. So these can also be used as coarse aggregates in a concrete
mix. Similar to the lightweight varieties, we have another end which is the higher
side. Those are known as heavy aggregates, which are usually iron shots, steel pellets
and where do they go?

They are used for shielding nuclear radiations. So wherever there is a nuclear reactor
being constructed, there you may use such kind of aggregates and as you see they are
obviously going to be higher in density. As you can see it is 2000 kg/m3. So not only
the stones but we have so many other things to be used as coarse aggregates. One
point which I would further add to this is recycled coarse aggregate.

You may have a construction being dismantled, because of aging and it is falling
apart. Even the concrete which you get from there, you can actually use that. You can
take out the coarse aggregate from it try to move away the sand and the cement mix
from top of it by washing and then you can also reuse it. So that is a kind of waste
consumption. So these are also being experimented and used in this particular field.

206
(Refer Slide Time: 10:55)

Now coming to the very important and critical is the shape. And if we classify the
shapes, we will see they are rounded, irregular and angular, maybe both are almost
similar. And the last one if you see it is the flaky one. So as you know, that spheres
has the minimum surface area. So the rounded are not all spherical, but roundedness
actually will give less of surface area. That means less of coverage or binding space.

Furthermore rounded means it is not having many surfaces, no edges. So if we see a

picture, you see these particles you see these particles they are very much circular. So
there edges are not there to hold the adhesive or the binder that is the cement and the
sand. So here the binding will be less. Rounded aggregates have least surface area;
produce minimum voids in concrete, but causes bond failure due to poor interlocking
property.

And it has the minimum surface area as already I have told and hence the surface
contact is also minimal. So let us look into the other type that is the irregular
aggregates. Here you see which you mostly have witnessed if you have come across
any construction site. From now on you please keep your eyes open so that you can
see these kinds of things. You will never get the first variety on site.

But this variety, which is already displayed here in this second picture, you must have
seen it. What do you see here? They are not circles. They have lot of faces. And they
can actually hold the or bind hold the binder on its each face and can have a more

207
closer or compact and they can actually contribute to the binding process, which will
eventually give the strength.

Angular aggregates they may have sharp edges also as you can differentiate between
the two pictures. They create maximum voids in concrete. Since you cannot get
everything hundred percent irregular, hundred percent angular, you can have these
two for your regular use.
(Refer Slide Time: 14:26)

Next are the flaky aggregates. Flaky aggregates means they are thin and they are long.
So here you see they are elongated aggregates where length is almost twice that of its
mean dimension and the thickness is quite low i.e. 0.6 times its mean dimension. That
means it is almost three times long compared to its minimum width and these are
identified as flaky aggregates.

They reduce the flexural strength and they also tend to segregate. Now we have not
discussed the process of segregation. We have discussed it, when we had discussed
the compaction process. If you keep on compacting for a prolonged period of time,
your coarse aggregate will segregate from the entire mix. So if you have flaky
aggregates in the mix it will further come out easily.

It will enhance the process of segregation, which is not at all desired. So if you keep
this in mind, you will look for irregular, angular aggregates. And this flakiness, you
have the flakiness index. You have the elongation index. I am not going into further

208
details of it. You can measure it. There are appropriate tools to measure the elongation
index. There are appropriate tools to look into the sphericity, i.e. the roundedness and
the flakiness index.

But yes, human eyes are always there to take it out. In an entire heap of aggregate
which you receive few of such kind can always be there, some 1% can be always
there. Some hand sorting can be done, but an entire lot cannot be used which is flaky
in nature.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:45)

Now coming to another interesting thing which I had already discussed is the particle
size. These aggregates have to move through the reinforcement in case of a reinforced
cement concrete. So the gap between the reinforcement will allow these particles to
move from one end to the other since no human intervention can cross these particles
one by one.

So the sizes should be as appropriate to the gaps present between the dense
reinforcements. If it is dense, you have to go for smaller sizes. If it is a huge mass
construction you can go for larger particle sizes. So usually for mass construction you
can use 40 mm particle size. We have 80 mm particle size. We have even 150 mm
particle size, but those are not much of our interest.

209
We have beams, columns, slabs as reinforced concrete structures where these particles
have to pass. Another important point that you have to look for is the clear cover.
What is clear cover?
(Refer Slide Time: 18:15)

Whenever you are having, say a beam to be supported. This is a slab. So you will
have different reinforcements, layers, various rods. So every time to protect these rods
from the outside and have enough binding with the concrete you have to keep a
minimum cover on the sides. Here, here, here at all points. And this gap is called the
clear cover. This has two purposes.

One is to develop the bond strength with the concrete, the plain concrete and secondly
to protect these rods from the environment because these are usually iron and they can
undergo rusting. So this clear cover is the basic minimum which has to be provided.
So where will my aggregates go? If we take another color, we will have our
aggregates sitting in these gaps.

So if this is 25 mm then your aggregate size should not be more than that. So that
gives the aggregate sizes for general construction, the particles up to 20 mm are
allowed. So you will mostly see that these aggregates are 20 mm and below. So I hope
that the concept of clear cover, the size of aggregate, reinforcement size and the
aggregate are clear to you.

210
For particles up to 10 mm, these are also coarse aggregates. Where will they be used?
They are used in thin sections, thin castings, very thin shells, not so heavy beams. So
there is a restriction of flow. The clear cover is 15 mm. For such kind of structures
you will have low particle sizes. For castings where Ferro-cement is used, where it
has to move through mesh (chicken wire mesh), you will have to go for very smaller
size chips, stone chips.

So hope you understood the significance of aggregate size.

(Refer Slide Time: 21:40)

Now we move to another interesting part which is very similar to that of fine
aggregate. That is the fineness modulus. How do we find the fineness modulus of
aggregate? Because it is not possible for humans to individually measure each of the
particles even though they are larger than that of sand. And neither it is as fine as
sand, but the principle remains the same.

You have larger size mesh sieve through which you have to pass the aggregate which
you have considered. First of all through understanding you have to reject the
elongated flaky stone chips by maybe hand picking. But more or less you will get a
regular size which has to pass through the sieves and then you have the specific sieve
sizes and you are allowed to stay up to 4.75 mm.

So let us see the maximum size based on fineness modulus. For aggregate sizes 20
mm and below you will get a fineness modulus of 6 to 6.9. For aggregate sizes 40 mm

211
and below, it will vary from 6.9 to 7.5. For 75 mm and below it will be higher. And
again if you put further larger sizes, this value will be more. The principle of
calculation remains the same.

Amount of aggregate retained in each of the tray has to be cumulated and the
cumulative percentage has to be calculated. What will happen?
(Refer Slide Time: 23:51)

Let us see the example. What will happen? If you see the lower part of this chart 4.75
onwards it has reached the maximum because beyond that it was qualifying for sand.
It will be qualifying for fine aggregate. Needless to say this 5 kilogram sample does
not have any sand in it. So you are getting 0 as the weight after 4.75 mm sieve size.

So up to 4.75 mm sieve, you are getting your 5 kilogram total. So the 40 mm sieve
had retained only 250 grams (g). The 20 mm sieve has retained 1750 g. The 10 mm
sieve has retained 1600 g and your 4.75 mm has retained the rest. So what is
happening? Beyond this, when you are accumulating they are from here onwards
these are all hundred percent.

So you will always add up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. So these 6 trays are always going to
give you the 600. And the upper part is actually giving the correction, is giving you
the value, giving you this 717 which when divided by 100 gives 7.17. See as because
there is some granule in the 40 mm sieve, the entire bunch has been qualified as 40
mm and below.

212
So we should always remember these are giving you the indication, what is the actual,
what will be the fineness modulus.
(Refer Slide Time: 26:20)

So let us conclude by saying that stones are mostly used as coarse aggregates. Yes, we
also knew a few more things which are used of which brick is mostly used other than
stone. Aggregate shape is important. Aggregate type is also important as it gives the
strength. Fineness modulus can be similarly worked out like that of sand, but here the
values are more since the last few trays are not holding any item and it is having a
value more than that of the fineness modulus of sand.

Irregular and angular shapes have better bonding than rounded or elongated shapes.
So with these, I would close this lecture and in our next lecture, we will move to
cement and further more to know more of concrete. Thank you.

213
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 19
Cement

So we are in lecture 4 of module 4, which is on concrete. And in my previous lectures,

we have seen how concrete is being cast and then after that we had started to enter
into each of the ingredients. The last lectures were on the two aggregates that was the
fine aggregate and then the coarse aggregate. Now today we are trying to cover the
most important player which is the binder, which binds all the substances or the
ingredients, that is cement.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:03)

It is the costliest within the mix and which is the minimum used in a mix almost and
in most of the times. And yes, we will try to cover its manufacturing, composition and
then the main part which is actually giving it the strength that is the hydration of
cement, the gel space ratio setting of cement, then the heat of hydration and the
different types of cement which we will try to open it to you.

Mostly we use the ordinary Portland cement for our general constructions and
particularly in our atmospheric condition. That means the temperature and the
humidity.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:59)

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Now cement was found as long back and was named as magic powder. Why magic?
Because it could set, it was an adhesive; it was helping in the binding of any kind of
material. So initially, when it was found and it was grey in color and ordinary
Portland cement was the name when it was started manufacturing. So we have two
types of cements.

One is the hydraulic cement, which sets in presence of water, which is the ordinary
Portland cement. The other one is the non-hydraulic cement, which we also had
discussed that is lime and gypsum. It does not set in water. So it delays the process.
Otherwise, in the case of ordinary Portland cement, if we will come to the ingredients
then we will know that whenever it comes in contact with water, it sets.

Even the bags of cement which are purchased are to be kept and used within a short
period of time so as to avoid setting. A bag usually contains about 50 kg of cement
and if it sets, it is a loss of the money. For example a big of cement costs around 380
to 400 rupees. So we have to understand that if we expose the hydraulic cement which
we use regularly it sets. So let us come to each of the phenomena one by one and first
we try to know what it is made of.

Unlike the sand (fine aggregates) and gravels (coarse aggregates), those were
naturally occurring. But here it is man-made and you see again it is the list of the
stones. The calcareous rocks having limestone that is rich in calcium. Argillo-

215
calcareous rocks which is again clayey limestone. Argillaceous rocks which is having
alumina, that clay. There are iron ore which helps in formation of the ferrites.

And sand which helps in formation of the silicates of the calcium etc., which is
present in the rocks. So now again you see it is the same material from which we are
making the usable material, which is the binder in the entire item of concrete. So
rocks are crushed and then heated in kiln. It is a very basic line I have used but these
rocks come in various proportions that is batching is required and there is a dry
process, there is a wet process. I am not elaborating much into it.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:07)

But coming to the major part, when these dusts in their proportions are mixed, they
are actually put into a system where you see the first part, it is the moderate
temperature zone, then it is the average temperature zone, then it is the maximum
temperature zone, which shows that the heat is sent from this direction. So here is the
burner and the temperature gradually moves from this end to that end, keeping this
end as the hottest part.

This is the hottest part. You can see the temperature written over there. But the raw
materials are being fed from this direction. So the raw materials gradually move from
this side to this side. So here it receives some 800oC temperature. And here actually
the dehydration of the entire stone takes place. This area is the calcination zone. And
the last part is the clinkering zone.

216
Clinkers are small ball like substances which are the transformation of all the dust, the
mixed dust which had been fed into the system as raw material. As you see the
sequence of actions here, the clay decomposes, the lime decomposes, some initial
compounds are formed, that is the mixing of the items are happening.

The compounds namely the calcium silicates, the di-calcium silicates, the tri-calcium
silicates, the aluminum ferrites and the calcium aluminates, start forming and you see
these are finally formed. So you see here is the clinkering zone and it is the cooling
side. Gradually it moves into the cooler part and it is discharged. So the clinkers are
now ready for grinding. So what is this clinker?
(Refer Slide Time: 07:26)

These clinkers are varying in size from say 0.5 cm to around 5 cm small balls like
substances. But these are kept aside. Why? We come to the next item, which is
gypsum. Gypsum is nothing but a mineral sulphate, calcium sulphate, which has two
molecules of water, so this hydrated calcium sulphate is required to be added to the
clinker. Now this clinker what has happened? This clinker needs grinding.

This clinker needs to be dry and cold. So those are preserved, those are cooled and
now you are grinding it. Clinkers are ground and they are mixed with gypsum when
ordered. Ordered means ordered from the site. Because once this powder is made,
which is named as cement which reaches the site, its life starts from there.

217
And you cannot keep it on shelf for a longer period of time. So the person or the
manufacturer will lose the cement if it is not ordered and he is manufacturing
continuously. So the clinkers in cold condition are mixed with gypsum when the order
is placed and it is bagged in form of cement. Now if it was mixed when clinkers were
hot, what would have happened?

The hydrated gypsum, the two molecules of water in gypsum would become
anhydrous. It would have evaporated because this gypsum coats the cement particles
and delay the setting process. So we will come to setting later but setting in one word
is the binding. Usually 2% to 5% or 3% to 5% maximum gypsum is added. If you
keep on increasing the amount of gypsum, the setting will be much delayed.

So we have to also keep an eye about how much gypsum is added as because adding
more and more would not help. So the role of gypsum is to adjust the setting time. So
if you require a quick setting, for example you need construction to be usable or to be
transported very quickly or it is an underwater item being cast or it is a foundation in
a very marshy land. You need quick setting. So what will you withdraw?

The percentage of Gypsum added will be withdrawn. How? Can you take it out? No.
When you are ordering you have to order for quick setting cement. So if you add
more of gypsum it will delay setting. If you withdraw gypsum it will make flash
setting or quick setting.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:13)

218
Now coming to the composition of cement of which one is Gypsum you have all
known, but what are the other formations of those stones which you have added. They
have formed finally tri-calcium silicate, Dicalcium silicate, Tricalcium aluminate,
Tetra calcium alumino ferrite. Now here you see it is 3CaOSiO2 and it is abbreviated
as C3S. So this indicates Tricalcium silicate.

Next is Dicalcium silicate and abbreviated as C2S. If you see Tricalcium aluminate
you see C3A. And you see Tetra calcium alumino ferrite it is 3CaOAl2O3 and
4CaOAl2O3Fe2O3. So it gives C4AF. Now here you see there is a ferrite. And finally,
it is Gypsum which is added at the last and its percentage varies. And Gypsum is also
abbreviated as CS̄H2, as it is calcium sulphate. S bar and H2 implies two molecules of
water.

So whenever we talk of cement, whenever we say C3S it is Tricalcium silicate, C2S is

Ficalcium silicate. Tricalcium aluminate is C3A and the other two. So you do not
have to remember all the formula, but it is the basic way of remembering. Why we
need to remember? Because all these items react in different times to have or help in
the setting process.
(Refer Slide Time: 13:21)

So that it brings to the hydration of cement. When water is added to the cement,
actually all the ingredients which we had talked earlier, starts their reaction with water
and it is a surface reaction. So you see, carbon hydrogen it is actually calcium, it is the

219
calcium oxide and H is the water. So these hydrates are forming. And gradually, this
hydration keeps on forming with time.

It is a function of time and not all are reacting always. Who is reacting first? The
Tricalcium sulphate is reacting first and it also liberates heat. So we will come to the
heat liberation part also. But, now presently we are looking into the hydration process.
The water and the cement together form slurry, which is called the gel. This gel is
nothing but submicroscopic crystals of calcium hydroxide, C̄-H. C was calcium oxide
and H was water.

So they combined and formed calcium hydroxides. You get a lot of series of
hydration reactions and collectively it is called hydration and they have high surface
area. Why you need this surface area? The area is required because in case of sand
particles, all of them are surrounded by this cement gel.

And if you remember during sand we discussed clay, if there was clay in the sand,
then the clay would have not allowed this gel to reach the sand particle. So this high
surface area, the gel actually coats the sand, which sits on the top of the coarse
aggregate and finally, that binds. So individual components react at different rates and
finally cement achieves the strength and all other ingredients along with it get bound.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:08)

C3S or Tricalcium silicate hydrates and hardens rapidly and it is responsible for the
initial strength in the first week of concrete casting. If you remember the curing of

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concrete, which was discussed in the first lecture, we have to cure concrete for 28
days. So this hydration process of cement of this particular C3S, it is a very initial
phenomenon as well as surface phenomenon which gives the initial strength to the
concrete mass.

C2S or Dicalcium silicate hydrates and hardens slowly and it is responsible for the
strength beyond the first week. It is the strength of the concrete. Though the reaction
of cement starts with its neighboring items that are sand or coarse aggregate, but the
strength of the entire mass builds up after first week due to Dicalcium silicate.

C3A which is Tricalcium aluminate hardens rapidly similar to C3S and leads to
stiffening of the item. So item become stiff, because and you cannot reshape it.
Gypsum retards the hydration process and thus delays the setting of C3A and also of
C3S. So that is the major role of gypsum in cement. C4AF or Tetra calcium alumino
ferrite hydrates the cement rapidly but imparts no strength to the cement.

It is important to bring down the kiln temperature when the cement formation was
happening. If you remember the kiln temperature as I told varies from 800oC to
1000oC and then up to 1500oC, it would not have happened in 1500oC if there was no
tetra calcium alumino ferrite. So it brought down the temperature of clinkering while
in the manufacturing of cement and this actually is giving or imparting color to
cement. And to be precise, it is the ferrite which is giving the color.
(Refer Slide Time: 18:48)

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Now we come to the gel and see how it looks. When water is added to cement you
can see (in the picture) that lots of gaps are there, it is the gel matrix and these gaps
are called the pores. These spaces in between which are actually in cement makes it is
the or in the gel it is the void or the gaps.

So gel space ratio as you can see, it is the ratio of the volume of the hydrated cement
paste. It can expressed as follows
ℎ
=
ℎ +
So it is the actual volume divided by the sum of the volume of the hydrated cement
paste and the capillary pores. So if you add up all these capillary pores with the
volume, what you get is the denominator.

But on the top it is actually what volume you have added and that you are supposed to
get. But because of this pores it has increased in volume. So the gel space ratio the
spaces actually at the pores or the voids. So lesser will be the void higher will be the
strength. So the intrinsic strength of the gel depends on the gel space ratio.

So this water and the cement together that forms the gel leaves pores inside and if
these pores are more the strength of the cement will be less. So here you can see the
graph and here is the compressive strength in N/mm2. It starts with a decent amount
from gel space ratio of 6 when it is 40 N/mm2. And it goes higher when you end up
with minimum of capillary pores.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:06)

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Now coming to the how to know the settling time. As we had talked about the setting
of cement like how it hardens and we have talked that C3A, C3S is important for the
initial setting. So setting time actually gives an indication of how much of hydration
has happened, whether it is undergoing normal hydration, whether it has enough of
water and usually the setting time is split into two.

As we discussed that C3S and C3A are mostly responsible for the initial setting. Their
rates of reaction or hydration happen faster in the very beginning and gradually as the
time increases the hydration still continues. And that is why during curing you always
need to keep water. Yes the water is mixed inside it, but that gradually the strength
gain happens.

So depending factors are, how fine the cement is, how is the water cement ratio, we
will come to that little later in the next lecture, what are the components and their
proportions? What are the kinds of plasticizers and admixtures added? We will also
elaborate on that and what is the gypsum content because gypsum retards the initial
setting. We have the Vicat test where actually a plunger is allowed.
(Refer Slide Time: 22:57)

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A plunger with a given tip dimension is allowed to fall on a cement mix. Here it is a
mix of cement and water and this plunger drops into it. So when it is initial set it will
penetrate and it will penetrate at a depth of 5 mm to 7 mm measured from the bottom
of the mix. The needle penetrates because after initial setting, the mix has not
hardened totally. The needle or the plunger is of 1 mm in dimension and has a square
base.

And it enters into it. Now this plunger is held by a support and that is called the Vicat
test. There are images but as those are not free images I did not use it here. You can
always check it if you are if you can access internet. After some time if we go for
testing again, this plunger would not get inside so much, it will just stick and stop here
if the mix has finally set.

It will just make a mark if it is 1 mm square plunger that is the base is 1 mm square in
dimension. And if it is a 5 mm square dimension, it will not even make a mark. That
means the cement has undergone final setting. So here is the initial setting. It is
written it takes it should be done after 15 minutes but within 30 minutes.

And here is the final setting where the hardening has happened and the cement can
take the load. It is 1 millimeter square plunger making an impression and 5 millimeter
does not, 5 millimeter square plunger does not. It is to be done around after 6 hours.
So this is how you can understand the setting of cement.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:28)

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Let us come to the heat evolution process. The value of heat evolves per gram of
cement is 120 calories (cal). It is not a matter of joke, 1 gram of cement liberating 120
cal of heat. And if you see the graph here in the initial setting process that is in stage
1, the heat evolved is maximum; within the first 15 minutes to half an hour because of
addition of gypsum it is delayed. Otherwise that time would have been farther
reduced.

You see the graph has gone high. As a comparative you can make out and in stage 2 it
is dormant. This entire period is under initial setting. During this time actually the
C3S and C3A are getting hydrated. Others have initiated the process of hydration and
you can see again the graph rises up. But it is a gradual process, some 12 hours to 20
hours the stage 3 and gradually coming down this hydration decelerates.

So in these two time periods i.e. Stage 3 and 4, the amount of heat liberated is not
taken out gradually, it may lead to finer cracks inside. So these points are to be
remembered. Hence concrete whenever it is done, it is kept moist and also in contact
with air and it gradually cools down. That helps this gradual process of this heat being
liberated in a controlled way, so that you do not end up in cracks.

So this is the heat of hydration. What you need to know is the process of initial setting
and the process of final setting and this hydration process which is happening very
gradually and that actually gives you the final strength.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:50)

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Now coming to the types of cement to close with, it is mostly we use ordinary
Portland cement. We see it has three grades as we had seen fineness modulus, here
also this can be done with the help of a turbidimeter and we have grade 53, grade 43
and grade 33, the dimensions are given and the IS codes are also specified. Any item
that is to be incorporated is given in code.

So hydration process is proportional to the surface area. So finer the cement more the
number of particles and faster is the hydration. This I had discussed when we touched
sand. So the finer particles that were in contact with water bulked more. Here it is the
hydration process is faster. So fineness is measured by in a turbidimeter.

Here is a list of other different types of cement. Rapid hardening cement means, it
will set quickly. So higher will be the amount of C3A and lower will be the
proportion of C2S. Similarly quick setting cement will have less of gypsum or maybe
no gypsum. So it will set very quickly.

Low heat cement means it will have less of C3A. That means, the first part or the
initial setting time where the heat liberation was maximum in a very short duration of
time it will have no heat or low heat will be generated. So it is low heat cement. For
Sulphate resistance cement the amount C3A should be below 6%. Super sulfated
cement is the combination of slag, gypsum and clinkers all together almost equal in
amount.

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Blast furnace cement or slag cement is again combination of 40% clinkers and 60%
slag from iron industry. High alumina cement implies it will have high percentage of
C3A. Automatically the other percentages will change. White cement will have no
iron oxide i.e. the alumino ferrite would be missing because iron was imparting color
and you will not get any specific color of cement and you will get white cement.

And this is a very costly item. This is available in bags amounting 1 kg or 2 kg, not in
bulk like 50 kg, and these are used mostly for finish purposes. Pozzolanic cement is
obtained from volcanic rocks in powder form and air entraining cement forms when
sodium sulphate, glues, raisins added, it forms air bubble within it and that gives it a
lesser density, porous, insulating capacities.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:36)

So with all these, we conclude that cement is a man-made thing from stones. Gypsum
has a vital role in playing the role in playing the setting time of cement. Cement forms
the binder and hydration is necessary for it. Initial setting is followed by final setting
and by changing the composition of the different constituents; you may get different
types of cements.

Codes are to be followed whenever we are dealing with any kind of cement or cement
within a concrete mix. Cement as itself can be used, the slurry can be used as a
finished material on top of floors, which we call usually as the Indian patent stone.
Many floors where there is no finishing, cement slurry is given and it creates a very
thin layer (5 mm to 6 mm) and it gives a very neat cement finish.

227
Otherwise, it can be used with sand as a mortar or in concrete as a mass or composite
where cement plays a vital role as a binder. So we end today’s lecture here.

228
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 20
Water, Plasticizer Admixture and Tests

So we are in the last lecture of this module, module 4 and this was on concrete. We
had extensively discussed the making of concrete and from there we have got into the
individual constituents of concrete. So we had seen fine aggregate, mostly sand and
then we also exposed you to the other items.

The other was coarse aggregate, which was mostly stone and also the other items as
alternatives and finally, it was cement where we ended our previous lecture. And
when we discussed cement, we had discussed the water cement ratio at some point. It
was mostly used for the hydration process. The water is used for the hydration
process. So we have not touched upon water. We have not touched upon plasticizers
and admixtures, which may be used as and when required.

And also we need to know as architects about some very simple or basic tests that can
be carried out on site to get some idea about the water cement ratio as we had talked
or to check the strength every architect has to carry out cube test or the compressive
strength test of the concrete which they will be casting or they are using (with or
without reinforcement).

Mostly we have a dense reinforcement through which this concrete mix has to pass.
(Refer Slide Time: 2:33)

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And water is the helper in it that gives the movement to the entire item. So if we mix
more of water, the entire thing will pass very easy. But the question is how much
water has to be added so that the cement will get enough of water to get hydrated?
The answer is we have to stick to a particular water cement ratio and we will answer it
later. And we will also see the tests of concrete, go to plasticizers and admixtures and
finish this module.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:16)

So what is water cement ratio? To put it simply, it is the ratio of the water and the
cement in a mix of concrete. The significance is that it is responsible for the porosity
of the hardened cement paste. If you remember the gel space ratio, it will increase if
you add more of water. So water will affect the strength of concrete because the
intrinsic strength of concrete is within the gel.

230
So some values are also there, which I am not elaborating. But actually this gel gives
the strength to the cement and obviously, that is reflected on the strength of concrete.
So strength of fully compacted concrete is inversely proportional to the water cement
ratio. So should we go for very low water? Can we target very low amount of water?

Yes, ideally, if we can go to a water cement ratio of 0.36 as you can see in this
picture. This red line can go and meet the y-axis somewhere at around almost 100
MPa. MPa is Newton per millimeter square (N/mm2). You can actually extend this
graph. But practically what will happen, the concrete will become very hard.

Hard means it cannot move through the reinforcement as I have told and also you can
only work in a controlled environment. Ideally you can mix it, but what will happen,
complete hydration of cement may not be possible. So ideally it is possible to get
complete hydration with 0.36 as water cement ratio and you can gain a good amount
of strength.

But, mostly it is seen that we are getting our concrete in this range. So strength is
between 30 MPa to 20 MPa and water cement ratio is in the range of 0.45 to 0.55. So
we are why are we taking this range? This is because at this point, the workability is
very easy. Workability means the movement of the item, no segregation of the items,
because those are very important. There is a limit up-to which you can add water.
Beyond a certain level, you cannot add water.

You can achieve ideally at 0.35 the entire hydration and you can go for higher side
also. But segregation will occur and it may lead to reduction of strength. So you can
see the curve gradually falls when it is actually crossing a limit. So the value of the
water cement ratio is a vital point that needs to be remembered and followed when we
are going for any kind of concrete structure.

So any amount of water cannot be poured into the mix, when the concrete is being
mixed, whether the concrete is ready mix or it is coming in or it is manually mixed or
it is mixed in a rotator. Strength of concrete at any water cement ratio is a function of

231
the degree of hydration as I have told you. So if it is not completely hydrated, it
means there is not enough water. Then the strength gain is not happening.

It is also dependent on the temperature at which the hydration is taking place. The
temperature is important because the heat is liberated out during the process of
hydration. So strength is being affected by these two. Water cement ratio of 0.36
under controlled condition can be achieved, but it is difficult to achieve workability.

And if water cement ratio is 0.6, the increase in volume of the hydrated product will
not be able to occupy the space filled by water. Pores will be formed. Strength will
gradually decrease. So for any kind of construction, it is always preferred to have a
value from 0.40 to 0.55. Here 0.6 is maximum ratio that you can desire, but not
beyond that and remember higher the amount of water lesser is the strength, you are
reducing the strength.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:58)

Now let us come to the concept of workability. Workability as I told you, the entire
mass of concrete has to move through the dense network of reinforcements. It may be
dense at some places like the beams or the columns. It may not be that dense in the
slab areas, but yes it has to move through it. So the ease of working or the flow of
concrete will depend on the water cement ratio, size of the aggregates.

That was also mentioned when we talked of the clear cover. And size will also be
affected by the shape of the aggregate. Surface texture that is the shape with the

232
number of surfaces it has and also the proportion in which the basic three ingredients
that is the cement, sand and coarse aggregate are being mixed is also affecting the
workability.

But first of all it is the water cement ratio. So it is the test how to check the
workability of concrete. Here you see there is a supporting jar.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:20)

You can see this jar which is initially in its standing position. One side is open where
actually you will have to pour this concrete. It has two supports here and it has a fixed
dimension. The open end is of 8 inch, the base is of 4 inch and the total height is of 12
inch, that is one feet in height. Now you have to fill it with the unset concrete mix.

And then you have to invert the entire jar (as it can be seen in the picture). So this is
now lifted out. So with these two supports, you can actually take out the container.
Since the specific height of the container is known, you allow the mix to stand for
some time. So it is unsupported concrete which is standing for some time. After some
time it gradually tries to go down.

So once it is allowed to go down, you can take a measure of the unsupported height
after some time. So you will see a gap here between the original container height and
the mix that has gradually tried to settle. So this is how we measure the slump that is
the gap between the height of the actual container and how much it has gone down on

233
its own. That has happened actually or mostly because of the water in it or the
proportion of water in it.

It yes, it is not only the water, but all other ingredients are playing the role, but
however, it is mostly responsible for water and if we go for general casting, we have
to look into the value which is 2 inch to 4 inch (50 mm to 100 mm) of slump where
the water cement ratio will be within 0.55, which was our desired value.

So this unsupported concrete sinks in height, which is known as the slump, which is a
measure of the water cement ratio. This is a site check. You can check what quality of
concrete is going for the construction. This is very important because if you are
having more amount of water, whatever be the quality of other ingredients, the
strength gain would not be happening and also there is a fear of segregation.

Now if you have excess of un-reacted water which is known as water gain.
Sometimes this excess water comes out and sedimentation of the materials do happen,
if you have more amount of water. The hydration process will take its required
amount of water. It is not an immediate process, but after some time, you can observe
that water is coming out and that is called water gain or bleeding of concrete.

Unset concrete is also sometimes called as green concrete. So this slump test gives
you a clue of the water cement ratio and which also gives you an indication that yes
the strength would be of this order.
(Refer Slide Time: 14:35)

234
Next is the cube test. This is always done on site before the day of casting. You can
see some cubes here where actually with the help of a tamping rod, they have been
compacted and the items are left with the material which is being cast on the day,
which is a large scale casting. So you have taken samples for testing. Now what to
do? On the next day you can remove from the mould.

Those are inside moulds. These moulds are of various shapes and sizes like 3 inch, 4
inch or 6 inch mould, it can also be circular mould. These are usually cube like,
circular is obviously cylindrical. And at least 6 to 12 such cubes are taken. Next day
onwards they are immersed in water so that they can get hydrated.

They have to be maintained in the moist condition and after 7 days they are tested
under a machine which is called the universal testing machine. You can see one
sample put here and it will be subjected to a compressive load and it will actually
rupture at a certain point and that is noted down. Some of the cubes are tested for 28
day test strength and it is seen that strength of concrete is achieved up to 50% within 3
to 7 days.

By seven days around 75% strength is gained and up to 28 days it gradually reaches
almost 100% of its strength. And if it is still kept in moist condition, it may also gain
further strength. However, mostly on 28 days, this moist condition and all are
withdrawn. And you will get almost a hundred percent strength gain by 28 days and
that is noted down. That is the design strength.

235
Whether these samples comply the design strength is actually noted through this cube
test. So once this cube test is done, you can assure your client that yes your concrete
has taken the maximum strength and that is what you had tried to achieve.

So remember when you are making these cubes, proper tamping should be done
because voids can lead to reduction in strength you. Hence, these are to be done very
carefully and the tests are to be done exactly on the same days.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:58)

Now once we have learnt all about concrete, we also need to know these were the
basic materials discussed. And sometimes as I told you many a time that concrete is
always or mostly used with reinforcements. And there you actually have to move
these large size particles through the dense network of reinforcement. And at the same
time, you have to remember the setting process begins.

You have transported concrete for large scale construction sites, you may have
transported concrete from some ready mix agent. So they are already brought to you
maybe with a delay. So sometimes you may require your concrete to remain unset for
a longer time period. There comes the role of plasticizers. They are also referred to as
water reducers.

They improve the workability of the concrete mix that is it will move easier between
the network of reinforcements and these are usually concrete or combination of

236
organic and inorganic substances. It improves the strength if admixtures like fly ash or
rice husk are added. It increases the flow of the concrete. So plasticizers actually
delay the process of setting.

So instead of putting water they are doing the job of water. But remember they are to
be added in very small portion, 1 to 2% per unit weight of cement. So with the
amount of cement, the amount of plasticizer is determined. So other properties would
not change. If you add more of plasticizer it will lead to segregation and delay the
setting process.

So adding more amounts of plasticizers in the mix will lead to segregation and higher
will be the setting time. Sulfate based plasticizers have long molecular chain. They
wrap the cement particles and create a negative charge. You see in the two pictures
here. So water was trapped between the cement particles here. With the addition of
plasticizers these cement particles are repelling from each other and the water is
flowing outside which is helping the other ingredients to move.

So this is the pictorial representation of the dispersed cement particles in concrete.

Initially it was closer, water was trapped in between. Now the water is free, the
cement particles are repelling each other and it is allowing a free flow. So sulfate
based plasticizers are long molecular chains, wrapping the cement particles allowing
them to move and delaying the setting process.

Yes the chains break and gradually the setting begins. It improves the setting time and
also helps in workability. Examples of plasticizers are stearates, olates, soaps,
lignosulphonates coming from the paper industry and there are super plasticizers. So
they are added entirely in the mix. And they are improving the workability of the
material. (Refer Slide Time: 21:53)

237
Next we come to admixture. Water admixtures they are added additionally to the mix
to change certain properties. What properties? It can act as an accelerator, it can act as
a retarder, it can be used as a cost reducer, weight reducer that gives insulation
properties. But mostly if you see they are accelerators in the process of hydration or
heat evolution or the setting time, even the workability and dispersion of particles.

So these admixtures help in the process of concrete formation. They have air
entraining property that is they bring air particles inside. They can be coloring agents
as you see red oxide, chromium oxide. They can be used as reducers such as cost
reducers and weight reducers like fly ash, like rice husk ash, egg shell dust. But what
are they? They are all silicates, silicon dioxide. They have 80% to 90%, silicon
dioxide. Egg shell dust has calcium oxide.

So all these finally, help in the process of hydration, process of setting and obviously,
they are used whenever they are required or recommended.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:32)

238
So coming to the conclusion of this module, we had tried to learn concrete as a whole.
It is a versatile material and it is a monolithic item. You can have a continuous casting
of it without any gap, without any joinery. But it is very difficult to reshape it. Once it
is set you cannot change it, which could be done in case of a brick work or in the case
of a stone work. Here you cannot break it entirely.

Without the coarse aggregates, it can be used as a binder of materials or as mortar that
can be used as plastering item. By changing its composition different types of
concrete can be formed or made. Codes are to be followed when there is a
construction and we are going to try to achieve a particular strength in it.

So codes are always there for us, but as an architect, you need to emphasize on the
versatility and you also need to know that what is the type of construction, where it is
to be made, are the raw materials available or not, what is the role of each of the
ingredients. As architects if you know these, then you can always take up challenges
in using concrete as a compressive material and also as a tensile material with
reinforcement in it. Thank you.

239
 Building Materials and Composites

Dr. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 21

Introduction to Prefabricated Items

Today we are starting module five and it is on prefabricated construction. Till date whatever
we had discussed those were cast in situ concrete construction in module 4. Prior to that in
the other modules module one we started with brick, clay materials, clay product, stone and
there also we found it is brick by brick laying on site and a structure is coming up so starting
from the foundation till most of our constructions are leading to on-site constructions.

We are generally accustomed to such and many of you have witnessed that. Prefabricated
construction in the entire discussion, we will see in the entire module the items are not made
on-site. (refer time: 01:24)

That means it is made elsewhere. It is made elsewhere and it is brought to site. So, obviously
this kind of system will have some good points, some bad points. So, we will have to enter
each of them and we have to explore what could be the challenges, what could be the
limitations of such system and maybe you are accustomed with the term module. So, you will
get prefabricated items that mean you will get units of predefined sizes.

And that gives you indication that your design that means the architectural design, which you
are learning maybe most of you, those who are students of this particular stream, that is
architecture, you are learning design. And you are given a space and you are given a task, to
assemble spaces in such a way that it satisfies your client. So, you will be given a set of
functions against which a set of spaces will be generated and you will wish whatever shape
you want whatever form you want and you can actually built it up brick by brick.

But the most challenging part of this prefabricated system is, you have to design considering
what is in store for you. Otherwise, you can do as you wish but in that case your order should
be placed in such a huge quantity that it will, it can be made on factory, you are accustomed
with the term mould. So, they can be made out of mould which may be used multiply so
many a time that mould can be used and that will eventually what will that do eventually that
can bring down the cost.

240
So, in this particular module instead of getting into the items, we will discuss more on water
prefabricated items, what are the advantages of its use and what are the limitations of its use
so pre refers to something made before implies a saving on time compared to cast in situ.

(refer time: 04:17)

So what does the time go? Does it mean that whatever the item is it is coming from
elsewhere? Yes, it is coming from factory and yes, you have to give that time, that effort,
which you had to give it on-site which you had done previously. But it is not as small as brick
size, but it will be larger in units. So, you can bring something on-site which is not that small.
Again it may be large sized we will see some images later little later and there you have to
assemble it.

When you are in cast in situ you were assembling bricks. It was a slow process. Here, you
have actually used up your time in the factory and you have brought on-site to assemble. So,
the items are made before and assembled on-site. So, when we talk of assembled on-site, here
we bring in the details how to assemble it. If it is floor, it will be something, if it is walled, it
will be something, if it is beam column, it will be something else.

So, this assembling is very important and the point where it is getting assembled, there should
be proper design of it, because one item can actually not or fix get fixed with another item in
the process, through the process of assembling. Here in case of cast in situ you had the mortar
to join it. Here you will have to apply different techniques this automatically gives you a
rapid rate and erection rapid rate of construction and erection on site, so that is again you are
saving on time.

Controlled conditions when it is made each of these items were walling for roofing for
flooring for beam or column whatever way it is made, it is made in the factory in a controlled
condition, whatever be the material. Most of the precast items prefabricated items are of
concrete we had extensively learned concrete so in moulds you can actually cast the shape
you desire, form you desire and then, you can you have to cure it if it is concrete. Pre-stressed
items can be made on factory.

What pre-stressed means? The rods or the reinforcement that is the steel bars which are inside
the structure as because these are quite long structures or large structures concrete is good in
compression. You have to use steel to take the tension. So, these steel rods can be pre-
stressed and can be embedded in the concrete so that can reduce the, reduce the size and
number of structural members. That is you can have bigger panel sizes larger panel for
walling or for roofing.

And you can see an entire building can be made from precast walls floors foundation
columns beams. Other than these, we also we will come to that, we will discuss that little
later. (refer time: 08:14)

So now, let us discuss on the advantages. We can start a precast or prefabricated system when
there is a large amount of order. Without that the factory cannot survive. You cannot just ask
for one residence to be made as prefabricated so that should come into practice. And even I

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inform you that building management building Technology Management Center BMTPC is
promotion Center technology promotion Center. They have given 16 items which are not all
fully prefabricated, but yes some are partially to be done on-site.

So, you need a large amount of order to make this system sustainable. If that is done then you
can make a saving on cost. So, this cost implies the cost of production, when it is large-scale
it becomes industrial and the factory actually survives. So, it must be practiced our age-old
system must be practiced, our age-old system must be practiced. But this should also be
welcomed but what is the limitation?

We do not have skilled labour because these prefabricated items needs to be assembled
properly on-site. And that is why this large-scale production is not becoming very popular in
our country. Hence, fast or faster construction methods, this is one of the faster construction
methods and that cannot be achieved at all times. So, let us come to the advantages back
considering this as because it is happening in a controlled environment within a factory you
can actually make it friendly eco-friendly.

So, it is not liberating dust particles and lot of noise etc in the neighbourhood where it is
being made. It is all confined to the factory where it is being manufactured and these are
ordered in modules generated in modules. And whatever is the leftover as waste can again be
recycled in the system so there is no point of wastage and no point of creating pollution to the
environment in a residential neighbourhood or maybe it is not creating a noise pollution
because this is in a restricted area.

You can reuse each item which you are producing. If this is not fitting into a system or it is
not required it can go back you can dismantle a new unit entirely and reuse that in another
site. So, you cannot achieve these when it is a cast in situ concrete structure. We had
discussed this earlier. So, when you break that concrete structure you do not get anything
other than you can recycle some of its coarse aggregate or maybe the some of the
reinforcements.

So, here the flexibility is that you can reuse, convert disassemble, move it to another site,
large sized units if you have. As I told you, these are much larger than size of brick, it implies
that lesser the joints. So if it is a wall panel, if you are trying to make a wall out of your
prefabricated panel or precast item, it will have very few joints. Usually they are from floor to
floor connecting between the structural systems between two floors.

So, there you will hardly have any joint on the horizontal direction. You will have only joints
in the vertical direction. And mostly you see it is a dry construction there is no involvement
of water because whatever wet situation was it was all finished in the factory. So, here you
are getting a dry item, you are fixing to dry items, five dry items, one after the other. So there
is no point of water and you can do it in a waterless manner. (refer time: 13:14)

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So it is a dry construction entirely. Now, I expose you to some pictures. This hollow block
concrete which you see on the first picture here, this resembles more or less brick. But they
are larger in size than that of a brick. So, this is cast units special units for when they are
connecting one after other they are having you can check here. There are some notches here
are some notches. Here is different this is having a flush end.

So here there is no notch so when you are starting or beginning your construction, you can
start with this when you are using these ends you can interlock it. So, we will go into little
detail in our next lecture maybe. But these are the first precast units; masonry units are called
concrete masonry units. What you see here picture below it is concrete wall panel which I am
talking. Now you see here there is a series of panels kept of different sizes kept.

Some may be floor to floor some may be for the plinths and you can see some details they are
not clean items, you can see some cuts. There may be some notches and those are for fixing.
And you can understand from this size and also from this picture they are not humanly
possible to lift it to position. See on this picture a person is working on it trying to fix it. So,
this unit has to be manoeuvred by a machine to come and get fixed here.

So this unit is coming directly at this point and this person has to be skilled enough to
manoeuvre that to its exact position which was quite unlike in case of a cast in situ
construction. What more you notice is the opening that may receive a window. But that is not
that cannot be done by the way of assembling bricks and creating an opening. It has to be
done pre before so the design of the entire thing has to be done prior.

So, your door location, window location, opening location, every detail should be given to the
factory and there should be enough of such order to for to satisfy the economics of the entire
thing. Here you see some more patterned items. These are paving blocks; these are also
precast concrete units. So, in our basket we have so many things. (refer time: 16:27)

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We come to the roofing part. In this picture, you see there are number of sections. We will
elaborate on these later. Some are hollow. These are hollow, actually the blank spaces are
hollow some may be solid and some dots you can notice. These are all reinforcement
showing the marks off it is a schematic picture you can see some units assembled one after
the other in this picture showing floor flooring unit small span.

And you see on top of it is being covered with some material to make the floor flat. In this
case the flooring unit in as you see, as a section, is flat. Here you see there are lots of notches.
So on top of it there is a concrete, concrete filled in to make the floor flat or usable. These are
for small spans. These are for, these units are for large span, these are for small span. By this
time, you are almost thinking that everything is of concrete, yes, it is mostly concrete.

But we also have panels prefabricated tunnels with as you see in this picture which is PUFF
panels, polyurethane foam panels. There is a metal sheet on top of it these are also walling
panels. So, there are various kinds of prefabricated items of which or mostly with which are
made of concrete. They are durable they are giving you a challenge with time, fast speedier
construction. (refer time: 18:23)

And the limitation is you have to go with a pre-set dimension. So, you have to go for modular
construction, repeating sections, items, shapes, forms, so that makes it industrial, that makes
it possible for a factory to make large number of units. Otherwise if you keep on changing
your design, if you keep on changing the module, you will keep on changing your order and
that may not be possible for the factory to supply.

Challenges to overcome are the joints and connections especially for these prefabricated
systems it is not like joining with mortar. There is thermal and acoustical behaviour which
may be a limitation you may have problems in fixing the plumbing and electrical services. So
you have to plan for that because not all panels will be carriers of electrical lines or maybe
fixing the plumbing lines.

So, you have to be very much particular because without services a building cannot survive.
So these are to be pre-planned provisions are to be made and that becomes a challenge where
is it can be used? As I showed you some small-scale roofing systems, small-scale wall panels

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can be small-scale building you can be applied in small scale buildings like mass housing.
You have few floors of same plan moving up, you can actually use it.

Or else large-scale long span buildings commercial buildings, industrial buildings, you can
create large spaces, large office buildings, large floor spaces. And they are inside you make
compartments and use it. So, the building is a large-scale building, long span building, you
can use pre-stressed panels and you can make a prefabricated or precast system developed for
that. (refer time: 20:54)

Other limitations are: when it is a concrete item, it is whatever thin it be, it is very heavy. It
has to be transported to site very precisely, very carefully, so that the corners, ends, edges, do
not fall out because they actually form the connections with the next item or the next panel.
So, these members are to be transported very carefully heavy cranes are required with skilled
operators to install the parts.

So without a proper mechanism, you cannot actually operate the entire system and that
requires skill, which is lacking in our country context. So, we need not only we can propose a
system but we have to look into the education part, looking look into the technical part, how
this can be installed in a better way. Very small margins of error are allowed so because it is
very precise, you have to have units one after the other very particularly you have to be very
close or closely packed you do not have provision to put some mortar inside and fill in the
gap.

So you have to be very the dimensions etc and fitting and fixing is become is becoming
crucial. Connections may be difficult. You have beam column system they are connecting
each other because that will lead the connection will lead to the load sharing, transferring the
load. So, these are the limitations. Design flexibility as I have already told you cannot think
beyond certain fixed dimensions or multiple of certain dimensions.

And everything has to be prefixed; everything has to be designed so the flexibility in design
gets a challenge. So, you have to follow given dimensions and finally it will become a
prototype. Economies of scales is required for set up and run as I have already told factories
cannot survive with very few such orders. It should be practiced in our country which is
practiced in other Western countries where they have skilled labour they have mechanisms to
use it the cranes the movers and there is lack of labour.

Here in our country context, labour may be available cheap, but it is unskilled too. So, to
bring this system in prominence into prominence you have to look for training these labourers
who are unskilled to at least semi-skilled, to skilled labourers who can operate such kind of
systems the cranes etc and these are very much, very much you are having a risk if you are
not skilled or trained in this particular profession.

Repetition of form affects building design. We, as architects, we have to take this as a
limitation. But yes, within these limitations, we also need to know these items, so that we can
actually make a make use of it and make a faster movement towards fulfilling our aims like

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housing for all etc. Skilled workmanship is required as I have already told so all this becomes
a limitation for our country context at times. (refer time: 24:55)

Now, coming to the general observation, it is particularly the openings. I told you, you have
to finalize beforehand. You have to give it during fabrication and you have to know which
place it will come. So, proper understanding of how to organize the assistance into becoming
a building built form is to be known. Doors windows other openings should be marked.
Coming to the services as I told you the MEP the mechanical electrical and plumbing all
services have to be designed beforehand as it would not be possible to create openings in
future.

Say in floor there should be proper holes to receive the pipes on wall there should be proper
holes to receive the outlets overflow pipes. So, you will have a wait area. So you are you are
actually having design very prototype what one particular bay other can be dedicated for the
waterlines other areas will remain dry lines dry where electrical and mechanical lines will be
very important.

So, rain water pipes etc are to be planned, Water inlet, outlet from washrooms, from kitchen,
if you are having for a residence are to be planned. So, pre-planning and also the future
provision are to be kept in mind before entering into such material design such materials. So,
as an architect, you need to keep in mind that what kind of construction system you are going
to face and then only you can pre-plan the entire design plan accordingly. Even staircases can
come as a precast item.

So, the entire folds of the staircase the risers and the treads can come precast to site. So, there
you have to remember how many treads and how you have to calculate what is the dimension
and have to keep that space enough, so that it goes and gets assembled with the beam column
system, then only you can achieve speedy construction. (refer time: 27:34)

So, if we come to what are they made of usually they are made of concrete good compressive
strength, it has lacks tension and shear strength which can be provided by reinforcing it.
Earlier, in during the Romans, we had seen it used for aqueducts, culverts, tunnels presently
also these areas are covered in buildings, in regular households, we have we see shelf precast
manhole covers where precast.

We have the opportunity to use pre-stressed concrete pre-stress steel inside these precast
items. So pre-stressed as I told you when the reinforcement is embedded with tension in the
rods. So, this is not possible when it is a cast in situ construction when it is a cast in situ
construction you cannot pre-stress the rods. In a precast system you can actually pre-stress
the rods and pour in the concrete. So, then that becomes much effective in taking strength and
larger spans can be achieved.

Thinner slabs lighter in weight can be achieved by pre-stressed mechanisms. Otherwise, you
can always go for the non-prestressed structures So, what are we going to cover in this
particular module. (refer time: 28:59)

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From next module onwards, we will try to cover hollow block concrete, wall panels, one is
single thickness one is double thickness, paving units, flooring units for small span flooring
units for large span, beams, columns and Foundation, Ferro-cement roofing channels and also
we will touch upon the poly urethane forms panels which is not made of concrete. So, with
this we end this module this lecture and we will move to lecture 2 in the next day, thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Dr. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 22

CMU, AAC and Pavement Blocks

So, today we will be continuing with the second lecture of module 5 which was on
prefabricated concrete construction. So, what we had learned in the first lecture is it was a dry
construction which was more or less not much involving labour, considering the skill of the
labour. So, we only required skilled labour but yes all these materials are being made in the in
the way as a cast concrete and it is cast in a very controlled environment.

So, today we will try to cover the three units which are more or less similar to building blocks
but larger in size which are mostly for walling purpose. One is the concrete masonry unit or
the CMU which are of two types. One is a solid one and the other is a hollow one other is the
aerated autoclave concrete block. So, these two blocks are extensively used in building
industry as an alternative to brick because when we will go into the next lecture which is on
precast wall panel you will see how labour skill is important over there.

So if we do not have a trained skill set it is very difficult to move on or move forward with
the precast walling system in our country context. However, these CMU and AAC blocks
have penetrated into the building industry we need to know both of these as a walling
material.

The other that will be covered here is also another unit which is very much handy similar to
very less in weight also not per se which is again another precast block where we are not
using clay or burning process rather we are using concrete and we are calling it as pavement
blocks which also you more or less see it when you are walking in a city like area. So you can
see it in parking areas, walking areas, marketplaces, footpaths. So, these are called pavement
blocks which are also precast items or precast concrete units. (refer time: 03:24)

So, let us move forward with knowing these items how they look, where are they used, what
are their characteristics and what are the ingredients they are made of and gradually we move
to their use and advantages and disadvantages. (refer time: 03:35)

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So here comes the concrete masonry units. They are solid when they are solid it will be full
now you are seeing the pictures which are all of units which are hollow. You can see a central
piece which is called the web. This is the web and you can see some small projections at
these ends. You can see here also there is two projections. In the next one you see this is a
corner unit where only the projection is one end and this side is flat.

In this unit you see there is a very thin groove cut which is to receive any glass piece that is
sash. So, you can receive a glass piece through it. So, you are having this kind of groove and
this is a all-purpose brick which does not have all the 4 faces or the verticals are flat. So, this
helps in interlocking maybe this is a corner unit, this is a sash unit. And you can see even
Jamb units where one of these edges will have a profile of this kind and it will have hollows.

So, whatever is the requirement you can actually select your piece from the lot and use it. But
what is the difficulty can you cut it. It is not possible so you have to move for a modular plan.
So, everything should be given to you in advance where this kind of window will come and
will bear this sash unit or where a door will come and you have a Jamb unit or where you are
going to finish, there you will have a flat end.

So, this is how you can have multiple options and you can carry forward the construction
process. But these are much bigger in size as compared to brick which we had seen. So, this
makes the entire process faster. So, let us let us see the next which is already displayed,
which is autoclaved aerated concrete block. As you can see, it is having a very neat finish, on
one side and you can see that these are not having any kind of hollow inside it.

These are solid in core but as the word is autoclaved aerated means it is full of air or pores.
We will see further details but let us see the other unit which we will discuss in this particular
lecture are the pavement blocks. This is a plan view of the pavement block where these
pavements are actually one set beside the other. And you can see it is locked so this is totally
a dry way of doing it and it is mostly done in parking areas on footpaths etc.

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So, all these are maintaining or complying the standards with respect to its dimension, density
water absorption, shrinkage and compressive strength. I am not going into detail parameters
of each of these. But as a comparison, they are not that much absorbent towards water they
do not have defect similar to brick like they do not have a efflorescence etc, they have
compressive strength a considerable amount, those I will be reporting you.

And these are the IS codes which are IS code numbers, which you can always refer to if you
want to get more input on these. Other than the hollow blocks concrete naturally unique units
come as solid blocks also which are used for load-bearing structures. (refer time: 08:30)

Now coming to the dimension whatever it may be hollow core or solid core it will have more
or less or typically 400 millimeter X 200 millimeter X 200 millimeter in dimension. That is
replacing almost six bricks but yes you can have instead of 400 millimeter, you can have 600
millimeter in dimension, that is two feet size in length, you can have 175 thick, you can have
100 millimeter thick units for the internal partition walls.

So these units regularly typically they are of this dimension however you can change the
dimension when you are ordering the moulds will be accordingly used. So, these are moulded
out. So, brick was a moulded unit but after that you will it went in for burning. But here,
these are made of mostly it has cement in it and it requires the hydration part and for its
gaining strength and it is to be cured for 28 days.

Whereas AAC block you see two AA’s are there one is for the air as I told you aerated and
one is for autoclaved. So, this autoclaved aerated block, concrete blocks they are cured under
heat and pressure in an autoclave. So, this is the major difference and we will come into the
composition also where you will find it is quite different from the CMU. Unit weight of
CMU hollows are 12.7 kg is solid it is 17 to 26 kgs depending on the compaction it is done,
depending on the materials, the density of the materials.

And the strengths are also given which is more or less replacing brick when it is brick or
more when it is solid and when it is hollow you can see it is 4 Newton per millimetre square.
So, it is acting as a non load-bearing wall. So, it is standing between the structure. Coming to
the AAC block, 80 percent of it can be air. So, these are much lighter in weight compared to
the CMU's.

And it also has approximately low compression strength, compression strength of maximum
strength of a plate is 8 Newton per millimetre square. So, you can well understand it is at par
with brick, but having larger coverage, lesser joints, larger faster construction, less water
absorption. Even you can avoid the plaster impart if it is a dry area. You can avoid the plaster
inside you can aerated autoclaved blocks are very smooth as we had seen in the picture.

So, what is happening is you can avoid the plaster component. There is a savings because it is
having air inside it. It is acting as a good insulator. (refer time: 11:58)

So, hollow core of CMU can be connected by reinforcement rod to keep it in position and it
can face impact load. As I told you hollow blocks are not experiencing taking the load. So,
they may be experiencing some impact force lateral impact. So, you can actually connect the

250
hollow blocks through reinforcement bar. So, you can have a set of hollow blocks placed
with their webs etc and you can have a wall being made of it.

So, again you can have a half smaller dimension you can have continuous walls, vertical lines
also unlike brick and you can actually push in a different rod, through and through at
intervals that will pass and then you fill it with concrete. So, this concrete will be inside so
you are pouring concrete. So, you are reinforcing with some rods at intervals when you are
making the hollow block wall.

So, this is how you can strengthen your hollow block, when it is in a wall system. The hollow
block advantages as you saw the units are much lesser in weight compared to the solid blocks
they provide thermal insulation because of the air interrupted within it. Similarly the AAC,
pores are acting as though the pores in the AAC block are providing thermal insulation. They
also help in fire resistance.

I had already explained special Jamb blocks, sash blocks are designed to receive door
window frames. So unless and until you have a plan you cannot move forward with these
kinds of blocks. Now, coming to how to stick each other, as I told, it is not completely dry.
Yes, it has application of mortars similar to that of brick and it is mix one is to six is the
cement, sand ratio of the mortar and they are very thin in high temperature to avoid
shrinkage.

And lime may be added. So then, the proportion becomes 1:2:9 and it is mostly used for
desert area, hilly area where further shrinkage can be controlled by using calcium chloride,
1/2 kg of calcium chloride per bag of cement. So, these are some typical mortar mix to be
used and as the number of joints are very less, as the number of number of units are less, so
joints are much less in number. And they are thin too.

Now, coming to the ingredients, what makes the concrete masonry unit or the AAC blocks?
First, we will discuss the concrete masonry units you see it is Portland cement, sand, clay and
shell or slate in dust form which are the basic ingredients. And you can add the admixtures
which help to make it little lightweight, that is slag, fly ash, which are coming from the
industry.

But unlike CMU blocks you see the composition of autoclaved aerated concrete is quite
different. It contains gypsum and aluminium powder very little 0.05 to 0.08 percent but
which actually reacts with calcium hydroxide and water which you are mixing while
preparing and hydrogen is liberated. This hydrogen gas actually folds and doubles the volume
of concrete itself.

Similar to the other materials of CMU, you are adding gypsum and aluminium powder which
reacts with calcium hydroxide, increases in volume and creates a lot of bubbles inside the
material. The hydrogen eventually escapes and it is replaced by air forming aerated concrete.
And as I told you around 80 percent may be here. So, this has led it to be light in weight. So,
working with aerated concrete is much easier than working with the CMU blocks which are
quite heavier.

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And you can see this is a picture which I have taken which was a broken AAC piece from site
and you can find out the pores inside. Hope it is visible to all of you. You can see the pores,
these are the pores which have formed inside it and if you happen to come across some AAC
blocks, you will see they are very light in weight. And with that you can differentiate between
a CMU block and AAC block if it is not hollow. (refer time: 18:33)

So, coming to the high strength CMU blocks, they will be added with further gravels, that is
coarse segregates. And they also require some curing for three to four weeks; water is
sprinkled on the blocks, whereas as I told you, AAC products are cured under heat and
pressure. (refer time: 18:56)

So, now coming to the fixing, if it is concrete machinery, solid, it can take the load, if it is a
beam column structure with concrete or a framed structure with concrete you can keep on
placing your units and get the desired wall. But if it is fixed against steel columns, here are
the details. Why do I say steel columns, because these units can be used for high-rise
structures.

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The structure may not necessarily be a beam column structure made of concrete. It may be a
steel column beam structure. So, what you see here the joints which is important and which I
will explain. See the joint here one side will be the inside one is the outside here also the
same thing the joint here the I section is in the direction of the wall. Here the I Section is bit
rotated at 90 degrees.

So, here there is a chance it will come and match it can even get into it, depending on the
structural design. But if it is not setting inside, you have to see in this point. So, this is the
sealing point. And you see here, there is a backer rod, one is the backer rod and right in front
of it is the sealant. In front of it is the sealant so the backer rod is a flexible pipe and the
sealant which actually holds it, seals it will actually come out, come like this.

So, sealant will, cannot enter inside completely so this backer rod is giving the flexibility.
You see the frame drift it will allow any kind of movement, expansion, thermal movement
sway, this sealant and this backer rod will be the cushion and at the same time it is giving
water seal. So, no water can enter inside. How are they tied up? you see here is a fastener,
this is the steel strap, this member.

This steel strap is bolted on this face, on the other side it is embedded on this concrete. So,
this is rich this is mortar. As you see this is mortar and you can see the rod reinforcement
which is keeping it stable continuous. So, all the blocks here are tired by this rod, one after
the other. So, if you see the section it will be like this where you have the steel column and
the rod is actually passing all these blocks and this is finally jammed with the mortar.

So, this behaves as a continuous wall connector. So, there are two details here, one is the
connecting the I section with the CMU and the backer rod and the sealant which is giving it
weather protection and any kind of expansion movement of the entire structure due to any
reason. (refer time: 22:58)

So, let us come to the advantages of CMU and AAC blocks. It is similarly constructed; it is to
be made as cast in situ concrete. It is labour-intensive when it is made in the factory. But

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transportation cost can be avoided if the raw materials are locally available. Thermal
performance is better whatever you get with 250 thick wall to 50 thick brick wall. You can
get the same with 200 thick walls which causes a significant reduction in cost and increase in
floor space because you are trying to get same efficiency with 200 thick wall.

These units do not require plastering if it is on the internal face also because they are very
smooth in nature and can be produced in remote areas also where there is no concept of brick.
So, here are some collected images you can see free images where actually they are set.The
construction process is much faster in nature. Coming to the disadvantages, (refer time:
24:10)

They cannot be cut into as many shapes you want as many sizes you want. They are to be
planned, building are to be planned in a modular way, matching with the dimensions of the
CMU. Accuracy is also very important because they will finally go and march with the main
structure or if it is load-bearing it has to go and end at a certain point. So, for every 10 meters
there should be a check. It is preferred that shapes are square, rectangle, angles are not much
suitable and special pieces can be ordered or manufactured according to requirement. (refer
time: 24:54)

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Now, let us move to the third item which is the concrete pavement block. As I have already
told these are mostly seen in footpaths, parkings, marketplace, public spaces, etc., it has a
benefit or a reason for that. These units are interlocking in nature. If you remember the
previous shape which was something like this. There also there was a pattern which was
locking with another member and this was continued.

Here you see the pattern has changed to a more or less triangle with circles. So, you can
generate various shapes. But you have to remember the principle is of interlocking. So, why
interlocking so that you get a smooth finish and no gaps are there and there is no joints also
and you can get a continuous surface. What are the advantages of that? Advantage is, you can
always pick up with little effort to any one piece and you can open up the entire assembly.

So, it is important that you have to propose such units in areas where you need to access
sometimes the city level infrastructure. It may be electrical line, it may be water line, it may
be cables for Internet, so many lines are moving or passing underground the surface and
wherever it is moving it is mostly following roads and whenever you are using it you can
always access the ground beneath it. You do not have to break it.

So, these are recommended and this interlocking helps in sharing the shear bending thrust
force between their adjacent blocks. And finally the load is shared to the ground. They are
more or less within one feet dimension, but one feet cross one feet dimension with different
shapes alternatives, which will have the interlocking arrangement. Here if you observe the
pictures which are taken from site.

You can see there are lots of dots like structures or dots like impressions on top of it which
makes it skid resistant and it is the wearing face because you are always walking on this face.
So they may have different patterns to interlock and they usually do not crack due to thermal
heat. They are continuously exposed under sunlight.

Coming to the thickness, which is important point is, it varies from 50 millimetres to 120
millimetres and that should be selected considering the flow of traffic over it. It may be a
cycle track made with this kind of time. It may be a running track. (refer time: 28:41)

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So, let us come to the composition and then the uses. It is crushed, semi crushed, segregate
maximum size is 12 millimetre depending on the load it is going to carry. Blast furnace slag,
silica, fumes, fly ash and cement, they are mixed in definite proportions and moulded out. I
have already referred to the code, the standard which is to be followed and they are cured for
28 days.

As you had seen colouring maybe added but let us come to the main point, where are we
going to use them and what is the type which we are referring to? So, when it is no traffic,
that is only human traffic like building premises, some landscape, some public garden, patio's
where people will be walking. As architects you all might have come across these spaces.

Like traffic, we call it pedestrian Plaza, shopping complex, car parking. See here the grid is
varying from M30 concrete to M35 concrete. Medium traffic is streets, city streets, footpaths,
adjoining roads, markets and see the thickness has changed from 50 to 60 to 80 and then for
heavy traffic like railway station areas, bus terminals, where lot of porters, movements,
luggage things, or heavy materials may be carried.

So that is heavy traffic. Yes, you have again another category the docks. Docks and yards
they have very heavy traffic and those being 120 millimetre size coming to their placing.
(refer time: 30:36)

As they are interlocking units and you are not putting any kind of mortar in between they can
become loose at any point. They can just come out from the edge; one by one they can open.
So, you have to have a edge binder so you are having an edge binder what you see it is it may
be a concrete masonry unit holding the tiles in position. So, these are the tiles whatever be the
interlocking pattern this is a simplified version and these are placed on stable earth that is
Rammed earth.

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And what is done is you are filling it with sand. These are all in with sand. Why sand? This
sand will move down. This sand will actually give the stability of these blocks. So, whatever
load is falling on this if it is not falling on this this can go down. But the sand will move that
side and will stabilize the whole thing. So, this will not be damaged because of any soil
erosion, neither will be disturbed by earthquake.

At no point it will be disturbed unless it is humanly picked up. It will stay in its position the
other is you can always access the infrastructure which may be below this rammed earth. So,
you can open a few and you can actually access the pipe or the cable tray or the trench which
may be underground. Another important benefit of it is which is not pointed or noted is
ground water recharge. So, in case of heavy rain also the water will percolate through these
gaps and water will seep inside the earth any replacement of a damaged unit can always be
done.

So it will always remain complete. And any kind of movement can happen on top of it. If you
keep all these main points in mind, this is what precast item is done is, what is the purpose of
this precast item is, to give coverage to many Bear, Bear locations where which can be
dressed and made usable for various uses. This is a very fast process. You have to make that
and keep on moving forward. (refer time: 34:01)

So, we can conclude that although these are very similar to brick. But they provide faster
construction the CMU's and the AAC blocks the joining is also very simple easy and it is
mostly used for walling purpose. There is no efflorescence no plastering required for dry
areas when we are using this. Pavement blocks on the other hand helping groundwater
recharge and does not affect any surface movement gives easy access to underground service
lines;

Whereas at the same time gives at rest floating for parking, for movement, for cycling, for
human movement, for public spaces, for landscape places and we now would like to move to
the precast panels which have not been much into our use in our country context, thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Dr. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 23

Precast Wall Panels

In today's lecture we will be covering Precast Wall Panels. Precast Wall Panels after the
CMU’s and the AAC blocks and the pavement blocks, we will see these are much larger in
size, this we had talked earlier. it may cover between two floors like one floor level to the
other floor level. So, here you cannot do it humanly and hence labour becomes a secondary
issue rather machine comes in the forefront. (refer time: 01:07)

Here we will be discussing the precast wall panels, the characteristics and ingredients, the
fixing details and also the other kind of panels the EPS that is expanded poly strain panels,
the large panels, large concrete panels and then, wafflecrete which are being used. The puff
panels are also there but these are mostly made from concrete. (refer time: 01:30)

These are in dimension related to their thickness. If you are planning for something very thin,
45 times of that will become the thickness, when it is flat. If you have corrugations it will be
40 it will be 45 times when it is corrugated and this is kind of thumb rule. So, if you have
some 30 millimetre thickness so 30 cross 48 will become the size or available dimension.
Usually the composite panel varies between 95- 180 millimetres.

Composite refers to there will be two panels with a central space which may have a void or
maybe filled with some material to hold it together. These panels are separated from each
other. But anyway if you are not looking for thermal comfort, you can even work with a
single layer or a single panel. So, something around 1.5 meters by 1.5 meters will be its
dimension, if it is 30 millimetre.

So, something around 360 millimetres or thick panel will be having a 3 meter by 3 meter size
without any corrugation. And any damage to such thin wall can be repaired. So, if it is a
factory environment, you can actually set in thin single panels one after the other and have a
floor to floor coverage and in case one is getting damaged you can replace one and you can
use another one. Yes, it is intensive. You have to again bring in the machines etc but it is not
that you cannot replace it.

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These walls are usually used as filler walls within a structural system so, you may have a
beam column system where these walls will go and just rest. It is completely dry unlike the
CMU blocks or the AAC blocks which we had already covered so they may start or initiate
from on sitting on the floor beam or special members called cleats. (refer time: 04:23)

You can see here in the picture which I had shown earlier also that various sizes of panels are
waiting from this end to this end you can see various sizes. Here you can see assemblage of
different sizes in one or two you can see some openings also. So, these are all produced from
the factory with the specific order given. It will be between the floor to floor height the
dimension of the doors windows, the panel number where it will be done.

So, a total schedule like you prepare a door window schedule a panel schedule has to be
made, prepared and it has to be tagged with the drawing like x axis and y axis we have a b c d
e f 1,2,3,4. So, every panel will have a number and which panel will sit where it has to be
followed with the drawing. So, the skilled person should know which panel to take and lift it
and put it in which location which after which like the adjacency of the panels are to be
known.

So, this is very crucial you require skill labour one should be able to read the drawing and
find out the right one. So, all panels will come with their numbers on site these can withstand
a load up to 35 Newton per millimetre square and there is no requirement of form work. It
has very little maintenance cost. It is very less labour-oriented because these are already
made by labour intensive process in a controlled environment.

And as I told you when it is a non-load bearing wall it is a curtain wall. It is a curtain wall for
high rise structures these are preferred. Underground structures where you require the wall,
basements below the earth you require to retain the wall. We usually go for concrete walls.
Instead of going for cast in situ concrete you can actually assemble the panels one after the
other and create the wall of the basement.

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What is important, the joints so we will come to that. These panels are further capable of
withstanding wind and seismic loads because they are large in size and they can be acoustical
barrier as well as thermal barrier, when they are having a composite nature. That is two walls
together with an air gap or filled in with EPS or glass, wood, etc.

So, we move to how they are fixed as you see a clearer picture. You can see a lot of points
are there for anchorage. And also you can see some rods are popping out. So, these rods when
they are popping out in this picture on the lower end you can see there is a place to receive
that.(refer time: 08:03)

So, the panel below it will be at these points, with these projections outside. So, there is a
dowel system there is a drawing after this. So, I will go to that also. So, you can see here they
are anchored at several points to lift it. Again there are dowels, projected out to rest on the
previous one, to receive the upper panel. So, this one will go and sit on the dowels left below
it other than that there is the backer rod which I was discussing in my previous lecture when I
explained the CMU block being assembled with an iron or a steel column.

So, there was a provision or a gap through which water air would have entered. Here also
when two adjacent blocks are sitting you have to seal that joint. You cannot use mortar no
one can go and put mortar for a three meter length. So, there also you need to have a dry seal.
Here you can see the person above whom the member is actually hanging and it has to be put
in position by this person so he is trying to drive this thing into these holes.

So, this has to go and get set there. So, this person has to be skilled on his job other than this
backer rod ceiling etc., the fasteners are being used the screws, nails, rivets, etcetera., they all
refer to the mechanical processes which may be required to tighten the panel in position or
keep the panel in position. (refer time: 10:06)

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So, here you see a schematic drawing these are the dowels. So, dowels are embedded when it
were it was made and these are the slots which are kept to receive the dowels. So, these are
hollows left to receive the dowel. On the upper side it is the dowels projected up so they will
go on which further the above member will rest. So, inside you can see void what more you
can see you can see a notch. Sometimes, if it is quite thick, you can have a tongue and groove
joint. So two members can slide one inside the other. (refer time: 10:45)

So, you can have something like one moving into the other one member, moving into the
other member. So, here you see there is a tongue and groove kind of joint here, as well as
here, simpler the better, so you can assemble it this way. You can see some members or
called the spacers which can be in this form, holding two skins or two precast members with
the required gap. So, this kind of spacers you will see is separating the two members.

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So, there may be another spacer at interval there may be another spacer after some time
inside and it is totally thorough hollow or else it could be filled in with some glass wool or
EPS. The full form is Expanded Polystyrene. We will come to that. So, various thicknesses of
individual panels together hold in position by spacers can be cast and brought.

Here you had seen the joint. If it is a steel section, your entire panel could rest inside the steel
section. So, there is no groove here. So, it could move into that. So, if it is a heavy section
this kind of panel can enter here. Coming to the cleats, how it rests on the floor. These are
cleats these are supports made with concrete onto which the panel is resting So, panel will be
passing through this and it will be resting there may be another cleat after some time.

So, this interval this overran etc is to be calculated out. Here also you see this is a double
cleat, so there is a double notch. So, there is no possibility of movement of this member. So,
this is the panel sitting. Here I have drawn that here that. Here it is already made so it is a
double panel within a double cleat. So, it is resting on the floor. So, hope you understood the
phenomena. Apart from this, you require to know the sealant which I have told you are
sealing with a backer rod and the sealant all along the joint which is experiencing the external
environment.(refer time: 13:39)

This is expanded polystyrene core panel system this has been developed lately by BMTPC in
India. The Building Materials Technology Promotion Centre and you see here the details are
given here. The density, the size, the thickness, etc what you see here, what comes on site. It
is the mesh which is with EPS and this mesh is hold by spacer you can see this rod diagonal.
So, this mesh on both sides and this spacer passing through the EPS is holding the mesh
together in position.

On bringing this to side, what is done? This concrete is being applied locally on site that is
called short crate. It is very thin layer 30 millimetres it is spread concrete. So, it is not a wet
process what we usually do with cast in situ. It is a nozzle pneumatically, it is projected on

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top of this mesh which is almost a six millimetre by six millimetre rods and this is creating
the wall. So, it is partially prefabricated.

But yes, one has to know how to spray this concrete which is called short grit. So, remember
the term shotcrete, it is spread concrete or mortar conveyed through a hose and pneumatically
projected at very high velocity onto surface. So, this reinforcement helps to make it stiff and
it forms the wall. (refer time: 15:37)

When you are planning for all these precast items, you have to remember the service lines.
You cannot forget or neglect the service lines. Is it easy to work on top of a precast member?
is it easy to nail, easy to cut a chase to put your service line as considering you as architecture
student, students from architecture you may have covered the services part or you may not.
But these require lot of conduits that are to be drawn.

So this EPS or any hollow section may allow you to plan for the service lines but if it is not
planned for it becomes a problem for the entire process. Here you see on this EPS section all
the service lines are being made and only after that leaving the openings for not to be sealed
if the shotcrete is being applied. So, this is partially taking care of the service lines. So, any
precast panel, as I had told you a schedule has to be made through whichever the lines are
moving are to be drawn earlier. (refer time: 17:13)

And provisions are to be made for the routes to move so that is the major drawback of precast
unit system all mechanical, electrical, plumbing together usually called as MEP. The MEP
services have to be designed beforehand as it would not be possible to create openings in
future. Moreover any expansion program should be considered. So, any future planning
should be incorporated as concealed fittings, provision for groups, block out should be made
in the casting mode.

Openings not only for present requirement, but as I told for future are to be accounted. Rain
water pipes, electrical lines, sanitary lines, waste water, supply water, all to be included even
doors windows and other openings are to be finalized beforehand as they are to be provided
to the fabricator and necessary actions would only be taken if the drawing reaches them. So,

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everything is to be pre-designed, which is the major drawback, particularly of such precast
items. (refer time: 18:32)

This is large precast panel. So, you have precast large construction panels. Here you see even
the bends are there, even two openings are there, it is a connected, you see the dowels are left
which will go and be received. This has also been this developed by BMTPC. You see here at
this end groove to suit beams. So, it may be received by a beam it may receive a beam also
which is precast which we will discuss in our next lecture.

You can have projecting rods to receive a floor slab. So, till now we were discussing the
panels which are sitting on this structural system. But here, we can see there are provisions of
plugging in beams, columns receiving them and you can actually carry on. Wafflecrete is
another unit which you can replace, these are ribbed panels reinforcement is inside it. (refer
time: 19:37)

And you can actually use these similar to the panels. So, some dimensions are given here for
as a reference. These are having rebars at an interval to take tension and they are corrugated
kind of wall members. Usually m30 grade concrete is used for casting this. So, if you carry
on if you remember GFRG, glass fibre reinforced gypsum, there in gypsum, glass fibre was
used to make it strong in tension and walls were made out of it and it was a hollow unit and
in each hollow we could strengthen by pouring concrete to receive the sanitary fixtures
whatever.

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So as a need of the hour we need faster construction technology into our building system, less
of energy consumption and we need to switch over to such kind of construction systems. We
have switched over till we could like the CMUS and AAC blocks are now much into practice.
But we could not, we cannot move further ahead unless and until we have skilled labour to
manoeuvre these mechanical equipments, mechanical methods, so a training is required.

We have to have the skill set on our labourer’s side. Once we can do that, we can actually
take a leap in meeting the demands which are really important, particularly, in the housing
sector. Maybe we can go for faster constructions. Walls are very important it is the covering
item. So, more we can actually use the labour intensive part, the time consuming part, the
weight construction methods we can just go away with.

So, these will help us to move forward towards meeting the challenges or meeting the
shortages. So, with this walling unit and the previous lecture, we had covered the walling
part. So, next lecture, we will be moving to the flooring part and then, further into the beam
column systems. Thank you

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 Building Materials and Compositess

Dr. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 24

Floor panels

So we are back to Module 5 and Lecture 4. So, in the previous three modules of prefabricated
concrete construction, we had tried to cover after the introductory lecture then we moved to the recast
items, which we usually use in developing countries. We had in first lecture discussed how, why we
cannot adopt it so rapidly like other developed countries. And in Lecture 3, we had extensively
discussed on the wall panel system, where we had understood that these are very intensive
mechanized system, with lot of precision to be placed in position one after other.

And it is facing expansion so there should be proper sealing where it can actually take in some kind of
water protection, there is a cushion which is possible through the ceiling system and we could design
now we come to the floor panel part. Now when we are coming to the floor panel part we have to
remember that these floor panels does not require any joining as such which has to be watertight,
which was required for the wall panel system the masonry units or the aerated concrete units
whichever. (refer time: 02:11)

Now coming to the floor panel system, which is today's discussion we see we have a system for the
small spans, we have another set of system for the long spans. And this long span will also include the
combined floor panel where beam and slab it is together coming as a composite. And also we need to
know the assembling system which I was referring to in case of wall panel or in case of the units
which are quite larger in size as compared to the brick the building units, they are set with mortars.

The wall panels are set with sealants. So, here also we need to know what should be the assembling
system, when we are setting these panels one after the other. (refer time: 03:10)

Now coming to the small span system this is adapted in our country context. As you see a section of a
small panel which is made of concrete, with reinforcement is inside it, which is a thin section
compared to that of a cast in situ concrete floor. You can see the cross section here. So, if you cut a
section through AA you will see that the section is something like this where the thickness you can
find as 60 millimetre, which is smaller than that of a cast in situ system and you see the reinforcement
bars are inside it when it is fabricated.

Now what are these gaps doing? these gaps here, as you can see, they can actually pull the system,
help taking the system, to the place where it needs to be assembled. And if you look into the
dimension it is something around 5 feet that is 1500 and on the other side it is only 1 foot. So, you can
understand that this is humanly possible to be shifted to the place where it is to be placed. So, if you
have such a small system and one after the other can be repeated then you can create a floor where
you can actually give load.

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So you can see this section on the transverse side similarly what you see on the other side, you see the
longitudinal section. Now, here you will find that there is a detail when one section comes and is
placed after the other, there should be some supporting member. It may be a wall it may be a beam.
So, if it is a beam you will see the beam is raised in position with a reinforcement bar coming out.

So, this is again a precast beam where a reinforcement rod has been taken out. Why is it so? It is
helping to lift the beam to position and as you had seen that there is a rod inside it. So, rod through
and through passes through it to lift the beam entirely to the support system around it, I will come to
that in the next slide. So, once this system beam is in position you can actually lift individual units
and place it one after the other. (refer time: 06:47)

So, let us see it here, here you see if it is a small room of say 3 meters by 3 meters so if it is from here
to here, it is 3 by 3 meters, 3 meters cross 3 meters. Then, actually you can place one, two, three, four
units in this direction, 300 each and 1500 long, where this is the supporting beam. So, this supporting
beam rests between the two walls and the cross, it is the floor slab, which is resting on one side on the
wall Grove and the other end resting on the beam, as you had seen in the previous slide.

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So, once this is done, you can now find out that this is how the section looks. So, you can see this is
the transverse section, as you can check, this is the transverse section edge of each of the slab. What is
happening? For lifting purpose you had used this you had made this knot and there you are now filling
some weak mortar to bring the entire floor in one particular level. So, you are filling some mortar and
bringing it completing it or making it at one level so that it can be used as a floor.

If you remember, I had shown you an image so this was from a model this picture was taken from a
model developed by BMTPC building material technology promotion Centre. (refer time: 09:09)

Those have developed for our low-cost housings. It is a fast mechanism you can create three meter by
3 meter rooms one adjacent to the other and you can make the roofing very quickly even if the support
is a brick wall. So, now here in this image you can see the mortar is being filled and the gaps are
completed. What happens in case of the roof? In case of roof, water may enter through the gaps
narrow gaps here and there.

So Bitumen layer or an EPDM sheet particularly used for damp proofing may be inserted on the roof
level. So, once that is done, the moisture entry or water entry can be controlled. So, this is extensively
being used. Here you must remember in a developing country like ours, we can use this system for
low cost housing, small span structures. (refer time: 10:40)

But on the other end, if we look into large industrial constructions, factories, there the span is not so
small like 3.6 meters or say 3 meters, where we can adapt such small span system. Here we need to
think how we need to cover longer, larger spans. Now these again are made of concrete as I have told
you in my introductory lecture most of these units are made of concrete with reinforcement as they are
taking tension there should be reinforcement inside to take the tense inside load.

So they are again made of early strength gain cement, that is quick-setting cement, low slump
concrete, these terms you know, low slump concrete means it is stiff concrete, less of water in it,
steam curing for 24 hours, these are all factory made pre tensioned steel wires can be used for higher
efficiency, larger spans etc. So, pre tensioned is the wires or the reinforcement is put under tension
before the casting is done so they can take higher amount of load tensile strength.

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Now under this long span we have two types one is the slab only and other is combined or composite
of slab and beam together. So, coming to the slab which is itself stand-alone slab, they are again of
two types. Flat slab, hollow core so, flat slab is 100 percent concrete with reinforcement inside it.
Hollow slab is having course spread along the entire where it is reducing the weight, at the same time,
going for larger spans.

Now you see how it is represented, if FS4 flat slab F stands for flat and slab is slab of which again
you see, four is the four feet of its width. So, if you go by code, you will find if FS4 that means it is
four feet width flat slab. So, it will not have any hollow core inside it. It is solid slab. Length can be as
large as 25 feet. So, you can now understand that we were talking of small spans referring to
something around five feet.

And now it is we can see the system is itself taking twenty five feet in one go. Coming to the hollow
core it is represented by 4 HC6 where actually 4 refers to the width and 6 refers to the six inches in
depth. So, if you are referring to such code, you must remember that in flat slab, it is ending with its
width, whereas the hollow core slabs are beginning with its width and ending with its depth.

So, these are now available up to length of 40 feet and can vary up to a thickness of 200 millimetre.
How are these course made? You can have pipes inside very closed set in the mould and then the
casting is made. So, it is a continuously cast in the industry and they are made hollow. Now, these
hollow can have another advantage can be the carrier of various service lines. So, some service lines
may pass through these hollow cores.

Next coming to the combined beam column these are having the beam associated with it. So, this is
similar to flat slab with ribs. So, these ribs act as the beam and they are usually looking like the figure
T. (refer time: 16:55)

So, these will have large flanges or projections which will act a slab one after the other. And these T's
these ribs will act as the beam now there are different types. Double T, single T and waffle slab where
T is on both the directions and it becomes a waffle like structure. So, we will come to each of them
one by one. These are sections through the solid core that is flat slab and the hollow core slab.

Now what you can see here, similar to the small spans, here also there are grooves to have Anchorage
and they are also helping in setting the concrete or mortar which will be added later to make it a single

269
surface. So, here also you can see such groves you can see the reinforcement bar which are shown by
black dots. So, they are all designed accordingly and are placed. So, after assembling the gaps are
filled with mortar after placing the units in position.

This allows services, pass through these holes, or sometimes the services are embedded in these gaps
also. So, whenever two such members are sitting one after the other, you can actually have the service
lines passing through on top of which you can actually pour in the concrete. So, let us see how it looks
when it is made in factory. So, this is a picture collected from the Shutterstock, you can see this is
made in factory how they are separated and kept in position they are to be carried to the site and each
of them you can understand it is a huge length.

Here you see another picture, where you can see these grooves within the top part or the face which
help in lifting. These in position now you can see the grooves are in the side for better Anchorage of
the motor and these are lifted at both ends by means of a crane and kept over beams below. We will
come to that later so they are not resting on because what which we had seen in case of a small span
floor slab. Here we are saying it is sitting on a precast beam which is already in position. (refer time:
20:25)

Now, let us come to the combined kind of floor slab. What we see here? It is a double T as I was
telling this is a single T you see with the double T the rib size depth has gone down, here it is a larger.
Single T having a larger rib. So that is the web that is the flange and it is around 8 to 10 feet wide.
Now these can sit over a system in the way it is shown here. There may be special notches at the end
of the T. There may be special notice in the web to get into a walling system.

So this is the continuous T which needs to get assembled in a walling system where this will exactly
go and match with the wall system. So, one has to be very careful while these are being placed. These
are all to be set within its groove if the drawing is perfectly done. So, every instruction should be there
when it is being fabricated, when it is being made and when you are coming to site, it is only the job
of assembling it in order where the way it was actually placed.

So these webs or ribs of the floor plans rest in appropriate slots which are kept in the wall panel. Ribs
have set backs to get fixed in the wall, thickness of the flange and the web depending on how big the

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span is and are specified in the code. Even the reinforcements, direct dimensions are specified in code.
So, we as architects, we need to know the system, how it needs to get into place and then accordingly
we have to design for the say the industrial structure or say a large span office structure office space
which will use these panels.

So we need to get prepared knowing these systems, instead of only knowing the conventional
methods. So, we are plunging into the prefabricated world, we have to follow specific rules, specific
nomenclatures, we have to know the codes, what is the specification and we just cannot make a
wishful dimension. We have to look into how much how big these can go up to and what is my
requirement and which is the closest in dimension and we have to design accordingly.

So after looking into different types of floor panels, both short span or small span, as well as long
span, let us try to also see the other one which is the waffle slab. (refer time: 24:03)

These are also meant for long spans where you see it is one slab, it is not a flat slab neither a T slab
neither a combined one, rather a combination of both. So, these can go for large spans but they can
take in tension in both the directions. So, they have ribs in both the directions and they have much
better stability. They can be managed with much thin cross section. Here you see around 50
millimetre of slab thickness you can actually achieve. Here is 50 millimetre slab thickness and you
can have the ribs or the webs of much lesser dimension.

So, charts are there, accordingly the mould is now getting complex, complicated. The reinforcement
system inside it is also getting complicated which was not that much difficult in case of the others. So,
if such kind of slab is also adopted you can go for such kind of slabs for long span. Let us now go to
how these are to be assembled. (refer time: 25:35)

Precast beams and precast girders, so we use the girders when it is a large span. We can use this
precast beams which we were talking about, when we were also doing the small spans. Here these are
to be of the lengths, between the support system. So, here you can see this may be huge

long rectangular beam or it may be at the edge it may be in L shaped beam. Now this L-shaped is
having the projection where you can actually rest the slab.

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So, you can understand that this dimension, should be matching with the thickness of the slab. Now,
in the case of the short span, you had seen the reinforcement is projecting out. Here also you see the
reinforcements are projecting out in all the cases. What are they doing? When the slab is placed, here,
at the end, these are to be locked, these are to be sealed.

So, this area again another slab will come on the other side. So, these are to be sealed with mortar.
And the same level will be reached and the load sharing will take place. If it is a rectangular beam you
see it is RB 16 inch refers to the width, 24 inch refers to the depth, so, there should be 16 inch 24 inch.
Similarly, you have L refers to the L-shaped beam IT refers to the inverted T beam.

So, same way the charts are to be followed to get specific dimension for the particular thickness of
slab. Now, these slabs maybe a flat slab this slab maybe a hollow-core slab. So, depending on what
the specification is, what is mentioned, the items are to be chosen the depths and dimensions are to be
chosen. So, these projected reinforcements help them to place in position, at the same time, they help
to make it a unified structure when the mortar is put on as the final layer. (refer time: 28:53)

Now, coming to the beam column slab connection, here, when we are setting these hollow code slabs
or the flat slab, you see we were placing it on top of this rectangular beam say or L-shaped beam. So,
on rectangular beam you can see how it is set, it is set on two sides of the reinforcement. So, this is
the reinforcement and you are setting your member hollow slab here, on the other side hollow slab
there.

So, the reinforcement is in between and when you are coating it with the concrete some concrete is
getting filled here and the top is getting a fine layer. Here, you see the beam has been welded to the
column. What did we see? When we were looking into the wall panel system, they were set one after
the other with dowels, one inserted within the other, on the vertical direction. On the horizontal
Direction, there were gaps were sealants were pushed into, there were backer rods to absorb the
expansion if any.

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But here the load has to be transferred through the beam into the column. So, that is why the beam
cannot be unstable. It has to be set rightly with the column. So, the beam you may check it is sitting
on the bearing pad which is a projection in the column. That is also to be designed so that this
projection is always left on that particular position. The beam is resting on it further the beam is
having welded connection with the column making it a very strong joint.

Thus whatever load some 30 feet 25 feet 40 feet entire load is being borne by this and is transferred
through the column to the foundation. If that is not done, the structure or the system will crumble. In
case of cast in situ system, we do not have such options. There beam column slab are all together cast
in one day and then it is left for curing. So, there is continuity between the entire structures. It
becomes monolithic.

Here that is not possible because you are assembling or integrating piece by piece. So, this has to be
kept in mind. So, these bearing pads, steel angles, and metal plates, all are to be there to take the load
of the precast lab. And finally once everything is done, you are laying the concrete film on top to give
it a very neat finish, which one cannot identify even what is the system below it. (refer time: 32:54)

So, we may conclude that depending on the span, the type of the flooring system has to be selected.
Beam and column should be in place to receive the flooring member. So you just cannot start placing
the floors without your beam column system in position. Beam column system may be precast, it may
be steel section, it may be brick wall, it may be anything other than precast system also.

Floor slabs are to be accommodated in the walling system also if it is a combined system. If it is not a
combined system it may be lying independently on the structural system. And then the walling may be
done with even brick wall or concrete masonry units or aerated autoclaved concrete blocks. So, with
these we finish this lecture 4.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Dr. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 25

Columns, Foundation, Ferro-Cement

So we are in the last lecture of module 5 which was on prefabricated concrete construction. In
the previous lecture we had extensively covered the flooring system where we had also
discussed the beam and the flooring system how it is assembled and we had also discussed
how the beam is sitting on the column. Now as you all know that the load is finally
transferred to the mother earth. So, the load has to be transferred through the column to the
ground.

Hence we need to know whether these columns are to be independent single piece or they can
also be prefabricated and they finally go and meet into the foundation which can be precast or
no? As the answer is yes we can have precast columns being assembled one into the other to
form a single connected column. Similarly they can finally go and get set within the
foundation and become a single unified structure.

So unless and until the transfer of load is happening we cannot get the assurance of taking
such long span structures and even along with it we are taking so much of load so much of
large spans. And if any kind of mistake is there the entire system is going to crumble. Again I
repeat it is not like cast in situ construction that things are made together in one day’s casting
and there is continuity.

Here the rods are ending another set of rods are starting so there is no lap no possibility
unless and until this joining between the two is very rigid. So we come to in this particular
lecture to the columns the foundation and another interesting material which is Ferro-cement
which is also a prefabricated material and it is very much contextual to our country context
that is developing country context which we are little bit of challenged while using the other
precast structures we can always go for Ferro-cement structures.(refer time: 03:28)

So we will go into precast concrete foundation precast concrete column and Ferro-cement
precisely. (refer time: 03:35)

So you see here the precast concrete footing. Here you see a post or a column which is
actually subjected to different kinds of loads from the beam it is finally transmitting it to the
foundation or the footing. Here you can see on site there are number of footings made

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according to the location of the column. So you can make a concrete structure resembling a
footing what we see it is a splayed thing but it has to have a base plate where this column is
going to come and sit.

So this concrete pyre is there you can see this post will come and sit on top of this base plate.
There are possibilities that you can weld it you can screw it with nut and bolt and such
provisions are to be made in advance in the footing. So if you can create this, design this then
you can also make a foundation which will take in the load which is transferred to it through
the column and this column and this foundation joint is through this base plate where the
numbers of screws, nuts and bolts groutings etc. are done to hold this column in position.
(Refer time: 05:44)

So once you understood it you see here is the column system coming up. You can see
multiple columns in the same site maybe which is having such kind of footing and then there
is a connecting beam. There may be floors and outside wall panels set between the two
columns again on top of the beam and column system the roofing slab may be the floor slab
may be placed. When these can be concrete it could also be steel columns.

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You see this is an I steel section. We will come steel when we will discuss on this these are
rolled steel sections which are which can take lot of spans to take lot of load in place of
concrete. And see these are the bolts by which they are fixed on the base plate. So this steel
column is having this base plate which is sitting on the foundation base plate which we had
discussed just before in our previous slide.

So this base plate on this base plate actually this can be fixed. So this is the plan and once it is
coming up in section it would not look like a solid rather it will look something like this on
top of which you may have a steel section of beam being welded to it by angles set on it. So
there may be welding with the beam on top of it. So there may be a steel assembly entirely
instead of a concrete assembly.

But finally maybe the roof system the floor system is a precast flooring system. So what are
we gaining through it is we are reducing our time of construction. (refer time: 08:53)

Coming to joining two columns when we were talking of steel columns you can actually join
two steel columns by means of plates with rivets with welding etc. Here it is case of concrete
column where you can see the concrete two columns are being added together. This is before
assembly you see one piece, piece one and piece two these are the two items again below it
may be piece three. So from ground it can be assembled one on top of the other by means of
plates together connected giving a mechanical bond.

So metal bearing plates are embedded and embedded anchor bolts are cast into the end of the
column for giving mechanical joint. And then you see in the second picture so these are the
bolts these are the nut bolts here and after which these edges are grouted these edges are
actually filled in by grouts. So once this this plate shim is connecting the two through this
base plate now these nuts and bolts are tightened up and then they are packed with their
proper alignment.

Actually these grouting or the filling protects the steel whichever is seen from fire and
corrosion. So this fire may weaken it, corrosion may eat it away, wither it away because no

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one can access these portions many a time maintenance is very important. So you are sealing
or plugging these points and not allowing fire or air or moisture to react with these nuts and
bolts so that there is no kind of mechanical failure. So the joint between the two columns is
also very important. (refer time: 11:33)

As we had discussed the beam and the column connection, we had shown the beam and the
slab connection where we also discussed that these welding plate is left in the column this
angle is coming out free onto which the plate of the beam is being screwed, bolted. Unless
this is done there is no rigidity between the rigid connections between the two members. So
you can check here in the column where it is going to receive the beam this bearing pods are
created.

Since these bearing pods are being created are left and with the dimension known to the
fabricator that this kind of beam will be received they are keeping position of this weld plate
provision of this weld plate. So unless and until these dimensions are worked out precisely
one cannot leave this plate for welding purpose. So this is very important for the load transfer
welding plates are to be located in proper location and these bearing pads are to be there for
the beam to rest on the column.

So once this is done the joint becomes rigid and then the sharing or the transfer of the load
becomes easier. So I think with all these we could cover the precast items all together with its
structural system that is the beam columns connection and transferring the load to the
foundation. So all these mechanical joints are to be done according to the specifications
specified in the codes and hence we can get a proper stable system. (refer time: 14:15)

With these we now move to the other interesting material which is Ferro cement. As we had
seen the concrete machinery units which are made of definite sizes and which are largely
used now in India that is developing country context. This is another material which is very
low cost cheap and also a precast item this is called Ferro cement where it is a construction

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element may be beam may be slab may be dome any shape you can think of you can make it
with this item which is Ferro cement.

It is a system where steel bars are first placed and then it is wound that is it is covered by
chicken wire mesh. Chicken wire mesh as you have seen may be fencing you can see chicken
wire mesh they are made of 0.4 centimeter diameter mesh. So these wire mesh may be
hexagonal wire mesh or maybe rectangular wire mesh as you can see in this picture.

You can see the wire mesh so this steel reinforcement of the desired shape is first place, see
this mason is first placing the main rods on top of which he has wound this chicken wire
mesh and then what has he done he has kept it on ground and he has actually pushed in motor
inside it. So once that is done he is getting shapes of rectangle with some thickness all around
as you can see in the picture here.

So this is not fabricated in the factory but he is making it here and then how is he using it we
will come to see. Now what is the thickness you can observe some 30 to 35 millimetre maybe
here how big are the units say some three feet by three feet this may be little smaller three
feet by two feet. So depending on where you are using you are making first the dimension
that is the schedule as we prepared the door window schedule.

So here this schedule has been made and they have been cast accordingly with chicken wire
mesh wound over very thin reinforcement rods may be 6 millimeter diameter. This is 0.4
millimeter only so this mesh is 0.4 millimeter these rods are 6 millimeter dia and once these
are cast these become your construction unit. This was first developed by architect P.L. Nervi
in 1941 for disaster shelters and cyclone shelters.

What is the benefit? this can sway big being light in weight they can sway being less in
weight they can absorb the earthquakes and you can go for low cost construction. (refer time:
19:10)

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Now what is the mix it is cement sand mix in the proportion of one is to two or one is to two
point five depending on the coarseness of sand you can also add coarse aggregate to it. Those
will be usually six millimetre stone chips water cement ratio should be strictly between; 0.35
to 0.4 that is water cement ratio should be very controlled to get good quality Ferro cement.
And concrete is manually pressed or by help of vibrators pressed.

As you can see the chicken wire mesh would not allow masons to reach inside this is to avoid
voids because this is very thin sheet going to give you a shelter as a permanent solution.
Admixtures are added to reduce weight so you can add admixtures to it these are all discussed
earlier plasticizers may help in easy movement. However once it is made you can cover any
dimension any coverage any shape only the internal reinforcement are to be checked
considering which is the direction of tension whether it is subjected to tension or
compression.

So once the rods are spread inside and it is coated with the chicken wire mesh there is very
less chance of the motar along with coarse aggregate to come out and it can act as a unified
structure. Hussein Doshi gufa in Ahmedabad is completely made of Ferro cement you can
always see the images which I could not produce it here but you can always see it, it is a
domical structure it is a very interesting shape which has been made out of it.

However the Ferro cement that is one such structure but Ferro cement is extensively used in
cyclone prone areas in disaster shelters in India. Water tanks are made with Ferro cement
because it can take a circular shape and it is joint-less so chances of leakage is very
minimum. (refer time: 21:57)

Coming to the advantages of it, being lightweight, it is economical, it can take earthquake up
to for 7.2 in the Richter scale, it can sway up to four feet, it can be used as a walling unit,
roofing unit combined. You do not require skill labour which is a challenge in our country. It
does not crack easily because of the chicken wire mesh so it does not disintegrate quickly.
Complex shapes for giving architectural expressions.

You can always adapt Ferro cement and you can use it for low cost constructions also.
Auroville art centre experience has lot of experimentation with Ferro cement, they have
designed the vault, the roofing system, the wall roofing system where ferro cement walls are
used as a roofing purpose. And these Ferro cement roofing the vaults are being used in
structures all around in Auroville- Auroville earth center

So experiments are on at the same time practices are also to be there to popularize a material.
(refer time: 23:31)

Here you see those units which were made by the mason who are sitting, is building his own
rural house getting the technology from our institute. So you see these all units are made one
after the other and this is being placed within a frame where you can see the beam is here
another beam was here and he is actually filling it with means of these panels and this is
becoming a faster method of construction.

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This is the roofing where you see the chicken wire mesh you can see and the roof is being
cast here directly not like the vault system but it is cast here directly. However you can cast it
below and place it on top of the roof that could also be done. (refer time: 24:37)

So we can conclude or conclude that these precast structures can reduce time of construction
but involves skill and mechanized method. In our country context it is not so easy to adapt
even till date. Yes this is a dry method of construction which is a very positive side of it
though your units are all coming being made to site where you are using the water. So it is a
controlled environment hence the desired quality is always attained.

Provision of expansion has to be kept particularly on the walling system where you neither
can join them completely nor you can leave gaps. So sealing has to be very properly done
which in case of the flooring system is not that much challenged. However, to get a finished
surface motor is being used to connect all the units. Beam column slab connections are very
critical for transfer of load.

Ferro cement is another method which is a low technology to make precast building units.
However this Ferro-cement use is not that popularized and is not that much in use on a
regular basis though it can be taken up and it can be made more popular. So with these we
end this module five on pre pre-fabricated construction system particularly we covered the
concrete elements but we also have foam steel embedded puff panel system etc. which
initially was thought of to be put into this module but due to lack of time we will discuss it in
some other module, Thank you for now.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Dr. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 26
Introduction to metals

So, welcome to module 6. So today is the first lecture of module 6 which is mostly on metals and
particularly ferrous and non-ferrous metals which are used in the building industry. Now unlike
the materials we had studied till date, that means in the previous modules we had brick, stone,
wood, precast items, glass and they are everywhere. We understood that we had to make the item
and then use it for the purpose.

We had concrete also. So everywhere one was giving you some advantage disadvantage and
mostly they were compressive members other than the wood and bamboo which was also useful
in taking tension. We had also discussed the reinforcement bars when we discussed concrete,
which mostly referred to the reinforcement inside the concrete and that was as a discussion it
came into the conversation.

So we will look into ferrous metals as well as non-ferrous metals only which we are concerned in
the building industry.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:02)

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If we look into the content we have the introduction to metals, metal properties. Many of you
may know these but we will try to again recapitulate that so that we can understand how it is
useful in the building industry. We have the ferrous and non-ferrous metals and we will try to
compare them to some extent considering their use.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:28)

Considering the periodic table we have 91 metals along with all the elements over there. So we
are not going to have all 91 metals for us but property wise or to identify them it is easy to say
they have a luster. That means they have brightness, they make some sound when you actually
strike two pieces or if it falls, you can get such sound which we if you can remember or recollect
when we discussed brick.

Clinging two first class bricks make a metallic sound, which was due to the right amount of iron
in it. Now most of the metals (almost all) are solid at room temperature apart from mercury. So
we can get the item ready for use. So it is solid form so you can use it directly. It is not like
concrete which you need to give some time to set. So when you use metals you get it in its solid
form. It is opaque in nature unlike glass, which is the only material which was transparent or
translucent to some extent.

We have this material also similar to brick, concrete, wood etc. It is also opaque in nature. So the
light cannot pass through it and it has high melting point. So with these few words let us come to

283
the building industry what are the metals that we find the application off. So we have under the
ferrous metals we have cast iron, wrought iron and steel. Though there are other types of
classification of ferrous metals say alpha beta gamma delta iron we are going into the cast iron
and the wrought iron form which is mostly divided considering the iron content.

Why? We are looking into this from this direction because these actually took take care of the
brittleness or the hardness or the ductility of the metal. So when we cover cast iron and wrought
iron we go into these details. We will know them considering their contents or the ingredients
which form it. Other than that we have steel which is extensively used in building industry,
particularly the structural elements and that is the use of steel in ferrous metals in our particular
trade.

Coming to the non-ferrous metals we have aluminum, then copper, zinc, tin and lead. Now
obviously when copper is alloyed with zinc or tin you will get brass or bronze. We have special
application of lead though earlier lead was much used in the building industry as the base for
paints. But it has been found over time that it is not healthy to the habitants inside the building.
So lead is gradually taken out from the list of metals and it is being replaced by other metal
oxides.

So we find most commonly used non ferrous metal is aluminum, which is not comparable to that
of steel as a structural element. Although we have some examples but aluminum is used for
making frameworks. It is soft and we have plenty of use of aluminum, mostly it has replaced
wood. We will go into further details when we come to each of them. Copper again used with tin
or zinc to get brass and bronze which are again some prestigious metals.

Even copper by itself is a prestigious metal used as a building material. So we will come to them
individually when we discuss.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:16)

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Now let us try to go through the basic properties of metals. Most of the metals have high density.
High density means it is high in weight and it is almost non-porous. So we do not refer to some
bulk density rather we report the density of the material. Whether resistant refers to how much it
can take the extremities of the climate of which water, wind and temperature are the three
factors.

Now as you all know metals are good conductors of heat. So under strong temperatures or that is
summer high degrees and high temperatures, metal itself cannot be the answer for a building
envelope compared to the work which brick does. If it is done by a sheet of metal it will conduct
the heat inside. So it will affect the thermal condition of the inside of the structure if a entire
thing is made of metal.

So metal is mostly used as a structural element rather than as an infill element. Maybe you have
all seen the shed of cycle stands- the top of which may be of some metal sheet and may have
corrugations like this and it is a continuous sheet. So this kind of sheet can go as a roofing of a
temporary structure. Even if it is the roofing of a house it is a temporary thing because you can
always open it and you can re use it but remember it is when used as a roofing of a house it is
exposed to the sun rays.

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And it is trapping in lot of heat inside the house. So if it is the solution, you must remember that
it will trap in lot of heat. So it may be weather resistant from the point of the sun rays but it is not
that effective from the point of water or rain. Let us think it is a steel structure which is subjected
to rain every day maybe you have noticed the phenomena of rusting. It may get rusted if it is not
properly treated. So exposing a steel structure or any ferrous structure may lead to rusting when
we are talking of being weather resistant.

So the non-ferrous metals may be a better answer to that or the other answer is you need to give
some protection to a ferrous metal against water permeability. Many a time we had talked of
impermeable water should not pass through and that is why we used sealing water to join bricks
otherwise there would remain pores or gaps between the bricks to allow moisture or water to
move in.

So every time we had to prevent the water entry. But if the entire wall is made of steel, no water
will enter inside. Yes it may get affected by water but no water can come to the inside of the
house. Now coming to the next point which is heat and electricity conductivity; the thermal
conductivity as already discussed, we are concerned only with the solar energy that is the
sunlight. Other than that if there is a case of fire etc. heat would be conducted very fast.

Coming to the next point which is durability: If we consider a brick structure and a steel structure
or R.C.C structure also, steel structure may be more durable. But yes it has its negatives also that
is corrosion etc. But with proper precaution we will see that steel structure or any non-ferrous
structure would also be more durable. It has high tensile compressive strength.

It has high impact load. It can take impact more than that of brick, stone, wood, concrete even in
bending also. It is hard and elastic: that means it comes back to the normal shape when even after
application of force. So deformation is not observed unless it is a huge amount of force. It is
plastic when it is in molten form, it can be multi molded and any kind of shape can be given. We
will come to that when we get into individual metals.

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So we can mould because it is plastic, free flowing when it is in its liquid state. Ductility refers to
how easily it can be drawn into bars of any length. If you remember to get pieces of bamboo
pieces of wood you had to go for proper carpentry proper cutting to get long pieces but here you
can draw it into bars of any length. So when we also discussed of wood, it was seen that wood is
available in the piece of the log length.

But if you want to have a higher length you had to do some carpentry or joinery to it and then
again further strengthen it with some metal straps. But in case of steel, in case of ferrous metals
or even in case of non-ferrous metals, you can have lengths much longer than as compared to
that of wood or timber. So you can draw it or you can even roll it to get long lengths in the form
of wire, may be of enormous length, you can actually use it for electrical purposes.

So for the wiring system we can use metals because it is a conductor of electricity. Stiffness is
defined as its resistance to deferred deformation in response to an applied force. It is stiff,
malleable, it can also be formed in sheets as we had discussed with the metal plate. Yes when we
are making it into sheet and then we can make then we make it into corrugations. It becomes
more stable but yes we can make malleable or we can make thin sheets.

We can even change shape or forge it just by changing little temperature by bending using proper
appliances or tools. So you can get different shapes different patterns out of metals as out of
ferrous as well as non ferrous metals.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:08)

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So if we move forward metals are unlike whatever materials we have covered, they are present in
ores in compound form. Metals are electro positive in nature hence many of the metals are
present in they are in oxide forms, in forms of compounds where from you have to extracted. So
extraction of metals from the ore forms the key point to get the metal in its purest form. So first
is for getting any metal we have to find the ore mine. It has to be taken out if you remember the
stone query from where the stone was taken out.

But stone was itself available after dressing. But here the ore is having the metal inside it mostly
in its oxide form or in any other compound form like lead sulfide. So you have different ores and
there you have to actually reduce it to get the ore get the metal out of it. And obviously you have
to melt the entire ore and as it is metal it has high temperature, high melting point, it is energy
intensive, you have to use or burn a lot of fuel to get the metal to melt and proper processing
needs to be done.

So we will come to that when we go into each of them and we will try to cover the salient points
of getting the metal or extracting the metal from the ore. But once it is done it has a long life and
it has it is 100% reusable. So the embodied energy though it seems to be quite high for its present
form but considering its age like how long it can be used, it becomes very negligible considering
the life of a brick or that of any other building materials.

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So that is why only looking into the energy may not be the right decision point, rather one should
also look into the length of its life metals can be alloyed to give variations in properties. We can
see aluminum added with other metals into it gives it more strength, even retaining its property
of light weight. Similarly for iron we can take care of its negative property which is corrosion.

So we will go into each of the metals when we will discuss it further. We can heat treat metals
and get varying properties too. So we have to keep these points in mind that whenever required
we will see some treatment is done and either it is alloyed or it is treated or it is heat treated and
then different properties are obtained because we need different properties when it is being used
for different purposes.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:14)

Let us now look into some examples of metals used in building. The first use of metal as cast
iron was in bridges and we can see way back in 1781. Though the uses of metals are historic
because Iron Age and Bronze Age. If we take a close look at the structures, although it is not
falling under the building domain, cast iron was extensively used. The Crystal Palace bridge in
London which has been burnt in fire was in 1848 which was also a huge spanning structure
where glass and steel together was exhibited it was to hold exhibition.

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The Statue of Liberty is greenish in color and it is made of copper. But what is the structure
inside it is made of iron. And iron when got rusted it was positioned in 1886 and on the river it
was continuously getting corroded and the iron structure is gradually being replaced by steel.

But still the 151 feet high structure is intact and it attracts a lot of national and international
tourists. Similarly the Eiffel tower is a wrought iron lattice structure built by Agustav Eiffel
1889. The same Agastav Eiffel actually also made the inside structure of the Statue of Liberty,
which was later covered by this copper veil. So you can see copper is so malleable that it could
be converted to a thin kind of coating or covering on top of this structure to give this kind of this
kind of statue or a monument.

Now this wrought iron was used for making this entire Eiffel tower but later on when it is getting
damaged at certain points it is replaced with steel. Here at this corner you see another structure
which is totally made of an alloy of aluminum and copper known as duralumin. It is a 300 feet
dome like structure in Washington. It is the US botanical garden conservancy. So these all are
not steel structures and we can always use different metals and we can exhibit or show that yes it
can take lot of height, lot of span and it can be used as a structural material in building.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:08)

Now let us come to the comparison between the ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Ferrous metals
possess high tensile strength compared to that of non-ferrous metals and both are durable. This

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high tensile strength and high density of the ferrous metals gives it mostly its use as a structural
support system in buildings whereas this less dense less weight lightweight material is mostly
favorable for malleable structures or as a framework for any internal purposes mostly aluminum.

You can see this sheet made of aluminum which is malleable whereas for ferrous structures this
is the structural system entirely made of steel. Ferrous metals can be oxidized and hence it
experiences corrosion when exposed to weather; this is due to its high carbon content. So if we
can reduce the carbon content we can reduce the process of corrosion.

Similarly the non-ferrous metals oxidize but very slowly and hence they are sometimes used for
coating ferrous substances. Ferrous metals like iron need to be galvanized with zinc. So to
overcome the continuous exposure to water or the elements of nature, we may select non-ferrous
metals as the building material. From the cost point of view, ferrous metals are lower in price
whereas non ferrous metals are costlier, although the ores are abundantly available. Extraction
process is actually affecting and controlling the price.

Because ore wise we have large extents of iron as well as aluminum if we consider one as the
ferrous and the other as the majorly non ferrous item. We have magnetic quality in ferrous
metals which are not seen in non-ferrous metals. This is the reason why non-ferrous metals,
being non-magnetic, are used for electronic purposes wiring appliances etc. For magnetic
quality, ferrous metals have particular uses only for electrical appliances. In case of embodied
energy, you can see ferrous metals have much lower embodied energy.

From the cost point of view, you can see extraction of ferrous metals is easier, that makes it
cheaper too. It is of the order of 20.1 MJ/kg (mega joule per kg) whereas that of non-ferrous
metals where it is referring to only aluminum as it is the most commonly used non-metal. It is
155 MJ/kg. When we will be discussing the other metals I will also give you the figures for the
embodied energy of copper or zinc.

Coefficient of thermal expansion of iron is 12 x 10 -6/oC initally. This is the reported value for
20oC. Now here you see this thermal expansion value is very close to the thermal expansion

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value of concrete. Just compare it with the non-ferrous metals. The coefficient of thermal
expansion of aluminum is 24 x 10-6/oC at 20 oC and for copper it is 17 x 10-6/oC at 20 oC.

So why did I refer to the coefficient of thermal expansion of steel or ferrous metal versus that of
concrete? This is due to the fact that in concrete we embed steel or embed the iron rods or the
reinforcement. So if their thermal expansion behavior is not the same due to thermal changes
internal cracks are going to happen one will try to expand more the other will expand little less
and that will create internal stresses.

So that is why we have concrete and steel together to give reinforced cement concrete where no
other metals are used. If it would have been aluminum you see concrete is having almost 10 x 10-
6 o
/ C and it is 24 x 10-6/oC at 20 oC. So if there is a change in temperature the concrete will expand
less whereas the metal inside will try to increase more, thus creating a break internally. Internally
the member will try to expand more, the other thing will try to will expand less and try to stay in
its position and it will lead to internal cracks. So we have to remember this point very well.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:56)

Coming to codes and standards for plain and reinforced cement concrete we refer to IS 456. We
refer to IS 8629 for protection of iron and steel from corrosion. Similarly the other codes of
practice are specified for aluminum, steel and brass. So with all these we end today's

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introductory lecture and we will move on to the ferrous metals in the next lecture of this module,
thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Dr. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 27
Ferrous Metal – 1 Cast and Wrought Iron

After the introduction lecture to this particular module on ferrous and non-ferrous metals, we
will move on to the topic ferrous metals, particularly discussing on cast and wrought iron. Now
what we understood in the first lecture is, metals are quite different than whatever other items we
had discussed so far in the previous 5 modules. So there we understood that metals have much
higher embodied energy it requires lot of exploration to get it.

So we get or retrieved the metal from the ore and then we have to go for high energy and hence
the embodied energy increases. But yes it is 100% reusable, it has a larger life span and you can
continuously use it without much loss; which was not possible for other all other materials
discussed so far. Other thing is metals are malleable, ductile; they can take lot of tensile strength
which was along with compressive strength, which was not much taken other than the item
wood.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:59)

So we will move on to cast iron and wrought iron in this particular lecture because we find these
two metals are used from the very preliminary times. I had shown you examples of the Eiffel

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Tower which is made of wrought iron. The Statue of Liberty (inside of it) is made of steel.
Wrought iron and Cast iron bridges were the very initial steel structures. So first we cover these
two items in this lecture and then we will move on to the steel which is more used nowadays.

Now let us see how we extract the ferrous metals. We will be very brief in it and then we will go
particularly to see the extraction of pig iron, then cast iron and wrought iron with its
characteristics and uses. We will try to cover these in this particular module.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:57)

So ferrous metals are those which contain iron and iron can take higher tensile strength
compared to the non ferrous metals. That is why we use iron so extensively in our buildings
although it has many other drawbacks. So we will open up through this module on different
aspects of iron. Now let us come to the melting of its ore. We have to know what the ores are.
The important ores are the magnetite, the hematite and the iron pyrite. These three ores occur in
majority and are found extensively in many parts of India. We get around 60% to 75% of the
total iron content.

But how do we get that iron? So principle of getting the iron is simply heating the ore. In other
words you are heating the ore in presence of a reducing agent. In the process you are reducing
the ore and then carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide is evolved and iron is extracted in may be a

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crude form. This first stage extraction is called pig iron which is the first product and this act as
an input for manufacturing either cast iron or wrought iron or steel.

So pig iron is the first processed iron ore and it can be used for making other iron products. So
pig iron is nothing but the initial to initiate the production of cast iron and wrought iron or steel
we need to have this first extraction from the iron ore. So we treat it further and we get all other
forms.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:07)

Now let us come to the process known as smelting. It is actually extracting the metal from its ore
which involves heating and melting. So what we will do? We will take the ore and we will try to
heat it up to that temperature where it will start melting. Limestone is added as a flux or an
additive which actually reduces the melting point. It also has many other aspects: for example, it
helps in removing the impurities like sulphur.

It also helps in a formation of froth or a slag which is lighter in weight and separates out from the
molten metal. So the lighter material comes up which contains lot of impurities and that can be
actually tapped out, whereas the molten metal sinks down because it is heavier. Since the density
is higher it sinks down and that can be separated out. So limestone plays a key role in the
extraction process and it is called as flux.

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So what we see that during this process of smelting is that heating and melting process, the flux
plays an important role and we get the item which is pig iron or cast iron or wrought iron or steel
whatever it may be. But because of the heating process the entire material that is the metal in
liquid form attracts lot of carbon in it. So we also need to look for to extract or keep the carbon
lesser in amount and this carbon is the key player to make or change the properties of the metal
iron.

So lesser the carbon, purer is the iron and it is more in strength. Higher amount of carbon
decreases the strength. The items become more brittle in nature. However we have to have
carbon in it because carbon helps or carbon contributes towards the strength of the steel also.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:03)

We are using the term steel iron but they may be understood as the same. So pure iron will be
soft but will significantly harden due to the impurities. So carbon is the major impurity. Other
than that there is silica, magnesium, phosphorus and sulfur. As I told flux, limestone attracts
sulfur and it reduces the amount of sulfur or percentage of sulfur from the ore.

Carbon varies from the range .002% to 4%. So by varying different carbon proportion you will
get different types of iron. And this carbon as I told you is trapped during the smelting process
that is the heating process. And as you all know, all metals can alloy with other metals I have

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discussed this in lecture one and you can get various properties. Another beauty is of metals you
can treat it with heat and you can get different properties of metals.

So heat treatment can be done, alloying can be done, varying carbon percentage can be
considered and we can get a large type of iron. So we need to know all of them.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:50)

Now coming to the types of iron, how iron exists in its physical form. You have all studied in
chemistry the term “allotropes”. Iron has three allotropes alpha, beta, alpha gamma and delta at
normal temperature. But we are not much concerned with this. These are more for the
metallurgists. What we are concerned is on three type’s cast iron, wrought iron and steel. There
are mostly categorized based on the carbon percentage.

Now you see in cast iron the carbon percentage is varying from 1.7 to 4.5. As I told you the
carbon content of cast iron is about 4%. Hence it is very brittle. Wrought iron on the other hand
has less than 0.15% that is if you remember .0002% is the starting range which is not even 1%.
For steel you see it is between 0.25% and 1.5%. So not all cast iron and wrought iron will be
very much useful for structural purposes whereas steel where we see it is only a small window of
carbon percentage from 0.25 to 1.5, there we get a lot of variety.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:26)

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As we proceed we see that cast iron which is at the top of the table and wrought iron which is at
the other end of the table and we see steel in between. So cast iron and wrought iron are totally
opposite in their character and you see for the ease of welding, wrought iron is the easiest where
else cast iron is easy for casting. Wrought iron cannot be cast hardness of cast iron is very high
and tensile strength of cast iron is also very high.

But remember I told you because of high percentage of carbon cast iron is brittle in nature. So
whatever high beats tensile strength it may fail without any notification to the structure. So you
can make a cast iron item having high tensile strength but it may fail because of its brittle
structure and vice versa wrought iron would not we will come to that.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:47)

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Now let us to the manufacturing process of pig iron. You see this is a picture of a blast furnace.
What I told you the ore is first put in. If you see the ore or the charge which we already
discussed, is pushed up with a conveyor belt. These items are very heavy, so the conveyor
system is there which puts in the charge at the top of the furnace. And you see here in this
portion the iron ore is the charge is getting accumulated and here are the tiers through which the
hot air comes in.

If we see this hot air is blown into this charge which is limestone iron ore. And so this hot air is
actually heating the entire charge and this eventually melts the iron ore and the coke gets burnt
and the limestone separates out a number of impurities. So what you see here at the bottom is a
slag hole and the other side is a tap hole. The slag hole is at the upper level whereas the tap hole
is at the lower level.

This is to tap out the metal and this is to tap out the slag. So if we go see that limestone is
attracting the impurities and slag being lighter, floats on the top. The slag on the metal is tapped
out which is called the pig iron or the first extraction. It is taken out from the tap hole. So this
molten iron and slag is tapped at regular intervals and the charge is continuously poured from the
conveyor belt at the top and the process goes on.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:10)

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So we get big iron which now goes into the manufacturing of cast iron. Here you see a similar
picture where the metal, the flux and the coke are charged from this charging floor. So there are
stacks on top, where from these items are charged one after the other to form a mixture. And here
also the same process is followed. The pig iron is re-melted and the air is blasted inside through
these tiers and you have a slag hole and a tap hole.

So this is called the Cupola furnace. After this second round of extraction, which is kind of
purification and re-melting you get cast iron. Some old cast iron items are added into the charge
so that the cast iron gets forms very quickly.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:42)

As I told you cast iron has a crystalline structure let us see the structure. You see it is mostly a
very grainy structure with columnar grains and oriented in a single direction. So you can break it
just like a biscuit. So here you can see that at any point it can crack or break and this is the
problem with cast iron although it has very high tensile strength. Now coming to the properties
of cast iron. The melting point is lower because higher the carbon lesser is the melting point.

The carbon percentage varies from 1.7 to 4.5. It is strong in compression and weak in tension
when compared to its compressive strength. But you will see wrought iron has lesser tensile
strength (40 N/mm2) than cast iron (150 N/mm2). It is brittle and hard but it does not absorb

301
shock. So it suddenly fails without warning. You may see some cast iron and pipes in old
buildings with a part of it is there and part of it is detached.

So, those are actually failure of cast iron where no warning is given. Hence it is used for such
rainwater carrier which would not affect the system much as it is not used as a structural member
usually. But it is strong in compression. It takes quite high compressive strength. It can be cast
into various shapes and it has shrinkage. So when it is cast into a mould, it shrinks and it comes
out very easily and you cannot do any kind of joinery. We will elaborate it later. With cast iron
operations like Riveting, bolting and welding is not possible.

It cannot be forged; that means it cannot be bent or hammered or have its shape changed. So
these are the salient properties of cast iron.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:14)

There are three types of cast iron; these are to mention grey cast iron will contain more amount
of carbon, white cast iron is having lesser amount of carbon and malleable cast iron is having
further less amount of carbon. Malleable means it can be pulled out, it can be rolled out, it is less
brittle. It resembles more towards wrought iron as it is having lesser carbon content.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:56)

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Now let us move into the extraction process of wrought iron. You see here it is a reverberatory
furnace. So what is happening? The coal is actually not with the charge. So here this portion you
see D is the fireplace where the coal is burning and this is the portion where the iron node is kept
that is the pig iron is kept.

So this heat is generated and it is continuously falling on the pig iron. So this coal or the coke is
not coming into contact with the iron ore. This is an indirect way of heating and hence what
happens is that the carbon from the coke is not getting entrapped into the pig iron or the molten
iron. What is the benefit then? The carbon content is much lower because it is not contaminated
by the coke. This was happening in case of the blast furnace and the cupola furnace.

So that is why this is called a reverberatory furnace because the heat is reverberated or it is
coming again and again from the ceiling of this furnace and melting the pig iron and the iron is
extracted in its purest form. So once the pig iron here gets molten, it is getting gradually
extracted out and this is how the wrought iron is obtained. So what you understood is the
reverberatory furnace is such a furnace where the pig iron is not coming in contact of the coke
and hence pure form or the purest form of iron is obtained which is called wrought iron.
(Refer Slide Time: 22:47)

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Now let us see some of the properties of wrought iron. If you see the structure, this is more of a
rounded uniform structure. You can now distinguish between the cast iron structure and this
wrought iron structure. So obviously there is a change in the structure of the iron with the
changing percentage of carbon. The carbon percentage is negligible in wrought iron and as I told
you the melting point of wrought iron is higher (1500 oC) than cast iron (1250 oC).

Wrought iron is tough, malleable and ductile. It resembles more properties of steel and it can be
welded at 900 oC. We will come to welding where we will discuss what are the different the
types of welding and how the joinery happens in metals. Another important point is that it can be
twisted both in hot and cold condition. So wrought iron can be forged and that is why you can
make many ornamental items just by forging or twisting wrought iron.

Again wrought iron is used for making street furniture; wrought iron gates are being made. It
rusts more quickly than cast-iron and but it can stand saltwater better than cast-iron. You see
here the compressive strength has gone down from 600 N/mm 2 in cast-iron to 200 N/mm 2 in
wrought iron. Also the tensile strength has also gone down to 40 N/mm 2. But its properties of
metals are more in wrought iron.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:28)

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So here are some uses and we can see a number of pictures of cast iron. In rain water pipe the
cast iron finds its application. You can see the grating is also of cast iron, where the water is
coming and getting accumulated. Many of you have seen this kind of manhole covered on roads
even at your residence. These are cast or made out of cast iron. So this is sitting on a surface
people can walk on top of it.

Even if it breaks or cracks it would not create any problem. So it can be used for such purposes
where it is not directly affecting you or your day today activities. Another application of cast iron
is usually found in spiral staircases in old buildings. And sometimes one or two of its steps just
fall apart. So it stands and appears beautifully at its place but may break without giving any
warning. On the other hand you see the items made of wrought iron you can see ornamental
street furniture, the lampshades, and the projecting brackets.

These are all twisted and made out of wrought iron. You can see wrought iron gardens, here
tables and chairs, the street furniture on road, those are usually of wrought iron. So any kind of
ornamental works can be made with wrought iron.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:42)

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So we can conclude that cast iron has higher compressive as well as tensile strength and earlier it
was used for bridges, large spans. Wrought iron is the purest form of iron with negligible
impurities. Hence it is forgeable easily; works like riveting, welding and bolting can be done on
wrought iron, which is not possible in case of cast iron. But presently we see steel has replaced
most of it but these items some which are which I have discussed as shown you in the previous
picture are still being practiced made of cast iron.

We can get lots of tools made of cast iron and hence it is not erased completely but yes its use
has lessened to some extent with steel taking its place. So we will move to steel in our next
lecture, thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Dr. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 28
Ferrous Metals 2 – Steel

Hello everybody. So today we will start lecture 3 of module 6. We have already covered cast
iron and wrought iron and we told that we will carry on with ferrous metals, particularly steel,
which we are presently using in our building industry quite extensively.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:59)

The items that will be covered in this particular lecture are the manufacturing of steel, then
briefly on the properties of steel and then rolling of steel and joining of metals (particularly
steel). So we understood in our previous lecture that you need pig iron which was extracted first
in the blast furnace and then it was used for either making cast iron or wrought iron. So the same
pig iron comes here and helps in the manufacturing of steel.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:50)

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So the first industrial production of steel started in 1856 and since then we find the replacement
of cast iron and wrought iron by this particular item and steel is now extensively used replacing
cast and wrought iron into building industries, into bridges, highways. roadways etc. So the
principle remains the same. Here again if you see the picture this is a Bessmer converter which
was first used for large scale production. It is having the same concept of pushing in hot air as
you can see the hot air is bubbling out into the charge.

What is the charge? Here again it is the limestone and the pig iron and on the upper part the slag
actually comes up and the steel is tapped. So here again it is the hot air heating the entire charge,
the slag is coming out and the metal is being extracted. Various other processes are also
practiced to get steel. The steel Ingots are obtained and they are now taken for further processing.
Now steel is again of three types: low carbon steel, medium carbon steel and high carbon steel.

Low carbon implies that the carbon content is less than 0.25%. So it will resemble characteristics
more of like the wrought iron and it is called mild steel. So you can understand the tensile
strength will be less for mild steel when compared to that of high carbon steel which resembles
more of cast iron. But you see here the carbon content in case of high carbon steel is restricted up
to 1.5%. These are the metallurgical aspects and I am not extensively telling you on that.

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Carbon at 1% gives the best kind of steel. So you see if the carbon content goes beyond 1% again
the qualities go down. The best is getting steel at 1% carbon.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:26)

So we see the different grades of steel are available. For the three types of steel i.e. low carbon,
medium carbon and high carbon, we see that the properties is it can achieve are higher tensile
and compressive strength, it can withstand wear and tear better than wrought and cast iron. It is
soft and malleable, it can be rolled into thin sheets and hard steel can be used for making tools. If
you remember in the previous lecture we had given a diagram where various types of steel were
in between cast iron and wrought iron.

So with more carbon content steel will resemble cast iron which will be useful for making tools.
Steel containing carbon of 0.3% is required for high strength structural purposes. And you see
the two values are given the mild steel is having a compressive strength of 10000 kg/cm 2. The
tensile strength of mild steel is 7000 kg/cm2 and the same is given for high carbon steel.

Similarly high carbon steel will have higher strength i.e. 18000 kg/cm 2 (compressive) and 10000
kg/cm2 (tensile).
(Refer Slide Time: 07:16)

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Now let us come to the process of rolling of steel. Why we are coming to this because we as
architects need to know how to use steel into the building industry. After knowing the basic
properties, like we all know steel is good in tension; we will have to make use of it into our
buildings. We also know it is very heavy, so we have to think of light weight proper sections to
be used which will be more effective.

So we cannot just not take a big rod of iron or a piece of large bar of steel and use it as per our
will. We need to know how best we can use it and that is why we need to know rolling of steel. It
is a metal forming process in which metal stock, which is instead of taking the entire log of wood
or taking an entire steel piece we will roll it into our desired shape, desired thickness, and
uniform cross section simply by pressing it. So if it is in its molten form it will be easier. By
molten form it means not 100% molten but at a temperature where it can be easily passed
through rollers without any deformity.

So one type is hot rolling other type is cold rolling. So the metal, when it is passed through the
rollers under pressure it is at a higher temperature. If the temperature is below the re-
crystallization temperature it is called cold rolling. So if we are doing cold rolling we are not
changing the crystalline structure inside the steel. If we are going for hot rolling we are changing
the crystallization pattern inside the steel.

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I am not elaborating much but we will see in one case where how this thing works. So the TTT
diagram is there which I have not covered in any of these lectures on this module. The time
temperature transformation diagram of steel that gives a vivid explanation though we need not
know need not know so much of details. So just by putting the stock under pressure of rolls we
get different cross sections which can be used for our purpose. We will go into that little later.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:40)

So these rolled steel sections can be directly used for structural purposes. And I have told you we
can get different shapes of it. The IS code is there which gives the details of such shapes. Usually
there is a thin member known as web and a projected member that is called the flange present for
every member; say if it is in I section, now you can I think understand what I mean of this rolled
section. It can also be a channel section, it can be an angle section, it can be a hollow circular
section, and it can be a hollow square section as well.

So this is called I section, this is a T section this is an angle section, this is a channel section etc.
So you see here it is written as ISLB which is I section as per code it is written 500 @ 735.7
N/m. That means 500 is the depth of the I-section in millimeters (mm) and 735.7 N/m is 1 meter
length weight. Similarly for T-section, it is ISNT 125 that means the depth of the T-section is
125 mm and the rest is the weight.

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Same with the channel section you see ISLC 350 @ 380.6 N/m. Here the depth is 350 mm. So
these are all codes specified. So you just cannot order any number which you desire. So there are
lists in the code and you have to order based on it the weights are also given and you will see all
these items have an inner slope.

Angled sections will also have an inner slope. It will slope outside meaning it will be tapering at
the outer end. The angle section ISA 40 x 25 x 6 mm. Here the weight is not given. ‘40’
represents length of one of the arms, other arm length is 25 mm and the thickness is 6 mm.
Coming to MS flats that is you can see on top of railings, you can see a flat bar like this, this is
30 mm wide and 10 mm thick and having a length whatever you desire.

You may have plates and sheets ISPL ISSH that gives the dimension of the sheet see 2000 x 600
x 4 mm or 2000 x 600 x 4 mm. So these are the various types of rolled section available and
these can be directly used for construction purposes. Why I mention this because other than these
we have reinforcement bars. Reinforcement bars abbreviated as rebars, which are actually
embedded in concrete.

When we had covered concrete we had understood reinforced concrete. Where reinforcement
was embedded inside concrete to take care of the tensile forces which a structure would
experience because concrete was good in compression but not good in tension. We will cover
reinforcement bars in the later lecture but now we will carry on further with the rolled steel.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:26)

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Here you see a number of pictures which I could collect. The sources are mentioned. These are
angle section, box section or rectangular section. You can see channel section, circular hollow
bars, steel plates and or even the rebars or the steel bars. You can see these in your daily life
daily places where you visit. A cycle stand, a temporary kind of shop where you will see circular
hollow bars, steel angles being used for putting up the roofing or temporary roofing or weight
roofing on top of a structure.

A temporary garage temporary structure will also have rolled sections. Try to look around you
will find all these kind of sections. Even the railway tracks those are kind of T section those are
also rolled out. So rolled sections are directly used in structure they need not be embedded inside
concrete. So rolled steel is used directly for steel structures. Even steel sections made for steel
structures for building industry. We can see steel structures completely where reinforced
structure reinforced columns and beams are replaced by steel members.

Sometimes an intermediate support is required there you can actually put a steel member as steel
is both good in compression and tension it does not need concrete along with it. But concrete
requires steel along with it. These steel structures wherever used they are very stable and they
can take load be it tensile or compressive. Hence I sections T sections can be seen used for steel
structures.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:13)

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We now come to the most interesting part of joining metals. Once we get these rolled items how
do we join them together? In case of bricks we had seen mortar was joining the two. In case of
engineered wood we found adhesives joining the two. In case of metals how do we join them? If
you want to directly join two pieces we have three processes namely: soldering, brazing and
welding. Both soldering and brazing requires a second metal or a metal alloy which is a kind of
adhesive between the two mother metals or the metals that is to be joined.

So if you have two metals to be joined, you are putting a third metal liquid in between and
allowing it to join. This third metal should have a lower melting point. Soldering is usually with
tin and lead alloy or lead and silver alloy. This alloy melts at 300 oC. So what is happening that
at 300 oC when the mother metal is not at all melting or is just getting heated, this third metal
comes in between in its liquid form and it holds the two metals together once it is solidified.

But this is a weak joint. Brazing also has the same type of joinery. Here the temperature is little
higher that is 600 oC and the filler metal passes in between the two metals. The gap is very small
but even then these are the two work pieces to be joined and the third metal or the metal alloy
percolates in between the two.
(Refer Slide Time: 22:47)

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But welding is little different. What happens in welding is that the metals which are to be joined
are heated to almost its melting point and then when it becomes soft the two pieces are
hammered together (traditional way). Now different easier methods have been found out but it is
the same two metals being joined there is no third metal or any other metal coming in between.

But even then these points are weaker than the main material but this is the strongest amongst the
joints. So let me summarize by saying that in all these three cases you are using heat, bringing
another metal into the application. When you are using heat, it is the third material in its molten
form is getting in between the two metals to be joined. The entire process happens at a lower
temperature which is called soldering the other is called brazing.

Welding gives a better and stronger joint and no third metal inside the process. There are
modified or easier methods of welding such as gas welding, arc welding, etc. For welding the
person has to wear a mask and doing the welding.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:59)

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There are different types of welding. See the butt joint, T joint. Butt joint is placing one beside
the other; similar to the case of wood, if you can remember the lengthening joints. Here you see
you want to make a different picture, more complex structure. Here you see it is a corner joint.
So this joint is very important here. This is a lap joint that is overlapping with the other member
and this is an edge joint.

So these two items are joined together to even increase the thickness. So all these are possible
with soldering brazing as well as welding and you can see these are quite similar to that of your
wood joinery.
(Refer Slide Time: 26:14)

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There is another kind of joint that is the mechanical joints; which can be done to join two items
allowing some movement, allowing some possibilities. we see rivets, we see bolts, we see
screws. This picture is rivet which is a permanent joint. See the cross section here where you see
the pin and the shank is passing through the two metals and on the other side it is hammered and
it becomes a flat. It is completely sealed you cannot open it unlike this nuts and bolts.

You can screw you can open it through the thread. It is being fixed together and this allows
movement. For example say you want to have a hinge kind of thing so that it will move. So nuts
and bolts are temporary kind of joints. You can open it and again fix it. Screw is also the same
you can unscrew an item. So rivets are permanent kind. You will see more riveting is done for
steel structures where it becomes a rigid body. You can see screw in case of structural steel
members, where you can unscrew it.

You can find applications of nuts and bolts where again you can take out the nut, you can take
out the bolt and again use it for some other purpose. So with this we end this lecture that is
lecture 3 and we will move to lecture 4 where we will discuss more on the rebars or the
reinforcement bars. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Dr. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 29
Ferrous metals 2 – Reinforcement Bars, Corrosion, Light Gauge Steel

In this lecture 4 we will discuss on reinforcement bars which we did not discuss at all in the
previous lecture. We were discussing mostly on rolled steel. Rolled steel is used independently.
It can take tension, compression and it can itself act as a structural member. Coming to this
particular lecture where we will discuss reinforcement bars, corrosion and light gauge steel. Now
reinforcement bars as I discussed it will be embedded within concrete.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:23)

Next is corrosion which we will try to expose the defect or the drawback of steel or iron and
discuss on how we can actually take care of corrosion. Because steel is so versatile in its use but
it is having that property of being corroded and that is a defect. And if we can overcome that
defect we can actually make use of steel in its best way and I will try to expose you to another
item that is light gauge steel. This is now into our CPWD specification also.

This is not exactly 100% steel structure but light gauge steel can be used as a structural member
for say 2 to 3 storey high, maximum up to 4 stories. It is a very cost-effective way of

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construction. So I will just expose you to light gauge steel very briefly and conclude the topic on
ferrous metals.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:50)

The steel reinforcement bars, which can be seen easily on construction sites. These are mainly
rods and bars which are mild steel, having less of carbon. They are usually of different
dimension starting from say 2 mm and go upto 50 mm. The available dimensions that are used
for construction purposes are 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 24 and 50 mm. So in your further
classes you will understand the calculation part depending on the area of steel required to take
the tensile load of any structure.

You have to first estimate the area of steel required and distribute it into the number of bars
required. Now the cross-section of each bar is circular and hence you know the total area of such
bars. So you have to divide it with the dimension of the bar of a specific diameter and find out
number of rods that will be required. And you have seen in my previous lecture on concrete that
dense network of reinforcement is there before any casting of concrete takes place.

So we are referring to these bars in this lecture. What is the advantage? These bars go embedded
inside the concrete. You will never see in any structure that a mild steel bar is taking the entire
load. Rather you can see an angle section, rolled section, tubular or circular section taking the

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load. But these bars mainly go into concrete for reinforcement. So these are usually used for
general building purposes.

These bars have a tensile strength between 215 N/mm2 to 250 N/mm2 and to be precise there are
different grades (grade 1, grade 2) of mild steel bars. So as you can understand these mild steel
bars are plain on the cross section. If you see the picture (MS bars) carefully it is having a
smooth surface on its longer face unlike the bars which you see in this picture (Ribbed Bars).
The new picture here you see ribs or lugs these are called cold twisted deformed bars or high
yield strength deformed bars.

These are mechanically further strengthened by cold working; meaning there is no crystallization
pattern changes inside like hot rolling. So these bars can be twisted, drawn and stretched. These
processes will result in developing high yield strength deformed bars and it has ribs on top. If it
is twisted it is taut steel bar. So what is happening? The bars are having twists. What does it help
in? What is the difference between the upper picture and the lower picture?

After the bars get embedded in concrete, it is very difficult to move this ribbed bar than that of a
mild steel bars. You cannot pull it in both the cases. But the bonding strength between the ribbed
bar and the concrete will be higher than that of the mild steel bar and the concrete. So this is
more preferred and you see the tensile strength for this cold twisted deform bar is similar. What
you are achieving? You are achieving higher bond strength between bonding of concrete with
steel. And this can reduce the use of steel by a good percentage.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:28)

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Another point you see which is separately written that was heat treatment. So here you see
thermo mechanically treated bars; thermo means temperature. So you are allowing heating to
change the property the mechanical property of T bar. Here short intensive cooling happens
when it is dipped in water and then surface layer gets hardened.

So as I was talking of the different types of steel through the time temperature transformation
diagram. Here you see the outer layer which gets immediately cooled, gets a crystalline pattern
changed. Whereas the inner core remains in its original form that is the pearlite core. So outside
which was thermally treated and intensive cooling was done by dipping it in water. What has
happened? The crystallization pattern of the outer layer has changed to martensite steel, while
the inside is still hot.

The crystallization pattern of this martensite steel is still changing and this gradually cools in the
atmosphere. The outer portion remains martensite while the inner remains pearlite, giving
different kind of property. It gives higher strength and ductility and also high temperature
resistant up to 500 oC. Why we mentioned this here because even if it is embedded in concrete, if
the structure is subjected to fire these bars will get de-shaped if the heat rises and the structure
will crumble. So having higher resistance to temperature is to be noted and is very important.

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This thermally treated bars or the TMT bars can be welded and at the point of welding it does not
have a loss of strength. We can get high strength starting from 415 N/mm 2 to up to 550 N/mm2.
Reduction of use in Steel up-to 40% can be reduced and hence recommended for high-rise
structures. Steel is quite heavy and has density of 7.8 g/cc (gram per cubic centimeter).

So just recommending lot of steel structure is actually giving lot of weight to the structure. So the
self weight increases. Hence using such kind of thermo mechanically treated bars a considerable
percentage of the steel use will be reduced hence it is recommended for high-rise structures.
Further you get the advantage of high temperature resistance and obviously high tensile strength.
Another type of rebar in the reinforcement part is known as thermo mechanically treated high
corrosion resistant bar (TMT HCR bars).

In this kind of bar the same thermo mechanically treated bar (TMT bar) has chemical changes
inside it and that gives it the added advantage of having higher thermal resistance of up to 600 oC
along with lesser corrosion. So these members will be further recommended for high-rise
structures obviously. The strength wise it will be similar to TMT bars and they can bend without
cracking. So we see the reinforcement bars are of different kinds including the mild steel bars.
The mild steel bars are provided for regular use.

But with the advancement cold twisted deform bars or the high yield strength deformed bars in to
the market that has higher bond strength, higher tensile strength, requires to be used in lesser
amount, which makes the whole system cheaper. Further we have the thermo mechanically
treated bars which have a outer layer of a different type of steel, inner of a different type of steel
achieved through heat treatment and having higher resistance to temperature.

TMT HCR bars having lesser chances of corrosion. So these all these types of bars go embedded
in concrete unlike the rolled sections. So what is the advantage of these bars? The advantage of
these bars is they are not getting exposed to the atmosphere directly and that helps to resist or
keep it in an environment away from the atmosphere and thus prevent corrosion. So we open up
the topic on corrosion which is a very common phenomena.

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I am very sure you all know rust. We mainly see irons items or materials getting rusted with
time. What is that? It is the oxidation that happens to the body of the material. The iron reacts
with the oxygen in the atmosphere. We cannot take out oxygen from the atmosphere so these re-
bars which are embedded in concrete has the added advantage of not being exposed to oxygen.
What helps in rusting? It is the oxygen, water and carbon dioxide. So this ferric rust or ferric
oxide forms in stages which degrades the iron.

Ferric rust is as a reddish brown compound. Our concern is we have to stop this oxidation
process since the metal oxide has lower energy or lower strength than that of the metal. So it is
weakens the metal otherwise it would not have been a concern to us. Since the strength gets
reduced, the oxide is increases in volume. Please note that corrosion is a surface phenomenon.

It is happening only on the top of the item i.e. the topmost layer which is exposed to atmosphere.
It increases in volume and obviously it sheds off it comes out from the mother's surface and then
it attacks the layer beneath. The volume increases and exposes the inside or the next layer which
again experiences rusting because it is exposed to atmosphere and that particular area gets
weaker and weaker along with the entire structure as our atmosphere has water vapor also.

So the three elements namely oxygen, carbon dioxide and water react with this iron through the
different chemical reactions stages to form this rust. These rust flakes expose the inner layer and
further rusting happens. So we need to take care of it. So what can we do to prevent it from the
rusting process? We can modify the surface or change the environment as a possible remedy.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:19)

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Let us see some pictures to get a visual idea about rusting. You see in the first picture, the layer
is flaking off which I have told you just now. See these are the flakes that are the upper layer is
coming out and exposing the inner layer. So in the next stage, the inner layer will get corroded or
rusted. In the next picture you see here is a pipe, which has been painted. The inner layer is iron
which is getting rusted by entry of water vapor or water leakage.

It may have internal leakage where from it is getting water and with the presence of oxygen and
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the rusting has happened and it has pushed the layer of paint
because it has increased in volume and the paint layer has come out. In the next picture you see
the steel structure is completely rusted on prolonged exposure to atmosphere.

But there is a difference in these two pictures. On top these are rods embedded inside concrete.
Concrete, if you remember, has a layer or a clear cover. So the rods were kept and the concrete
was supposed to cover it. So this was at least 25 mm. So just think of the pressure this rusted iron
creates that this 25 mm of concrete, which can come out.

So it is not just the paint layer that is coming out but also the 25 mm of concrete layer that has
come out due to the pressure created by the increase in volume of the rusted iron. So you can
understand this rusting has happened in absence of atmosphere but the trapped in air, trapped in
moisture has led to such corrosion. There may be fine cracks which were not visible through

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which air has passed and this has taken a long time, which is a gradual process that has ruined
the concrete.

So corrosion has a far-reaching effect on to building even if the reinforcement even if the steel or
iron is embedded inside. We have to be very careful on that.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:37)

Corrosion can be prevented by coating. You can see the picture of roofing where it is coated.
Coating with maybe some red oxide paints and Coal tar (jet black) can be adopted. But if you
paint you are getting rid of corrosion only. To get rid of rust flakes, you may apply oil like
modified alkyds, epoxy esters, vinyl or acrylic polymers. It is a cladding or putting a dress on top
of the iron member. You can also have plating, electroplating with nickel tin or chromium.

Mechanical plating is done with metal powder and the other is galvanizing. You all know
galvanizing is usually involving zinc galvanization where zinc is put as a molten metal that is
coated on top of the iron object and zinc actually reacts with the atmosphere very slowly and
hence it protects the mother material. So you are doing a metal plating on top of a metal to
prevent it from its oxidation process.

Anodic coating is another where aluminum oxide prevents corrosion; the surface is subjected to
chemical or electrochemical process. And you have already noted that in the alloy formation you

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can have stainless steel, copper, nickel and high-temperature allies made with one of the major
components as steel and you can actually go for corrosion resistance. However we find coating
as very easy plating and alloy formation process. It is practiced but not much used in the building
industry.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:17)

We also need to know the temporary methods as we had talked extensively on re-bars. If you
visit a construction site, you will see lots of reinforcements lying here and there or clustered
together. So how to maintain those iron materials when they will be used after sometime (say
one month)? So will they be left exposed to the weather and let the corrosion/rusting take over?
There are some temporary methods to prevent it from corrosion. First important point is to keep
them raised from the ground.

You can just put brick as a support below at an interval and raise the entire steel bars and keep it
free from the ground. So that it is free from water and then you brush the exposed parts with
cement slurry. Why cement slurry? Cement slurry is coated because the rods will be embedded
in concrete sometimes at a later stage, where cement will be one of the components. So it does
not need to be taken out and you are only putting the exposed part. You are not opening and
individually painting it with cement slurry.

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You can either put cement slurry on top of it or you can also coat it with engine oil on top on the
exposed surface to prevent corrosion but when you use it you must wipe it off with sandpaper
otherwise this engine while oil will prevent bonding with the concrete. So these are the two
things which can be done one is painting with cement slurry other is coating with engine oil but
the first one is preferred.

You have also seen the angle section in the case of rolled sections we had seen the angle section.
Normally it is advisable to keep such sections or place such sections on structures in the direction
where the water accumulation does not happen in these portions. Now water is not supposed to
get accumulated because you are having a slope but yes some dust, dirt particles may come here
which can retain the moisture and allow rusting.

So if you use such T sections in this direction you will always get an advantage of the water
getting drained out. So a clear instruction should be that these sections should be placed in such a
way that water accumulation and dust accumulation is to be avoided. We have to be very
particular on this point of corrosion. If we can actually check and ensure this, then actually we
can do a good justice to the use of steel in the building industry.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:27)

Now let us briefly discuss on light gauge steel. BMTPC which I have already discussed in my
previous lecture on precast items, they have now introduced this item in our Central Public

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Works Department (CPWD) specification. So this light gauge steel is using steel structure
instead of the regular concrete and making the structure light in weight and cheaper. These are
nothing but C-sections meaning channel sections, which has different slots on its web part.

It will have slots on its web at different levels; that is like floor levels, sill level and lintel level
where it can be bolted with its perpendicularly with horizontal member to create a framework as
you can see in the picture. The dimension is of 0.55 mm to 1.55 mm thickness which is
pretreated factory finished, hot dipped and galvanized iron high tensile steel sheet is made from
that.

So these are actually made from very thin sheets and these are folded in such C shaped and they
are having you see notches, dimpling slots, service holes, etc., all pre-designed. These slots will
bear the joints and will create the framework on to which the cladding material or the covering
material i.e. the precast panels which will be bolted on top of it.

So the entire assembly will be light in weight and it will be fast process of construction and these
special screws will take in the loads whichever they will be experiencing. These slots will be all
computerized while it is formed because each of these slots will have the galvanization to
prevent rusting and these are to be maintained as a structural member for a considerable period
of time. So rusting cannot be afforded.

So everything is pre-planned, pre-designed and the framework is made of this light gauge steel.
So this is a new advancement of steel structures. But these are mostly practiced in countries
abroad but in Indian context, the Government has started building some Anganwadi body
projects etc. using light gauge steel structures. Some are there in Orissa (in Bhuwaneshwar).

But we do not have a light gauge steel production factory. Therefore we have to bring in from
abroad i.e. import it from outside hence it is not that cost-effective. But yes if we actually start
building with these light gauge steel, we can actually get cheaper lightweight structures. With
this we finish the ferrous part and in the last lecture of this particular module, we will cover the
non ferrous metals. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Dr. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture No - 30
Non-Ferrous Metals

We are back with the last lecture of this module number 6. The module is on ferrous and non-
ferrous metals. So, we have discussed in detail on ferrous metals in the previous lectures, which
is extensively used in building as a structural element, be it in the form of rebar or as rolled
sections itself. Now we will come to the non ferrous metals which have a certain number of
advantages over ferrous metals.

We will have to know them one by one and their uses are not typical like that of ferrous metals.
They are not that good in taking strength and but their major advantage is that they are resistant
to corrosion, which is not much happening here, that is basically the oxidation process.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:35)

So we will cover the non ferrous metals, their metal extraction processes. Obviously, we will be
very short as we had in elaborated extraction of metals, during the previous lectures; it will be
very much similar to it. We will also look at some salient properties and uses. We will try to
cover aluminum since it has the maximum use in building industry as a non-ferrous metal. Some

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other notable non-ferrous metals are copper, zinc, lead. Previously we had also discussed tin at
some point which was used in the Pilkington process of making glass.

So these kinds of metals have industrial application for building materials. Again, non-ferrous
metals play a very good role in alloy formation with ferrous metals like chromium and nickel. So
those are very used in a limited way and we may not ignore them. But, we will not discuss them
extensively in this course.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:48)

So these are some of the first few buildings where we see the application of non-ferrous metals
as an external element. You see there are lots of sections of aluminum here in the picture, which
may be used as an external element for a false wall (clad wall). This wall is a curtain wall which
is not actually taking load, but it is helping the aluminum bars for holding the glass in position.

So this is used externally to avoid the corrosion component. You see another building which is in
Walt Disney, an Epcot structure, where you see this is also entirely made of aluminum panels.
Some 11000 panels have been joined and assembled together to give this kind of such a spherical
shape! So aluminum is very soft metal. Now we see the other two pictures, both are made of
copper. It is copper roofing where copper has been used to seal the water entry, to make the
structure airtight.

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But you can see there is a difference in color. That is due to the oxidation of copper in this
picture where it has become green. But in the other picture it has retained its luster (shine). So
some inaccessible portions like a clock tower top, where no one will be visiting, ever in say
hundred years, copper is the answer. You will see lot of old buildings, churches and turrets; they
are having copper tops roofing. So it is maintenance-free. And how has this color come? That is
due to the oxidation of copper. We will come to that.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:27)

Now, in building, we find aluminum, copper, zinc, lead and tin. All these non-ferrous metals also
experience surface oxidation like corrosion of ferrous metals. But in case of ferrous metals, this
ferric oxide or rust used to increase in volume and peel out, create pressure and come out and
finally expose the next layer. In case of aluminum or copper or zinc, the oxide formation is
happening similarly, because they are similar to metals.

But what is not happening is that it is not falling out. So, it is creating a self-protection to the
ferrous metal. So, this self protective layer is protecting the inner metal and is not allowing it for
further oxidation or weakening. The green color what you had seen for case of copper is nothing
but copper oxide which is also called patina and that is the protective layer. The green color
intensifies more if the copper is more exposed to the atmosphere.

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So, this copper patina is nothing but the oxide of copper which is actually protecting the copper
from further oxidation and decay. Hence this is the major difference between ferrous metals and
non-ferrous metals though non-ferrous metals are not that strong, but they are capable of taking
up some other tasks in buildings which the ferrous metals could not.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:30)

So the advantages are: it is resistant to corrosion, it has more strength to weight ratio meaning
they are light, they have high tensile strength (not comparable to that of ferrous metals), they are
also ductile and malleable. So you can have them in the form of sheets, you can have plate forms
as you had seen in case of ferrous metals. They can be made into wires also. Some of the
disadvantages are that it is not abundantly available like the ferrous metals i.e. iron ore are
available but extraction process is also expensive.

Since the non-ferrous metals exhibit lower in strength than ferrous metals, they cannot be used as
structural elements. That means they cannot be used as reinforcement bars, neither can they take
heavy load like a structural load a building, cannot be standing on aluminum rolled sections. But
yes, they can take lighter weights.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:52)

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Let us look at aluminum, which has been used extensively since 1970s. It has replaced wood
particularly in case of doors and windows. Yes, ferrous metals also had taken its place. But, due
to the problem of rusting and also it looks aesthetically pleasing, aluminum has taken the place
of wood. So, since 1970s, the buildings are relying on aluminum.

Internal partition walls, the framework are mostly built of aluminum because they are not load
bearers. They are only separators. Earlier it was made with wooden structures, wooden
framework and maybe with glass. Now all of them are replaced by aluminum framing. You can
easily find aluminum framings if you visit some office interior, if you enter into some small
office where lot of partitions has been done, if you enter into a computer laboratory where
cubicles are made.

So let us go into the extraction process of aluminum. The main ore or the major ore is bauxite
and we use the Bayer’s process to get this aluminum oxide to be converted. Then, we follow the
whole unit process by electrolysis, in molten cryolite and we get pure aluminum. So, these are
the few steps. So you need to know these steps like electrolysis are done and then aluminum is
siphoned out in its pure form. But remember, aluminum is very soft in its pure form. In order to
use it for the building industry, one needs to alloy it.

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So, we have to mix other metals with it to make it usable as a structural member. So, we will
come to that gradually after we finish the properties.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:26)

Aluminum exhibits property of non-ferrous metal. It has high strength-to-weight ratio, easy in
fabrication and assembly. That is why it is suitable for doors, windows, frameworks, any kind of
partitioning frameworks. Being light, it is easy to handle, transport and cost is obviously less. It
has a shine i.e. it is highly reflective when light falls on it, but it is not suitable as a structural
member.

But this luster gives it a aesthetically pleasing value. It behaves well at low temperature which
might be problem with ferrous metals, it is corrosion resistant that is it prevents the oxide
formation on top. It also has a high scrap value; you can get almost 100% return from the
aluminum which is actually unusable or it has to go back to the factory for reuse. It is soundproof
and obviously maintenance-free. You do not need to paint aluminum.

You need to paint wood, to protect it from moisture, to protect it from termite attacks etc. You
have to paint ferrous items, say a ferrous window frame, regularly or galvanize it. In this case
aluminum will stand as it is. It does not require any paint on it. Coming to the tensile strength,
you see in cast form, it is 117 N/mm2, in wire form that that is when it is ductile it is 240 N/mm 2.
So it is much less than that of Steel.

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(Refer Slide Time: 13:52)

Let us take brief look on the joinery part because as you see doors, windows, etc are being made.
Aluminum can be riveted, bolted, brazed and welded. We have gone through all these processes
in details. Riveting is a permanent kind of joint. Bolting is temporary as you can unbolt it, but
what you cannot do is soldering because aluminum is a great heat sink.

Soldering may be done at a very low temperature (300 oC), the aluminum draws the heat. So you
have to keep on heating it more and more so that temperature is favorable for soldering. By that
time aluminum, which is actually melting at 660 oC, soldering may be a difficulty. Yes, there are
ways but it is usually not recommended.

You need special types of screws for aluminum hollow sections. If you look at this picture you
can see it is very different kind of hinge, holding two aluminum surfaces. If you take a closer
look, you can see here, that the screw is not like the regular screw. So, this has gone through, it is
held at this thin section at two points.

So this is a kind of a section through the hinge, through the frame, where you can see how it has
penetrated inside. Here what you see from outside is quite unlike the other hinge, which we
regularly see the door in home. You will see here are, this is a very common hinge what you can
see. But in case of aluminum doors, windows, you have to use such kind of special screws.

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And hence if you observe correctly, you will see, most residential uses aluminum windows,
which are sliding. So, usually it is avoided to make it hung. That is side hung windows. For these
types of windows you have to have the hinges with the frame, which is avoided mostly. Sliding
doors are preferred now-a-days. It is preferred because the special types of hinges are not
required.

For hollow sections, aluminum can be tempered at 350 oC. The major points are written for you
and the discussions will help you for better understanding.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:46)

So as I told you, coming to the use of aluminum, it is a very soft. You need to alloy it with
copper, zinc, manganese, silicon and nickel. So, different proportions are required and we are not
entering into the metallurgy part. We need structural aluminum and for that whatever is suitable,
we will get it from the market. Aluminum can also be made from rolled sections; we have
extensively discussed rolling of steel the same way aluminum is rolled out.

You will get same kind of sections, I Section, channel section, T section, angle section,
rectangular, round section, hollow section. So, whatever you get for ferrous metals, you will get
for aluminum. But they cannot take much load. Aluminum is used in false ceiling, where from

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the main roof, you may see that suspended aluminum. If this is the main roof suspended
aluminum frame is there and you have to put the false ceiling supported here.

So, this will be the T aluminum section. At the end of the wall there will be an angle section. So
if you see a grid (in the picture), you will see these are some false ceilings, which are resting on
such T sections, angle sections. If you happen to see some false ceiling, you will see the gypsum
boards are placed and the edges are actually metals, which are all aluminum framing.

You can get sheets of aluminum which are laid, they may be corrugated, and they may be flat.
They can help in making temporary shades. They are used for aluminum composite panels. We
will come to that also and it is also available in wire form, which is much used for electrical
conduits wiring.

So similar to ferrous metals, we can see in just keeping aside the structural loading, all the things
that is possible with aluminum.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:24)

In case of aluminum composite panel, these red panels in the picture are fixed to a frame and you
can understand inside there is a wall and you get a beautiful cover. So, the ugly thing which was
seen is now with a frame is clad with or coated with a beautiful colored finish. So this is not a

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plain aluminum sheet, you see the word composite is there. Composite means it is combination
of two aluminum panels with a central core.
(Refer Slide Time: 22:20)

The core is usually sandwiched in between the two aluminum sheets with an overall thickness of
as low as 3mm. The standard thickness is of 3 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm. The aluminum sheets are of
0.5 mm in thickness. So, you can understand how thin the sheets are! It is not even a millimeter
thick. And the central part is the core, which is either the poly-ethylene (PE) or fiber or rock
wool core.

How are they different? PE cores are flammable. So, if you want a safer wall, say for cladding,
you can use FR cores. And sometimes, aluminum honeycomb core is also available where less of
aluminum is used and there is a separate core. So, these are combined under pressure and these
sheets are available in market as a cladding member.

And in many places you will see paints are being replaced to give an aesthetically pleasing look
with beautiful colors combined together. These are aluminum composite panel facades. You can
find these types of facades mostly in urban areas. The only drawback of using these panels is that
they are very much flammable. Mostly it is the PE cores that are used and they are highly
flammable.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:16)

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Now let us look into the applications of copper. It has been used in the Copper box Stadium in
2012 London Olympics, in the Jurassic Museum in Spain. If you take a closer look, museum
resembles like of a paw for dinosaur and hence it is a Jurassic Museum. All of them are very
modern buildings.

All the roofs you see are made of this copper. Pronounced architects like Errow Sarrinen, Frank
O Ghery and Renzo Piano;all have used copper as a prestigious element or metal. So, you can
see these structures and we will quickly go to the extraction process.
(Refer Slide Time: 26:17)

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The ore is copper pyrite and copper glance. One is carbonate and the other one is sulfide. High
temperature is involved in the smelting process, which is heating at high temperature. Calcite is
extracted after calcining the ore and the oxide is formed after putting this first extracted metal
into the Bessemer converter. Removal of the major portions of iron, sulfur compounds happen in
the Bessemer converter. It is a very similar process where blister copper is obtained.

Blister copper is then made into pure copper just by taking out impurities through the process of
electrolysis. In case of copper, the electrolysis process is very important. Hence the extraction
process becomes little costlier. After the extraction malleable, tough and ductile copper is thus
obtained.

Copper is a prestigious metal which has been used extensively in chapels building tops, roofs and
inaccessible parts of a building, in earlier days.
(Refer Slide Time: 28:10)

But presently many famous architects are using it and we also generally recommend it for, say,
star rated hotels, interiors, doorknobs, sanitary wares, making of brass fittings, where copper is
one of the key ingredients. The first picture you can see it is from a very old chapel, where the
door has actually become green. The door has a copper covering.

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In this, this is a brass knob which is a copper wash basin. These are in very common in rich and
renowned hotels. So these kinds of interiors you can see, it can be some ornamental item in a
hotel reception. And as you all know copper in wires are used for electrical connections. Brass
and bronze has good percentage of copper in it. And brass is used for also used for hinges, that is
building hardware.
(Refer Slide Time: 29:52)

So we come to the next non-ferrous metal which is zinc. It is weatherproof, seismic-proof,

corrosion resistant, immune to UV rays, ensures very long life without maintenance. Zinc is
mostly used for galvanizing, as you all know. One common example is the Chess Club in Russia
but zinc is mostly used for galvanizing across the world. Zinc blende or black jack is one of its
ore and calamine or zinc carbonate is its other ore.

And again you calcining is the very first step which involves removal of the sulfur or the
carbonate. Then through the electromagnetic process iron is removed, since it acts an impurity.
Finally with the help of electrolysis, the pure form of zinc is extracted. Zinc is again used as an
alloy for making bronze, German silver and galvanization is the other or the key purpose which
we as architects need to know.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:21)

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Now we have another important metal left which is lead. It is important to mention that it is no
longer used in the building industry. In the past it had enormous application in making paints,
mainly as a pigment in paint and in metal flashings. It was also used in plastic and rubber
industries but because it is poisonous (found in the late 19th century), the Pollution Control
Board has banned it.

It has toxic effects on human body. So lead is no longer used as base for paints now-a-days
which has increased the cost for paints. The major ore is Galena that is again lead sulfide and it is
a heavy metal with a low melting point.

Due to the low melting point, it finds application in making Wood’s metal, which is used in fire
sprinkler nozzles. What happens there? When there is a fire, you see here there is a red filament
here. The red filament senses whenever the temperature rises. The nozzles have Wood’s metal
plugged in, which due to its very low melting point, the nozzles open and the water gushes out.
Water comes out from all the points of the sealing of this sprinkler and controls the fire.

So we use Wood’s metal for this for sealing these sprinkler nozzles and actually it is bismuth
lead, tin and cadmium alloy which is used to plug in these nozzles. So, this is where we find the
application of lead till date. We had discussed, we have talked of tin earlier for the Pilkington
process. We get tin in sheet forms. Those are very low cost items, mainly used for low cost

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temporary structures. We use chromium in alloying purposes and for getting stainless steel we
use nickel. So there are so many non-ferrous metals but we would like to close it with all these
discussions and end this module here. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 31
Damp Proofing

We are going to start module 7. We will be discussing on damp proofing and

insulation in this module. If we can cover we will try to put in something more and
then we will finish with module 8. Maybe there is some little change as it was
discussed in the very initial lecture. So let us start with damp proofing and insulation.
For this lecture (module 7 lecture 1) we will discuss on damp proofing.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:11)

Now coming to damp proofing, all of you are quite aware of the term ‘damp’. It is a
physical thing which you can see when it has already happened. It is not like the
patches on a wall or on a floor or on a corner or at a particular location, which you can
just wipe it off. It is a phenomenon that is happening, which takes a long time to be
visible to an expert or to the habitants of the building when maybe it is too late to
mend or correct it.

So as architects we need to know that where the possibilities are or which are the
possible points which can cause damp. And then finally, in this first lecture, we will
just mention the various methods of damp proofing.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:31)

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So as you all know that all building materials are capable of absorbing water. The
target is to make our building as impervious as possible. But, as you remember, in our
very first module, we had talked of brick which actually absorbs up to 20% water.
Again we have wood, another building material which also absorbs water. We are
looking into constructions where brick is mostly used foundations.

So water is bound to enter buildings if we are not protecting it. So what is damp?
Damp is the effect of continuous exposure of a whole building or parts of building to
moisture and water. What we see is the effect of damp. Dampness is the presence of
moisture in some hygroscopic material (water absorbing material). So brick, wood are
hygroscopic materials that can absorb water and will be prone to damp.

Earlier we have discussed how concrete is made. The key ingredients are coarse
aggregate, fine aggregate, and cement and it is very much consolidated which make it
non-porous. Hence entrapment of moisture or entry of moisture is very difficult. So
concrete unlike brick or wood does not absorb water. Here you see some pictures
where actually you can understand that damping is happening.

Even due to moist conditions trees, plants can grow. Mosses, algae can grow, which is
very much unhygienic. We have to keep our building as dry as possible, but also we
have to keep our building open to atmosphere. So if the atmosphere is having lot of
moisture, the choice of paint should be such that it will protect the building from

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moisture entry. It cannot be stopped completely. You can only take precautions or
measures when you are constructing a building.

So these unhygienic conditions may lead to respiratory problems of inhabitants, moist

interiors that may lead to unhealthy conditions, particularly child and old people will
be mostly affected. If it is entering into the structural systems, it may ruin the concrete
as you have seen when we discussed ferrous metals. So the structure may get
degraded. So we have to be very careful.

We have to close all openings. That does not mean we will not have doors and
windows. They will always attract water, but if it is a heavy shower, then you have to
close the doors and windows to avoid entry of water. But those are known points
where from water can enter, where one can take an action. But there are various
points where one cannot take action and preventive measures are to be taken when the
building is being made. Let us discuss that.
(Refer Slide Time: 06:55)

So this is the foundation of a building. This side on your left, it is outside. The other
side is the inside of a building. So here this a lot of rain etc., is happening. Below
ground there is the moisture in the soil. Gradually the groundwater may increase
affecting the building foundation. There may be underground pipes as you can see,
much below the inside of building which is not recommended.

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And there may be leakages on these lines, which may again affect the wall creating
some pressure on the wall and the moisture tries to move up gradually through
capillary action. So it may enter from this side, it may enter from outside. But this
concrete mass or the floor will not allow it to move further up. The flooring is the
room or the habitable space.

But the external wall is continuing. So if this wall continues to carry the moisture
upwards, the entire external wall will get damaged by the moisture which is getting in
through the underground. So you have to stop the entry of moisture at such a point
where from it would not further go up.

So just below the tie beam you see there is a black line. So if you can check the entry
of water at this point, because this mass is again concrete. That is a tie beam which is
made of concrete. So there is no possibility of water entry or moving up beyond the
concrete layer. So if you can stop the entry here at where the black line lies, you can
check the water entry.

You cannot avoid an underground plumbing leak. Even if it is a dry soil, your
building services will be going just besides the building. So your building may
experience some failures of the plumbing lines, sewer lines, which can also create
similar pressure on the wall surface from outside or maybe from inside. All these may
lead to entry of water to the building.

It may also happen that when there is a rainfall, your building façade, which is the
external wall, is continuously experiencing that rainwater. So if you are not putting a
proper jacket or wall covering, the wall will also get drenched.

The water which is accumulating say in a waterlogged area, there are chances that the
water may is entry to the building up to that height of the plinth level. Even if there is
water logging just below that level, you need to protect that outside wall from the
accumulated water up to the plinth level.

So we are concerned up to the plinth level the water should not get accumulated nor
the water should not destroy the outer wall, which is at the periphery of the building.

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So we need to protect that. So these are design details, which are also taught in design
classes, we need to know is what this black line is. What is this blue line doing the
plinth protection?

Is it concrete? Is it something impervious? Obviously, things should be of such kind.

So we will have to know each of them and how it has to be applied.
(Refer Slide Time: 13:11)

So let us come to the sources of water entry. So groundwater, as I told you, is one of
the most common ways, which we need to check from the very starting of the
building construction that is the foundation. Next we have the rainwater, which the
entire building is facing. It may face during a particular season or it may be
throughout the year or it may be a dry area.

Therefore we need to have proper measures taken to minimize the effect of rainwater.
In Indian context if we look in the plains, we do not have much sloping roofs other
than the rural areas or the low height buildings. We have mostly high rise buildings
apartment blocks where the roof is flat. The rainwater gets accumulated in the roof
also. Hence proper drainage is required for rainwater from the roof.

That means the roofs need to have proper slopes towards the rainwater pipes etc.
Another point of concern is the external building cracks. These cracks occur because
of settlement, structural failures, some unforeseen damage. Typically after the brick

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layer, you have a plaster layer. With the crack or the damage, a portion of the plaster
may come out.

Or there may be gaps in the wall such that water can enter or propagate through it.
Such kind of entry points becomes the vulnerable point for building so far as damp is
concerned. And last but not at all the least which we either ignore or never register or
even overlook is the building services. Leakages in various pipes like the inlet pipe,
outlet pipe, rainwater pipe any kind of lines, roots, leakage in that leads to damp.

Provision of damp proofing material can prevent moisture entry to the building from
these known sources. So our objective is to identify those points where from we can
minimize the chances of damp to be propagated inside the building and we take
measures for controlling that.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:11)

In case of ground water, moisture constantly travels through the pervious soil and tries
to penetrate. Water rises through capillary action from ground and causes damage. So
protection should be continuously put along the peripheral wall below the ground.
Damp proof course is one such measure. In next lecture we will discuss what the
materials that are involved are.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:45)

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But, today we will restrict to the causes. What happens if it is a very heavy shower?
The rain may beat against the external facades and eventually it will enter into the
building. As I told you walls, doors and windows are the entry points of water. But
one can take care of such water. But if the building has cracks, it can let the water
pass through it. Water can directly create the damage as it is very difficult to dry out
that trapped in water.

So you need to protect the external wall by application of some proper paints and
allow the water to travel down. Now this water may be trapped on the roofs if there is
improper drainage. So these may lead to leakage from the roof. So if the rainwater
trapped in the roof for longer period of time, it may gradually damage the rooftop or
the topmost ceiling.

The damp will be visible when it has already percolated inside. Now the ground water
is also continuously trying to enter. But many times, the bottommost floor is not the
structural floor. But the roof top is the structural floor as it has reinforcement. Usually
the bottom floor may be made of plain cement concrete. It does not have
reinforcement in most cases.

But if the reinforcement is damaged, then the structure becomes weak. So it is very
important to have a proper damp proofing at roofs. One has to be very particular on
the slopes at roof, at balconies, which are semi open areas, on window chajjas where
the water should drain off. And obviously prolonged accumulation due to dust and

350
dirt leaves getting entrapped chokes the roof drains which becomes the cause of
damp.

The external walls of the building needs to be protected up to plinth level against
accumulated rainwater in the surrounding areas of the building.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:48)

Now let us move to the leaking service lines like the Inlet water line. We have very
well understood in design about the wet and dry area. So wet area means they will
have inlet water lines, water supply lines coming in. Obviously, when there is inlet
water line, the outlet water line will also be there. So all the areas like kitchens toilets,
pantries, wet utilities and whatever may be the building type residential, hotel, airport
one has to be very careful on the leakages on these kind of lines.

You all know sometimes the traps of the fixtures are embedded in the floors. So
leakages in the traps, at the joints can also lead to damp. It can also lead to entry of
moisture, that is, it allows entry of moisture into the structural floor. One needs to be
very careful while handling leaking fixture traps. Another point is there is improper
drainage of air conditioners in the building.

So the water that comes out from the air conditioner needs to be properly drained.
Otherwise, it may also lead to some kind of a localized damp and causing damage to
the structure. The rainwater pipe connections at the roof also help to create damp in

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the building. So just by seeing, when you become an architect, you must be able to
identify what is the reason behind a particular damp.

And nonetheless, you have to take action. So what we discussed earlier that is our
known enemy, that is the groundwater and the rainwater can be taken care of when we
are actually designing the building or executing the construction. But these lines that
are the leakages from service lines, one has to be very careful, identify them and
maintain the building regularly to avoid damps being happening from these points.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:51)

Let us discuss on the methods of damp proofing. As I told that to restrict water
coming from groundwater, you can have a continuous kind of layer to prevent the
moisture to move up. Sometimes you need to have integrated damp proofing.
Sometimes it may be a surface treatment. You may have cracks where you may
require to fill in some kind of damp proof material.

All these can be done through guniting and pressure guniting. There are cavity walls
which can help in segregating from the outside from the inside. So we will try to
understand all these six methods of damp proofing in our next lecture.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:49)

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So we can summarize by stating that damp gives rise to unhealthy and unhygienic
conditions. But how can we understand that a place is getting damped? The entrapped
moisture can give some clue through its unsightly patches. So you can register that a
building is experiencing moisture inside it. When such patches start forming you see
suddenly a plaster piece comes out and falls.

It may be because of other reasons too. There may be structural reasons, failures etc.,
but you must get a hint that one of the probable reasons could be moisture. Similarly,
if you see some bricks experiencing the efflorescence, that is the salt patches coming
out, then you must immediately get a thought of that the building is experiencing
damp from some other point.

So if you are curious to know, if you are having the training, if you are having the
expert eyes, you can find out what is the source and you can immediately correct it
with the different methods which I have just talked about. Floor tiles may get
loosened due to weakening of adhesion and that is because of moisture.

In case of plywood, we saw that plywood layers can come out, veneers can come out
just because the adhesive can get loosened because of moisture. Similarly, the floor
tiles can also come out. This you will experience mostly in areas like washrooms,
kitchen tiles, dadoes where from the waterlines pass. So any leakage inside the
concealed pipe will be reflected in loosened tiles.

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Electrical fittings can also get deteriorated. When there are leakages of current and
short circuits in gadgets, which can be felt by touching it, gives an indication that the
building is getting damaged or getting ruined by moisture. So I have shown you
pictures when we talked about corrosion, the entrapped moisture can cause rusting,
corrosion of metal items and portions of concrete may also fall off.

So these are the ill effects of dampness and also these are the clues to keep you aware
that the building is experiencing damp. Thank you.

354
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 32
Damp Proofing Methods and Materials

So we are in the second lecture of module 7. We started with damp proofing and we
thought of covering damp proofing and insulation in this particular module. And I
also mentioned that we may cover some more depending on how much time we get.
So let us carry on with the second lecture on damp proofing methods and materials.
So we had closed the previous lecture by mentioning the different methods of damp
proofing.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:58)

And now, we will actually elaborate on each of them. So the content is particularly
the specific methods and the materials in details.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:10)

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The first method is membrane damp proofing. By membrane we mean a thin member,
which will be spaced in between and will not allow the damp or the water or the
moisture to percolate inside of a building. So it may be placed between foundation to
stop groundwater from trvaelling to the upper part of the superstructure from the
substructure.

So if there is a small gap, the moisture will pass. Hence, the first condition is the
membrane should be continuous. It is very difficult to get continuous surfaces for
longer lengths. So there may be a joint required. And if you remember we had
understood laps in tiles. We have to plan for sufficient overlapping, so that the
moisture does not enter.

The membrane should also be impervious. These terms were discussed earlier in the
previous modules. Impervious means it would not allow any water or anything to
enter. Here the water itself is the enemy and we are not going to allow water to enter.
It must be flexible because any kind of structural movements, such as expansion or
contraction of the mother material on to which it is applied will lead to its expansion
and contraction.

So the material should be flexible enough to move or to change place without any
cracks. Also it should be capable of taking thermal changes. So in different climatic
conditions where there is a variation in temperature like in summer and winter
seasons or there is difference in day and night temperatures. So it should not

356
disintegrate or degrade very soon. It should have a long life because it will be actually
irreplaceable from that place in certain cases.

So it should be withstanding thermal changes. What could be the materials that can
act as membrane proofing? One could be Bitumen in sheet form. Bitumen with sand
together and asphalt flooring you will get in sheet form. Bitumen in paint form. So a
thick paint around 3 millimeters can be applied and it can give that impervious,
continuous, flexible, thermally acceptable material.

Other materials which have come presently is ethylene propylene diene monomer
which is short is known as EPDM sheets. We also have seen use of plastic sheets
which are very cheap. PVC sheets are also behaving similar to that of the EPDM
sheets. EPDM sheets have a longer life compared to PVC sheets. We also can depend
on metal sheets. The metal sheets are to be applied in a sandwiched form, inside some
material to make the entire structure waterproof.

Other than these so called flexible, impervious, continuous materials, which may be
obtained in either sheet form or roll form etc., we can have rigid materials as a
membrane. Like rich mortar with a composition of 2:3. It implies 2 parts of cement
with 3 parts of sand. They vary from 4 to 15 centimeter. That is almost like a plain
cast slab or a concrete slab. With a ratio of 1:2:4, you can use as a rigid membrane.

Therefore concrete acts as a membrane damp proof layer. Similarly first class bricks,
dense stones without any cracks or porosity, with or without rich mortar as plaster can
also be considered as rigid material as membrane damp proofing. So if your external
wall is made of very good quality brick or stone, which absorbs very negligible
amount of water and are dense in nature, then you may call it as a membrane damp
proofing.
(Refer Slide Time: 06:40)

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So let us see how the conventional material that is bitumen sheet is being applied.
You can see the picture where a person is actually rolling out and there is a fire
burning underneath. So this fire is helped to melt the bitumen so that the bitumen
sheet gets stick to the surface onto which it is put.

So you can understand this is a rooftop and to make this flat roof totally waterproof, it
is torch applied or kind of pasted, because it is going to experience or get the entire
rainfall on it. So this entire sheet is locally molten and it is pressed on to the surface.
These rolls are having a fixed width.

So it will obviously have overlaps as you can see there is a line. When one layer
finishes the other layer should overlap on top of it and it should be in the direction of
the slope. You have to remember that too. Now here in the other picture, you see the
person is actually fixing the bitumen sheet with torch application after a 90 degree
turn and it is being put on the other side.

This is also at the roof and it is also torch applied and no water should enter. You can
here see the sharp lines where it is ending. While application, one has to remember of
these particular points that rolls are to be overlapped properly with around 10
centimeter and that will avoid water entry.

Joints and laps should be sealed with hot bitumen by torch application and direction
of slope should be remembered also o that the water flows in the direction of the rain

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water spout. You see another picture where a membrane damp proof has been put all
around the foundation. So this is the membrane damp proof which is separating the
foundation from the superstructure.

There is another picture which is showing the application of the membrane damp
proof at the foundation.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:02)

We also see the application of EPDM sheet. EPDM sheets are available in large sizes.
As the bitumen felt was available in 30 meter length, but it had a fixed width of one
meter, EPDM sheets may have widths around 10 m x 10 m or even larger. So the
problem with it is fixing the membrane on the entire surface. You have to fix it at
certain points.

So that is done by fixing screw and plastic washers on the roof surface. These plastic
washers prevent the water entry through the holes created by this screw; that is the
principle for any kind of screwing system of the roof. So you have to put a washer.
But the important point is these are stable at a wide range of temperature. You may
see it can withstand temperatures from -40oC to 120oC. It is resistant to ultraviolet
rays of the sun.

So if it is kept exposed for years together with a very wide difference in temperature,
this kind of sheet will stay. It is also not having any chemical reactions.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:33)

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The next item is metal sheets. You can see in this picture that the metal sheet has been
corrugated and applied in this particular zone. So this is the wall. This is where the
corrugated metal sheet has been inserted when the slab was being cast. This makes it
completely impervious, resistant to atmospheric corrosion. Many non-ferrous metals
like aluminum, lead and copper are usually taken.

We are not going for ferrous metals in specific because if they experience some damp,
that may get ruined. And it may be a flat metal sheet or a corrugated metal sheet. So
this kind of metal sheet also helps as a membrane damp proofing.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:45)

Now we come to the next type of damp proofing which is called integral damp
proofing. Integral means integrated with the material. It is usually added in the

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concrete mix or the mortar mix, when it is a case of plastering. These materials are
usually soapy materials. That means it will be repellent to the water. They actually
enter into the voids of the concrete and eventually prevent water entry or exit from a
system.

So they are water repelling compounds like fatty acids, soapy chemicals, olates and
stearates of aluminum, calcium, sodium, alkaline silicates sulfates and even
petroleum. So these are required to be added in fixed amount. If you add more of it,
then disintegration of the mother material may happen similar to that of plasticizers.
Therefore adding more of these compounds can make it worse.

So the containers contain the specific amount that is to be added either to the concrete
mix or the mortar mix and you have to abide by that. They are mainly applied in water
tanks. So a leaky water tank would not be visible if it is made of concrete. Presently
the water tanks are of plastic i.e. Sintex tank, but underground reservoirs continue to
remain as concrete structure.

Since there is possibility that ground water may enter into the reservoir from outside
and might adulterate the fresh water, so groundwater reservoirs or the concrete
holding reservoirs should have damp proofing integrated within when it is made. The
basements of buildings which are not for habitable use, but are mainly used for
parking and building services mainly, should not have lot of moisture embedded
there.

When the foundations are built in a waterlogged area, in a marshy area, there you
need to have the use of integrated damp proofing.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:38)

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Surface treatment is also another way of damp proofing. When everything is done, it
is not that you cannot make it further damp proof. You can add water repellent
coating. So the coating may be of the similar materials which we discussed during
integral damp proofing.

So plastering of exposed brick surfaces with water repellent chemicals, waterproofing

agents like sodium or potassium silicates, aluminum or zinc sulfates, barium
hydroxide and magnesium sulfate may be used for the surface treatment. In fact hot
bitumen paint can also be applied as surface treatment. This helps in waterproofing. It
is done even for metal surfaces.

It should be of a minimum thickness of around 3 mm and it can give a impervious and

water repellent coating on top of the mother material or the material which you want
to protect.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:11)

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Now we come to the cavity wall construction. What is cavity wall? If you look at the
picture, there is a main structure and then the red wall here. This red wall is an
additional wall that has been planned and made just in front of the main wall where
the outer skin experiences a lot of weather action like rain, or some moist condition.
Some of the water can even seep in but will get trapped into this cavity in form of
moisture or in form of water.

There is a hole or a gap through which this moisture can actually escape. So it does
not affect the inner wall. So the inner wall remains unaffected although the building is
experiencing a lot of water or moist condition. So if continuous heavy showers are
there particularly areas like basements will be prone to damp conditions, you can
actually plan for such walls. But there is a problem.

It will take a lot of area. There is usually a gap of 10 cm provided between the two
walls and that has to be maintained. Hence, you actually lose in area. It is space
consuming and the cavity is usually 100 mm wide.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:45)

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Now we also need to know some methods which are to be adopted when there is a
crack already, through which water can enter. To overcome this, the building needs to
regularly visited or maintained. Otherwise these will become very vulnerable points
of decay. Now how do we check those points? These can be checked through the
guniting process.

Guniting is depositing a layer of rich cement mortar under pressure to the exposed
surface. It may be wall, it may be pipes, it may be a concrete surface when actually
there is a crack. So you are pushing in the rich cement mortar, which we have seen in
membrane damp proofing. It will act as a barrier for the moisture to penetrate through
those gaps. So you are actually filling in the gap.

Now how can these cracks happen? It can happen due to structural deformities. It may
happen due to some leakages inside the building. So one has to monitor the building
where it can happen. They have to be looked for and then take such action. Similar is
the method of pressure grouting. You can see in this picture there are some points
where from the pressure grouting is done.

So these are the points through which injection of acrylic based polymer or cement
mix is pushed in to repair or fill the crack. So usually they can be done in inaccessible
parts like foundation, some portions where one cannot reach or that if the crack is
quite deep and is out of reach. In such case you can actually do pressure grouting and
repair such locations so that further damp cannot penetrate.

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Some damage may happen, but continuous exposure to sunlight can help escape the
moisture which was trapped in. So through these slides actually we could bring to you
the different types of damp proofing. Now damp proofing is very important and damp
proofing is part of building maintenance, maybe not as a part of building material.

But yes, if one is very careful, when the building is in the construction phase, if you
apply the techniques at right places, then you may get eventually a building which
will not require maintenance for a longer period of time. So one has to be very careful
on which are the vulnerable points, that may become the sources of damp.

So once you know the sources of damp when you are in the process of construction,
you must recommend these damp proofing and which type of damp proofing will be
appropriate for that area. And as I told you, guniting and pressure grouting these are
corrective measures, which can be done at a later time.

But eventually if you are taking steps from the very beginning, the building may not
experience any damp structure and you can get a damp free structure for a long period
of time. Thank you.

365
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 33
Thermal Insulation and Sound Insulation

So we will start lecture three of this module, which we initially targeted like damp
proofing and insulators. So we have finished damp proofing in the previous two
lectures. Now we move into insulation part. Insulation is of two type’s namely
thermal insulation and sound insulation. Damp proofing was mainly used for
protecting the building from the enemy water.

The term insulation means protecting the inhabitants of the building from
temperature. It basically protects the people from outside heat and cold. So you need
to have a comfort condition within the building or the inside of the building. Similarly
when you plan for a hospital or a school, you also have to have sound insulation.

To control the noise externally, you can always give signage like no horns, no over
speeding etc., in front of school or hospital. But yes, if the locality is a bit noisy where
the school or hospital is planned, it will finally give discomfort to the children or
patients. So you need to know how to insulate a building. First we will take up
thermal insulation.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:14)

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So we will try to cover thermal insulators along with their different types followed
with their applications. We will also look at sound insulation which has been covered
with some examples there. All thermal insulators are more or less sound insulators. In
due course you will eventually come to a subject called ‘acoustics’ where you will be
exposed to sound insulation in detail.

Similarly you will have energy efficient buildings maybe as an elective course in your
course curriculum, where you will have further detailed study on thermal insulators.
But as a basic course of building materials, we need to know the materials which are
involved in these two particular purposes.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:16)

The thermal insulators are nothing but materials, which will reduce the rate of heat
transfer from or to the building. The heat transfer always happens from the warmer
side to the cooler side. If we want the inside to be cool, we have to restrict the heat
coming from outside. If we want the inside to be warm, we have to restrict the heat to
get out.

In cold weathers we follow the principle of trapping heat. So a lot of energy use can
be curtailed by appropriate use of material so as to have a proper comfort condition
inside the building. Based on this condition we need to select our insulators. Gases are
very bad thermal conductors and air is one such insulator that is freely available. But
yes you can have argon. Where do we use it? Where can we use air as an insulator?

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We just discussed in our previous lecture about cavity walls. We had learnt that in
case of hollow block concrete, where we have air gaps or pockets inside the building
material. You can have arrangement of bricks in such a way that you can create air
pockets (rat trap bond). So we can cleverly use air infill within a building material and
have insulation. Yes in our country context that is may serve the purpose.

But we also need to think of extreme temperatures like -40 oC or maybe 50 oC, and
what kind of insulations we need to add up because air is not the only choice.
Materials having low thermal conductivity will obviously be good insulators. You
cannot have non-conductive materials. So we will have low thermal conductivity.

That means the U-value of the material will be low and the thermal performance will
be better, as insulation will be better. So U-value measures the transmission of heat
through any material and we will try to look into materials which have low U-value.
That means, higher resistivity value or higher R value.

We also need to remember that material thickness is also important as it has a role in
the variation in the rate of the thermal conductance or resistance. As you go higher or
further in this domain, you will go into detail calculations of U-value of composite
materials etc., which I am not covering here. Now we will move to the different types
of insulators.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:14)

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Now as I have told you, they are bad conductors or having higher resistivity. We also
can have reflective surfaces as insulators. Materials like cellulose, fiberglass, and
polyurethane spray foam have reflective insulation. So you see the numbers
associated to the materials that is cellulose and fiberglass are quite similar. These are
the respective R values.

Note that the units of R values have just reversed as Rvalue = 1/Uvalue

Whereas you see that in case of polyurethane foam is quite high between 6 to 7. Now
what are these materials? Cellulose is one material which is obtained from some
organic material. You can see it is a woolly material, grey in color. We will come into
the details soon. You see this is fiberglass. It is available in rolled form.

We have discussed fiberglass in the module where we covered glass. We will come to
that again. Polyurethane spray is a foamy material coming out from the nozzle, it is
being applied for reflective insulation.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:35)

So if we come to cellulose, it has the least manufacturing cost and has least embodied
energy in it. It is nothing but recycled newspaper, paper pulp, waste paper and organic
waste. Since all these materials are flammable, we need to add boric acid or
ammonium sulfate into it, which retards the spread of fire. So this only disadvantage
of cellulose.

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Cellulose being organic becomes easy targets to get attacked by termites etc. But with
less embodied energy the production cost comes down. The applications are shown in
the picture. In the first picture, you see it is a solid mass. This is called batt. Whereas
in the next picture, it is the wooly thing that has come out through the nozzle that has
solidified and taken this kind of shape.

And what you see in between are these wooden frameworks. So once this is pushed
in, this framework remains out and you cover it or with you cover it with say plywood
or some finished material. The insulator remains inside. You are pushing this kind of
batts in the framework and you neatly cover it. One cannot understand that there is an
insulation embedded in the wall. So this is fixed and covered, particularly the external
wall and leaving the wall insulated.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:21)

We come to fiberglass. Fiber glass is again nothing but fine strands of glass. When we
studied glass we saw that glass fibers are used as reinforcement in GFRG. They are
also used in glass fiber reinforced plastic. These are also used as insulators as it
contains a lot of air inside it. So this air is trapped in and this trapped in air actually
acts as the insulator.

So no heat transfer happens and these fine strands of glass are again discontinuous
and hence heat cannot flow through these by conduction. You can either get them in
rolled form or in batt forms. And in the similar way as you put in cellulose, you can

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put in these fiberglass batts or fiberglass rolls. So this is a dry type of construction
which was not for the cellulose when it was available in batt form.

It is very easy to install, but remember they are fine glass trends, hence they are very
unhealthy. If you inhale them, they are having hazardous effect on human body.
However, they are having high resistance against any kind of microbiological attacks.
So keeping aside the health hazard if you can handle these with proper gloves, with
proper masks, you can get the maximum out of fiberglass.

Similar to fiberglass, we have rock wool. We have mineral wool. We have slag wool.
They are all having similar kind of R values between 3.5 to 4. These are obtained by
heating stone; you get rock wool, you also can get mineral wool in similar way. You
get slag from iron ore from different mineral industries. You can actually heat them at
3000 oC.

They are passed in air under pressure through it and you can get rock wool, mineral
wool, slag wool, etc. So as I told you, similar to fiberglass, their R values are very
close and amongst these few you find that cellulose is the cheapest. Cellulose is the
most easily available and have less embodied energy. But application wise fiberglass
is the easiest.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:08)

Now we come to polyurethane foam spray. As I told you, it has a high R value of 6 to
7. The reason is because of the low conductive gas, chlorofluorocarbon entrapped

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within it. This is a thermo setting polymer having a closed cellular structure and
available in foam form. It may be flexible, it may be rigid, but because of a different
gas being entrapped, it is having a different R value much higher than that of the
conventional insulating materials.

So we need to know where we are going to apply it. If it is a very cold country, you
have to go for such kind of foam spray, because it will finally help in reducing the
energy consumption. Other than these we have extended polystyrene which is
commonly known as Thermocol. We have extruded polystyrene, which are also used
as insulating materials.

We can actually put them into the external wall by putting a framework and
embedding them and then neatly finishing it with a coating. It may be a plywood
piece, it may be a metal sheet, you can actually cover it and make your house
insulated.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:58)

We now move to the reflective insulation. As I told you, you are reflecting the heat
and the radiation from the surface. You can see in the picture, one is a metal sheet
with a backing. These are all reflecting surfaces. The glass is also having a metallic
coating on top of it on to which the solar energy when it is falling, and the radiation is
reflected out.

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So the surface reflects most of the thermal radiation, thus preventing the heat to enter
into the building. So this is the basic principle of reflective insulation. Where do we
put this reflective insulation or this metal sheet? All these are all put in pipes. These
pipes may be the air conditioning ducts, where the cold air needs to move from one
place to another.

Also we do not want the outer heat to make the inner cold air warm. So that is why
these pipes are coated with this metal sheet which also has a backing and these are
usually aluminum foils.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:10)

Now we come to sound insulation. These are some pictures of rock wool, the
fiberglass, cork sheet and the straw boards. These are also thermal insulators. In these
materials the air is entrapped, which does not allow sound of specific frequencies to
get or create any disturbance.

So particular application of this sound insulating materials are specific for specific
frequencies. They may be of different thicknesses for absorbing different frequencies
sound. So it is not only the material, but also the material thickness as in case of
thermal insulation. It was differently affecting the thickness and changing the U value
or the R value. Here also the frequency of sound that will be absorbed will also be
dependent on the thickness of the material.

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The cork sheet and the straw board are also organic materials. They have air pockets
inside it. The sound of specific frequency actually gets trapped in these particular
materials. They are spaced between the inner sides of the wall.

These are applied wherever you need that acoustical absorption, sound of specific
frequency absorption with or without an air gap with the main wall. And they may be
suspended from ceiling or they may be fixed to the ceiling. They may be fixed to the
wall also. So in all the cases they will be absorbing sound. But that will be of different
frequencies.

Here the important point is that different thicknesses of porous absorbers absorb
different frequencies of sound and again different distances between the inner side of
the wall and the material also helps in different frequency adsorption.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:15)

You can see some pictures of the fiberglass that are embedded. Here are the air gaps.
These are the air pockets. And it has been kept in place by these wooden studs. So this
was a void entirely of air into which this mineral wool or fiber glass has been pushed
in. On top of it you can see a coating has been applied. Now this coating can be
plywood.

It can also be perforated board as you see in the other picture or it can be perforated
metal sheet as you see here. So the inside is the same insulator that is either the
fiberglass or the mineral wool or the cork sheet. But on top is a layered. On the other

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side it may be the wall or again a board or a lining or the finishing layer. It may be a
separating wall between two classrooms also so that sound from one side does not
move to the other side.

And the covering is also very important. It may be a plywood, which is a solid panel.
It may be a perforated metal panel. It may be a perforated board. In all the cases they
are allowing different frequencies of sound to get absorbed by the mineral wool which
is placed inside. We see some different kind of sound insulator which is slat
resonators. You see these are wooden pieces fixed on a wall which is fixed on a
surface. They are separated from the main wall by some air gap.

And these studs, these supports, the slats are allowing some sound to get trapped into
the gaps in between the slats. These are called slat resonators. You can have similar
kind of thing developed by concrete. This can be a precast item of concrete which will
have such kind of pores voids which will trap in specific frequency sound. So these
will act as sound absorbers or sound insulators.

When we know which particular frequency we need to trap or insulate or absorb we

will choose a type of particular insulator or particular material to do the task. These
fined tuned details, detailed calculations, are a part another subject which is
architectural acoustics. You can actually find out which material will fit into when it
is a musical performance, when it is lecture performance, when it is a particular
conference going on.

So depending upon the type of performance, the frequencies will be generated and
that type of frequency will be required to be insulated or trapped in. With this, we
finish the insulation part of this particular in this particular module. So we are looking
forward for some more materials like composites, gypsum, etc., as a continuation of
this particular module. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 34
Insulation, Bitumen and Gypsum

Well, we are in the lecture 4 of module 7, and this module was mostly dedicated for
damp proofing and insulation. So damp proofing was taking care of building against
water. In case of Insulation we were discussing how to protect the building from
thermal gain or from thermal loss and also we have given some highlights on sound
insulation.

Although sound insulation is dealt further in details in architectural acoustics, but

today we are going to discuss on the materials which were essential for damp proofing
and also for insulation. We will also learn that how traditionally in our country or in
similar climatic contexts, some methods are adapted for insulation, which are very
cost effective. We have discussed some of them in our previous lectures.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:36)

So we will see some practices and gradually we will move to bitumen, since bitumen
has wide range application in damp proofing. So we need to know what that material
is actually and how it is available in its different forms. That obviously opens up the
application of it and we had also it’s application in damp proofing. Gypsum is the

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other insulator which is used for covering up either the fiberglass or the mineral wool
or the rock wool and gives a neat finish.

Gypsum perforated boards were used for sound insulation. That was on top of a inside
hidden material of a sound insulator of maybe fiberglass or glass wool or rock wool.
So we will try to see the other applications of gypsum also.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:54)

The picture you can see this is made of terracotta. What you see is holes. We had
discussed that is air is a bad conductor of heat and sound. So you can see this kind of
inverted earthen pots, they are still in practice in our country, particularly when it is a
large expanse roof you can put in these earthen pots inverted on the entire roof
surface.

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(Refer Slide Time: 03:46)

Actually you can place earthen pots on rooftop and then cover it with a screed
concrete (mortar). So this is the main roof. You have to have the waterproofing. Here
you need to place these earthen pots and then cover it with some light concrete mix.
So these trapped in air inside these pots act as insulator. This is practiced since many
years. These kinds of pots also act as sound resonators.

These can trap in particular frequency of sound, when the case is the open sides of the
pots are there to trap in the sound. That is seen in Suleymaniye Mosque or the Hagia
Sophia mosque. There you can see holes all along the entire dome. Those are nothing
but pots or pitchers placed to trap a particular frequency of sound generated in that
space.

So you can understand that we can use earthen pots inverted with air inside to trap in
sound and not allow heat to get accumulated. So it can be used for both thermal and
sound insulation. Again we come to a term called cool roofing. What is it? It is very
simple the other used for lime wash. Lime wash is a very low cost paint that is put on
top of the roof surface. This is practiced in Ahmedabad and Bhopal.

Around 3000 houses were done so and there was a very good response. The inside got
insulated. The solar radiation got reflected. So we had learnt reflective insulation.
Here we are applying the same principle in a very cost effective way to prevent the

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solar radiation to get entrapped to the inside of the building from the roof. It can help
in reducing 80% of the radiation and it is a very cheap method.

But yes there are problems. One may use the roof for some social purpose, for
gathering, for keeping some item or maybe use it for kind of storage. So then this may
not be that effective. But yes, it is an answer for insulation at a very different way.
White ceramic tiles can be put on the rooftop. The white color acts as reflector.
Although metal is also a reflector, we are not using any metallic reflector here.

Glass can also act as a reflector, but here we are using the color white as a reflector
with lime, with ceramic tiles so that it can also help in achieving thermal comfort
inside the building. The trapped in moisture or trapped in air within glass fiber, rock
fiber, mineral wool and glass wool is the crux for thermal insulation.

Wood is also a natural fiber, where within the wood there are air pockets formed due
to the removal of the moisture. These are very small cellular structures at microscopic
level. So this wood can act as a very good insulator. This wood lining on the inside
walls, on ceiling particularly in hilly regions where it is abundant, you can get a
thermal comfort inside. So whatever be your building material, it may be concrete or
it may be of stone because stone is also abundantly available in hilly areas.

You can put wood lining or the building maybe itself made of wooden logs. So wood
in its different forms can be used as a lining inside the building which is for the
purpose of thermal insulation. If you visit a hotel in a hilly area, when you enter inside
you may find that the room is having a wood lining.

Wood not only adds to the decorative value which gives a pleasing inside aesthetic
beauty but it also serves the purpose of cutting down their energy costs. So you are
enjoying the environment, but the hotel owner is actually getting the return in cutting
down his/her energy bills. So the functional part lies there. We also see very nice
applications in our rural India especially in the plains where lot of paddy or wheat is
being grown.

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You will see the use of straws for thatched roof. We always see roofs are having clay
tiles. Even on top of it you can have straws placed. So during summer you get a very
comfortable interior. So these sloped roofs are treated with straw on top of some
bamboo framework or maybe on top of clay to have a thermal comfort. These
thatched roofs provide lot of thermal comfort unlike tin roof or asbestos roof because
they trap in lot of thermal energy.

But the cushion with straw, straws are filled with air pockets. So those are actually
helping in the insulation. So you have to keep your eyes open and find out the what is
the purpose of the material and why people have adopted it traditionally.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:48)

Now let us also discuss on green roof and green wall. Is it really giving you an
insulation? So when it is a green roof, it reduces the heat flux through the roof. But it
has multiple layers of different things so that water does not enter or there is no
leakage. There should be drainage, there should be soil, there should be learning on
the roots, which is how the roots of the plants will grow.

So you have to have a good thickness allowed for having green roof. So automatically
it reduces the heat flux through the roof, but at the same time there are multiple things
happening in between the layers. So we have to be very careful to recommend a green
roof just for the purpose of insulation. Yes, it replaces the amount of green you are
losing at the ground level and you are replacing that on the top maybe partially.

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But it does not mean it is giving you a thermal insulation and that is why you need to
do green roof. The same applies for shading of outer façade, which is kind of vertical
garden. You can see this is a picture from an exhibition. The wall has been created. It
was in Milan in 2017. So this is the exhibition pavilion whose wall has been made
green. Now any shading from outside and not allowing the entry of sunlight will
obviously be an effective barrier to the thermal gain.

So we instead of putting an internal insulation, you are giving a different kind of look
to the building and at the same time preventing the sun rays or the wall surface to get
heated and heat being trapped inside. But in both the cases one has to be very careful
on the drainage part. Otherwise it will lead to damp. So your roof will likely to
become a leaky one.

It will finally disturb and ruin the structural part of the roof. Same applies with case of
wall. The wall surfaces you have to be very careful on the roots, plant shoots etc., and
also on the water logging.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:51)

So now let us come to the material bitumen. Bitumen is one material, which is
extensively used in damp proofing when we were talking about damp proofing the
building. But bituminous materials are widely ( about 80% of bituminous materials)
used for roads, which is not under our purview, but we always have seen during road
constructions that a black dark jet color is being heated and being applied on road.

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Sometimes it is also being mixed with aggregates and is spread on top of the road to
have a layer on top of the road. There are two types bituminous material, one is
bitumen and the other is tar. Tar is again obtained from coal or wood. So you can
have cold tar or you can have wood tar. And bitumen may be naturally occurring or
may be obtained from petroleum industry.

So it is a kind of very thick crude oil. Naturally occurring bitumen may be found in
forms of lakes as shown in the picture. So you need to know what is it and how it is to
be extracted or taken. It is a non-crystalline thermoplast. And obviously, we use it
mostly when it is derived from petroleum.

It is something solid, somewhat viscous and non rigid. It does not have any fixed
shape. It can absorb shock; it has a softening point, but not a melting point. It softens
at a temperature and then you can actually work with it. It is organic in nature, it is
composed of hydrocarbons rather with very traces of some sulfur, some other
minerals.

It is soluble in carbon disulfide that is CS 2. It is a recyclable and is a very impervious

material. It can be continuously used. It is weatherproof. It can sustain temperatures
and can sustain shocks. So all the qualities we had discussed for a damp proof
membrane are with bitumen. It is unaffected by air, water and sunlight separately and
hence it is widely used.

With long term exposure to air, water and sunlight, it oxidizes slowly and gradually
loses its strength that is it becomes brittle. Chemically it remains as an inert and
impermeable as already mentioned. There are two parts of bitumen. One is petrolene
and the other is asphaltene. The petrolene is the liquid or the plastic part, which is
saturated hydrocarbon and the asphaltene is the hard and brittle part which is having
high molecular weight phenols.

So these two when mixed in different proportions, you may get different
consistencies. So when you are getting or extracting bitumen, if you know the
petrolene and the asphaltene, you will understand how much viscous it will be or how
much solid it will be.

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(Refer Slide Time: 20:47)

Now let us discuss some of the available forms of bitumen which we had discussed
during membrane damp proofing. So what is the membrane composed of? When it
was surface treatment, we were talking of a layer of bitumen which was 3 mm thick.
What is that of? So when we are talking of the surface treatment, it is type of an
emulsion in the form of paint. It is globules of bitumen say around 2 µm (microns) in
diameter, suspended in an aqueous medium.

And this aqueous medium is the dispersing agent, which is again having some
stabilizing agent added to it and this aqueous medium actually helps to spread these
globules and it eventually evaporates. So we have rapid setting, medium setting, slow
setting. Usually it is either petroleum or spirit or naphtha.

When these three of them are in the aqueous medium on to which these globules are
dispersed and this gives you paint like or hot mopping or brushing like material form
of bitumen. Then we have cut back bitumen, which is fluxed with coal tar or
petroleum. This takes time for curing, but it is used for sealing applications. You can
use cut back bitumen for sealing joints or cracks.

Now this cutter is actually the coal tar or the petroleum and hence it is called cut back.
We had seen applications of sheets, bituminous felts which were mostly applied on
the rooftops. In the previous lectures we had shown the torch application. So those are

383
bituminous felts, which is blown form of bitumen. So you have an unwoven felt or a
fabric on to which under high pressure bitumen or liquid bitumen is blown.

So that passes into all the gaps of the unwoven fiber which is the felt and it is
available in different thicknesses and under pressure the bitumen moves into it when
it is blown. So this tar felts, the bitumen felts which we see is actually blown form of
bitumen. It is not pure bitumen. It has unwoven fabric inside it which is called felt and
hence it is called bituminous felt.

Mineral dust is sprayed on top of it which is below 600 µm and it can be feel since it
gives a rough finish. You can visit rooftops at some places or maybe even in your
home and you can experience what it is. Another form is Modified bitumen. When
you can put plastic as the core it is called plastic modified bitumen. When crumbled
rubber is used as the core it is called CRMB or crumbled rubber modified bitumen.

So this crumbled rubber or plastic is the modifier. So what is it modifying? It is

modifying its capability to withstand higher temperature; it is getting more age and is
experiencing lesser crack. These are used mostly on roofs or maybe on road surfaces,
where it is continuously exposed to high temperature. So that is modified bitumen. It
may have use in roofs which have larger spans.

Plastic bitumen again is used as filler for cracks on walls. It is pushed through by the
process of guniting or by grouting in foundations etc.
(Refer Slide Time: 26:16)

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So after knowing bitumen I hope you understand that this black, dark, ugly looking
material is so friendly to a building. All substructures are sometimes bitumen painted
so that it does not get ruined by the underground moisture. Many applications of
bitumen is there where bitumen is actually saving some of the major structures. Now
we come to gypsum which is a mineral, which is a calcium sulfate and is white in
color.

On heating it loses its luster and gains weight because it has water or hydrate
associated with it. It is hydrated calcium sulfate and when it is heated it loses its water
and it gains weight. But we have learned gypsum in a different application when we
were covering cement. Here again we have learned gypsum is used for making
perforated gypsum boards which act as a sound insulator or a thermal insulator or an
internal protective layer.

We had also learned gypsum when used in glass; it was glass fiber reinforced
gypsum. So gypsum has plenty of applications. These are actually crystalline in nature
which can be molded when it is wet. It can take any shape when under pressure. It can
even take hand pressure. So with hand applied you can actually make any shape and it
gets dried very quickly.

It can also give a finished item look in case of sculptures. We say plaster of paris
sculpture. We also use it as casting to treat someone’s leg when it is fractured. We do
a plastering that is again with gypsum. So when water is added to the powder, it forms

385
an interlocking crystal and makes it resistant to fire. So when we were putting the
gypsum board or embedding inside a thermal insulator, the thermal insulator becomes
inflammable.

So to protect that material the gypsum board is actually acting as a barrier. Now this
water of crystallization remains loosely connected with gypsum. When it is heated it
is half hydrated gypsum and it loses one and a half molecules of water. These
reactions are very reversible. It rapidly dries gives a smooth finished surface with
minimum shrinkage.

Therefore it does not lead to cracks. Shrinkage is the cause of crack. Gypsum is a
finished material because you are putting on top of a wall, which contains the
insulator. So finally you are looking the gypsum surface. Finally, you are looking at a
false ceiling, which is again gypsum. So it should be have a very seamless look that is
with no cracks or no breaks.
(Refer Slide Time: 30:37)

In case of Plaster of Paris where 75% dehydrated gypsum is used, a smooth surface is
generated. You can make different molded forms within the interior wall surface in
ceilings, carvings. It is better than cement plaster at times. It is non microbial, it is rust
preventive and it does not allow water entry. It is lightweight in comparison to cement
plaster.

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So if you have a very good interior with good quality bricks, with nice pointing, you
can actually finish with plaster of Paris instead of the cement plastering.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:36)

Let us come to the actual applications where gypsum is used as a dry wall. In the
picture you can see a half dry wall. This is a half dry wall made of gypsum. These are
full length partition walls made of gypsum. It can be used as a glass fiber reinforced
gypsum. It can be used as a rapid wall. That is called a rapid wall because it can be
rapidly constructed.

These are all used and promoted by BMTPC and a similar building has been made in
IIT Madras with glass fiber reinforced gypsum. So this is again a rapid wall
construction system where the external wall can be of having gypsum as one of the
components. It can be used as false ceiling in air conditioned rooms like computer
labs, some chemical laboratories etc.

Gypsum board itself has a low R value but it can actually provide a barrier from flame
affecting the inside of a thermal insulator. So it can actually cover foam insulation
that is we had discussed on polyurethane spray foam, which is flammable. So if you
coat it or cover it with a gypsum board, you can actually get the benefit of using
gypsum.

The R value of earthen material or earthen pots is also like 0.5 as compared to glass
wool etc., which is around 3 to 4. But even then that entrapped air gives it a better or

387
improved R value. So as a composite with air entrapped within it, it acts as a better
insulator. So here also you see in this GFRG these are air pockets inside the material.

So these are all hollow this can act as a insulator though it has not so high R value,
which is around 0.5.
(Refer Slide Time: 34:55)

We see other applications as sound insulator. We see that smooth reflective ceiling
inside a board room. These are the perforated gypsum board covering the thermal
insulator. You can see a very closer picture here, you can see the insulation inside
through these perforated boards. This picture has been taken from one of the lecture
halls here at IIT Kharagpur.

So there is an insulation embedded inside and on top of it, it is the perforated board
one with a closer view and a overall view. So here it is used as a acoustical
application. Here also it is reflecting sound other than giving the room or the ceiling a
neat finish.

So through these examples, I hope I could touch upon the major uses of gypsum, the
major uses of damp proofing and the bitumen. We also covered Insulation; how it has
been done, how it is being done, and traditionally what were done. So you should be
aware of these materials. We need to know their particular or specific applications and
as architects, we need to recommend these in the professional front.Thank you.

388
 Building Materials and Composites
Prof. Sumana Gupta
Department of Architecture and Regional Planning
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture - 35
Composites

So welcome everyone to the last lecture of module 7, that is lecture 5 and yes, it was
mainly titled as damp proofing and insulation. Here I have included composites which
are a combination of two or more materials. So as you had seen in the case of thermal
insulators, those were not single items, but they were within a system.

They were applied within a system, within a framing and then it was covered with
something. So that is why I thought of putting the composites in this particular
section.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:08)

We have come across a number of composites by this time, but it is just to reiterate
that what are composites, its application in buildings, its application in structural
systems and again some nano material applications which are also added to items to
make it work and function in a better way. So we will come to each of them.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:39)

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So composites are engineered combination of materials that result in a finished
material, with better overall properties. We had individually seen sand, cement, and
coarse aggregates in the previous modules, but when three of them were mixed in
right proportions, concrete was formed which we called as manmade composite.

When we had done glass fiber reinforced gypsum, we have seen that as glass fibers
laid inside gypsum so nicely that it gives strength etc., thereby enhancing overall
properties. Hence they are termed as composites. If you see at a microscopic level,
each of the constituents remains distinct. So there is no chemical reaction happening.

When sand, cement all these things bound together with water, a gel was formed
which could bind together all the materials, but the materials did not change property.
Again wood is a composite which grows naturally, it has the cellulose fibers in the
lignin matrix. So lignin is holding the cellulose fibers together to give it strength.

When we talk of engineered wood, they are small pieces of wood are being or strands
or veneers, in case of plywood, all are added using adhesive. So adhesive becomes the
binder and the fibers or the members or the pieces, those are the wood pieces. So that
is the engineered wood is a manmade composite whereas wood is naturally occurring
composite.

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(Refer Slide Time: 03:59)

If we see very precisely or deeply in composites, we will see it has two phases. The
first is the Matrix phase that is something which it holds onto. What does it hold? It
holds the reinforcement. The particles help the reinforcements to become tougher,
more ductile. So they provide lateral support. Since there is reinforcement, it will be
supported at certain points with help of the matrix.

Now the matrix may be a continuous layer giving the support. It may be intermittent
support. So actually the reinforcement may be covered on different sides with the
matrix, with the binder. That is the matrix phase. So these lateral supports to the fibers
may be either in the form of metals or in the form of ceramics, or in the form of
polymers.

Next we have the reinforcing phase which is mainly the fibers or the particulate
matters. In case of MDF boards, it was mainly wood particles, which are into the
matrix. The fibers or particulate matter are strong, dense, light, but bound by the
matrix to give them that continuity and make them to behave as one unit.

So based on the need, alternative materials can be obtained by changing the

percentages of the matrix or the reinforcement. You can give special characteristics
and what will happen finally, it becomes economical in the area where it is to be
applied. Just giving the example of MDF boards, it is of three types; light density,
medium density and high density.

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So by applying different amounts of pressure, adding different amounts of particles in
it, you get three different kinds of wood composite. So now you understand why I told
initially that we have already learnt many of the composites.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:09)

Now let us look at some of the applications of composites in building facades. So

composites usually have low thermal expansion and they do not corrode or rot
because their properties are improved already. So we can go for external applications
using composites. We have seen in these types of applications in precast slabs also.

Structurally integrated panels or SIPs which are having foam or EPS or polyurethane
sandwiched in between, with a coating of maybe metal sheet or maybe oriented strand
board or any other material, which can withstand the external conditions, you get
structural integrated panel. What is the advantage of it? These are getting thermal
insulation at the same time they are light in weight. Where do we apply them?

We can apply it where the structural system is there and you are using this SIPs as
filler walls. Being lighter in weight, it reduces the building load in overall terms. So
you can choose this mainly for high-rise buildings or tall structures. Another type is
vacuum insulated panel (VIP). Here a vacuum is created between the two members by
evacuating out the gases.

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Hence it gives insulation, it becomes airtight. No air can enter in it and being light in
weight, it can act as a external facade. We have pultruded composite panel. This is
manufactured using resin coated glass fibers through a heat dye. So glass wool can be
passed through resin. So resin is the matrix and glass fiber is the reinforcement which
can be given any desired shape.

You can use these in pipes, you can use these in walls, you can obviously make
facades, you can make door swings, door window frames with glass fiber
reinforcement within the resin. So the major important point is it can take any shape
because the resin here is a thermoplast. Aluminum composite panels (ACPs) were
discussed when we did non ferrous metals.

It has a very thin core of polyurethane foam held within the two layers which is
supporting and are soft and light in weight,. You can bend it, give it any shape. The
Epcot Center was made of ACP panels.

As shown in the picture, you can see a circular kind of façade that has been developed
by using aluminum composite panel. So we have gone through many of these
materials earlier.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:28)

Sometimes the glass fibers are used as reinforcements within plastic, pipes, sheets,
corrugated sheets as you can see the wood section in the image. Here the frame of the

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window section replaces wood, aluminum, and steel. So it has reduced the use of
metals. It has brought in alternative material in use and provides better results.

These are not getting corroded like iron. These are quite rigid, hard and durable. Pipes
for high-rise buildings are made with fiber reinforced plastic because of huge water
pressure (say with a head of 200 meters). The pipe is facing that kind of water high
pressure regularly. Due to this, Its linings may get corroded, the internal walls may
get corroded. But if it is made of fiber reinforced plastic, there is no corrosion.

Elevator cables are also made of fiber reinforced plastic. So you can find out different
applications within this building industry which have been gradually replaced by
these composites. Here is another picture of glass and aramid fibers together. So there
are two fibers instead of one. So this forms the matrix and it is in both the directions.

So when you put this within a matrix, then it becomes a very hard and durable
material, with very low conductivity and they neither corrode nor get affected by any
kind of environmental hazards. Even at times they are fire resistant. Therefore using
composites in place of the traditional or known building materials give lot of
advantages.
(Refer Slide Time: 14:30)

We come to another important aspect of using composites that is in the structural

system. How can we get benefit from composites in structural system? Here you see
some pictures where black shape denotes the iron part or the metal part and the grey

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color is the concrete. It is not like regular reinforcements. There is a single I section,
two I sections together.

Another is entirely a solid square bar. Here you see it is an entirely solid core made up
of iron. Here you see within the I section, there are again further reinforcement bars
and it is filled with concrete. These are examples of composite columns. Some are
composite beams where the I section is the major beam that is running horizontally.

There are reinforcements within the beam and there is a connector between the two.
So the entire beam is not a simple concrete beam or steel beam, rather it is having
reinforced beams as well as an I steel section beam. The slab is on the top which is
projected on both directions, but here the I section is behaving as a composite
member.

In another picture below, you see it is a slab which is cast within a member that is the
steel deck. So the steel deck is nothing but a corrugated steel plate. The column is
repeated here. So this I section beam has been placed accordingly and the deck is
resting on this I section beam.

You can walk on such a floor as it has been filled with concrete. So the entire inside is
concrete as you see marked here. So you get a flat surface on top of which you can
walk. But what is gained? You are not using reinforcement at intervals. Rather you
have used an entire profile which is reduced the slab depth very drastically.

The loss of depth of the entire thick slab helps to increase the building height. Other
than this you have embedded these service lines as shown in red or maybe black
circles, through which the wires, the conduits, the water supply, the air conditioning
lines, all can pass through embedding them below the decked slab.

So if you can save height in each floor, you can finally gain a floor. When can that
happen? When there are multiple floors that is when it is high-rise. Let us come to the
major points. We can get larger spans using such kind of beam column system. So
that means you will get uninterrupted space.

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We need uninterrupted space for auditorium, office, multipurpose spaces and sports
arena. We can use steel decks for longer spans as we need thinner slabs throughout.
The deck itself provides a shuttering to the concrete which is being added on top of it
to give it a smooth floor. Obviously, you get benefit on height and hence it becomes
economical. In case of the columns, they become much slender.

That means you can avoid heavy columns. That means columns having dimensions
say 1000 mm x 1000 mm reduces to say 500 mm x 500 mm. This drastic reduction
gives generates the space. You get more design opportunities, because you are getting
much of uninterrupted space. So you can play with space.

The self weight of the building becomes lesser because, you are reducing the slab
thickness, decreased column cross sections; you are using maybe some composite
panels for the walls. So finally, it is reducing the weight. You do not have to wait for
28 days of curing etc., because it is already cast on a shuttering. So further
construction work can be carried on. So you get speedier construction.

Services can be accommodated below the steel deck and mostly we find applications
of these in high-rise buildings. So I hope you could get through that the application of
composites in structural systems which you will see more in high-rise building and
tall building applications.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:43)

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But, another group of composites are there which are applied as a coating, when we
did glass. We had self-cleaning glass, which had a coating of titanium oxide which
helped it to clean or clear the glass time to time by the application of water or
application of sunlight. That was a nano application.

Nano materials can also go into composites. Carbon fibers can go into concrete to
improve its characteristics. Silicon dioxide in nano silica improves durability of
concrete. Copper nano tubes in steel helps to control the cracking. I am not going into
details. Vanadium molybdenum improves the strength of steel. They are only applied
a very thin layer.

We had learned lignin and cellulose. So lignocellulose of wood is nano fiber which is
of the order of 1 to 100 nm (nanometers) and is used to reinforce concrete. So you can
understand that at nano level, that is 1,000,000,000 (one billionth) of a meter, these
materials can improve properties. We had seen wired glass. Wire was embedded
within glass to give it special characteristics. That is also a composite.

The application of carbon nano tubes and polypropylene gives fire resistance to
concrete. So there are so many benefits of building up composites and yes, we are
having a shift in building materials. Yes it cannot be done in one day. It will take a
longer time. But we need to open up towards these materials also. A lot of research is
being done. You can get use titanium oxide nano coating to get efficient solar
collection.

Because titanium oxide is not allowing the dust to fall on it. So obviously your solar
collectors are remaining cleaner and hence the efficiency is going high for the
photovoltaic cells. So there can be very intelligent applications of these nano
materials also in composites.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:29)

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So with this, I would like to end this module. Here are two other references from
which I had taken these materials, other than the books which I had referred earlier in
my initial lectures. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture No. #36

Well, we are in the last module of this particular course building materials and composites.
We have come through many different kinds of materials. And we last finished on damp
proofing, insulation and composites. We are left with a very important finished material
which is paint. And the other important is plastics. So this module is on paints and plastics.

And we will begin with paints because plastic is independent of maybe paints. Why? Plastics
do not require a paint on top of it. But many other materials whatever we came through more
or less require a coating or protective coating on top of it. And that we collectively called as
paints. Yes, paints, varnishes, distempers etc., maybe you are exposed to these terms.

And whatever paint which we put inside a building may not be applicable outside a building.
Because inside it is dry. Outside it is facing the weather. Now surfaces are again of different
kinds. You may have a plastered wall, you may have exposed brick wall. You may have a
concrete façade. You may have wooden elements, you may have metals. So we have come
across basically all these kinds of items.

So we need to cover them. Otherwise, most of these are or having organic components,
ingredients. Say it brick, it is made from silica, sand, clay. Again if you think of concrete, all
the ingredients are made from earth by different methods. We have gone through those.
Coming to wood, it is direct application of an organic item. And metals they have, yes their
own particular mechanism which aluminum does.

It has a coating on top of it, oxide oxidation. So aluminum usually does not require a paint,
but yes you can. But other ferrous metals you usually apply paints to make it or keep it free
from corrosion. (refer time: 03:41)

So if we ask what is paint? we have to learn. What is the purpose of paint we have to know.
When to call paint a good paint? Composition and functions of the ingredients what makes
the paint. And maybe as we learnt most of the materials, we will just go through the steps of
manufacturing paint. (refer time: 04:12)

So if we come to the basic question, what is paint, it is a solution or a suspension, which after
application to a substrate that is the material onto which it is applied in a thin layer converts

399
to a solid film. So this substrate may be wood, may be metal, may be plastered wall, may be
concrete, maybe even brick. So we have a thin layer which converts into a solid film.

So obviously there is some material which helps it to become solid and to get applied when it
is when it is in a thin layer. How thick is a layer of paint or the film of paint? It is around 60
to 150 micron. So you have to understand that the solid film is made of certain particles
which are at most maximum 150 micron in dimension. So how many layers are to be put? We
start with two layers and we can we can go up to four.

Usually two to three coats are mandatory. Now that also depends on what is the type of
substrate. We will elaborate them little later. Why we put multiple coats? Because we are
trying to hide the material. Because you cannot see a painted layer and say what is behind it.
If you can see what is behind it, there is no point of putting paint.

So it can hide the imperfections, it can save it from the weathering action which we will talk
later. But basic primary purpose of multiple layer is to hide the surface imperfections. So
when you see the layer it should be only the colour or only the layer you want to see with a
very uniform distribution without any breaks or gaps. How much can one litre of paint cover?

Usually 10 to 12 square meters, but it depends on other factors. So it has to be of correct

consistency. The substrate should be such that it just not absorb the entire thing. So we will
discuss when we go into the further details. But usually it is 10 to 12 square meters done by
one litre of standard paint. (refer time: 07:38)

So what is the purpose of putting paint? As I told you one was hiding the surface
imperfection. But what are the other major purposes? It provides a coating to the building
surface for protection against weathering action. Who are the enemies? Sun, the ultraviolet
rays, the rain. So you need an impervious layer. Mechanical stresses. Heat.

400
Within the changes, thermal changes the paint should be elastic enough to take care of such
thermal changes. So these mechanical stresses are to be taken care. Chemical actions. One is
corrosion. Other is some alkaline medium, acid fumes. Your building cover should take care
of these kind of chemical actions. So paint is protecting.

Hence, it should be inert against chemicals, it should be inert against corrosion, it should be
inert against thermal stresses. So expansion, contraction that is elasticity of it should be such
that it is not getting affected. It should not get affected by ultraviolet rays. So the colour
should remain intact. Now it should protect all surfaces against organic growths, termites,
fungal attacks, wood or brick both.

You see the two pictures. The green moss has grown on the exposed brick wall and same
with the wood surface. So you have to give a coating or a cover to these surfaces so that no
such growth is allowed. Provides aesthetic value, be it building interior or exterior. So you
can see the interior of a house picture with a blue shaded wall. So you can create your
background for your furniture, you can create different moods inside the house.

So when you go for interior design course or class for the subject, you will see how to give
different colours of paints inside of the house. Now paint increases the surface durability and
also can give fire protection. Fire protection mostly I refer to when it is metal surfaces. It is
also giving fire protection for building facades. So we can give such characteristics to paints
so that you get fire protection.

It adds functionality. We had learned this when we did reflective paint, insulation, reflective
materials as insulators. So you have reflective paint, white paint, metallic paint on rooftops.
You allow the heat to get reflected back. And paint gives identity. You see the fire lines all
painted red. So you have oxygen lines in hospitals, you have air conditioning ducts, you have
these fire service lines, you have different gas lines, you have different oil lines, all get an
identity.

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There are standard colour codes, which are to be followed. As we see yellow buses for the
school bus. That was once decided across the country. So colour gives the identity
particularly for building industry. We are talking of paints giving identity to the services, the
gas lines for hospitals, for firefighting. So one can easily access the point by the use of
appropriate colour. (refer time: 12:35)

Now coming to the characteristics of good paint. When we are talking of paint, we all have
done some amount of artwork in our childhood. So there you use watercolour. You mix some
colour in a bowl and create palette and you keep on making green for the grass and sky etc.,
etc. But that painting scores good mark which gets uniform or identifiable color schemes.

So uniformly it has to be done. It should have uniform spread. When we are thinking of a
building the jacket should not be a patchy one. So it should be very uniformly spread on the
entire surface. It should have high surface coverage. So that means what I had talked of the
amount of paint required to cover say 10 to 12 square meters per litre that means that is the
coverage.

More you can cover, what will happen the layer will be thinner. 60 to 150 micron is a big
range. So the paint will be thinner because you are going to add another layer on top of it,
again another layer on top of it. So what is eventually happening, if it is very thick, then it can
come out very easily. So you have to think of how one layer can adhere on top of the other.

So high surface coverage is very important. Then we come to the point of good workability.
You and I cannot do a painting job particularly when it is a large expanse of wall. You have
to have control. Maybe with a paintbrush you can have a control. But when it is a big large
surface, it should be the workman’s skill and the fluidity of the paint that will help in having
or achieving good workability.

We came to this term through this term workability when we did concrete. So you have to
spread that concrete with all its mix uniformly without any void. Similarly, here you have to
pass the ingredients within the paint which are not as crude as concrete but very very fine
across the entire wall to get that uniform spread and uniform coverage, thin coating. Yes, the
next point is durability.

It should be long lasting. Elastic property as I have told you to stand differences in
temperature, weather conditions etc. Paints should also give water tightness. So if there is a
visible break in the paint layer, it will allow water to enter and damage. So this impervious to
air and water is important because those are the slow poisons or enemies and that can attack
the main structure.

So particularly for the external facades, one should be very particular in looking into this
imperviousness characteristic of the paint. Further, paint should be cheap and economical,
easy to procure and protect surface for longer duration of time. Because it is not a very easy
job to keep on painting building now and then. Particularly buildings which are public in
nature, there is a program say every 5 years, 10 years you actually repaint it.

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So it is very important to remember that you have to have a protective surface which should
also be cheap and economical for people to people to buy and use because that is a protector,
this layer is a protective coating for the entire building from any kind of damages, which we
discussed just in my previous slide. (refer time: 18:32)

Now let us come to the composition of paint. You see two words written here, base and the
vehicle. What is base? Base is the basic material. What is vehicle? We call a vehicle which is
a carrier that will carry the base on the top of the substrate. So the vehicle is the carrier of the
base. (refer time: 19:17)

Now if we come to what is base comprised of? Base is comprised of principle and the
pigment. Principle is the component which is in all the paints of similar nature. But the
pigment is the colouring agent added to it. So base is obviously as I told you in the previous
slide, it should be cheap. And here I mention I had mentioned this when we did make
nonferrous metals, lead was extensively used.

Lead oxide was extensively used as base which kept the cost of paint very economical or
cheap. But because of health hazards of lead oxide the use of lead in the base has been
stopped. So we use zinc oxide, zinc carbonate, iron oxide, titanium oxide these as bases and
yes the cost has gone little high. But if we could have continued with lead we could have got
cheaper paints, but at the cost of health hazards.

So when paint is left to stand too long, what happens? This principle or the base segregates
because they may be in suspension. So you need to stir the material always. So where does
the base go? This base goes into the vehicle or the carrier. So this base actually saves the
surface against cracking, moisture, ultraviolet rays. Because that is the major part which is
visible.

What you see is actually the base and the pigment or the colouring agent. Now what are these
pigments? The pigments are the colouring agents which are mineral powders. It may be mica,
it may be aluminium. When it is aluminium, we say it is aluminium paint. These may be
organic substances also. They are in dimension 0.1 to 5 micrometre. So these pigment hide
the surface imperfection.

So the base is being carried by the vehicle along with these pigments which are hiding the
surface imperfections and the fineness of the pigments reinforces the paint film. So finer the
pigment size or these base and the pigment sizes, more tightly or closely packed they are and
the paint is becoming more impervious. So it strengthens.

Lower the size the stronger is the paint film. Better is the quality. So that again I just spell out
here like you have silk emulsion, you have velvet touch, more fine it is, more costly it is,
more durable it is. We will discuss that in some other lecture. So this pigment, the base or the
principle and the colouring agents together gives, holds the entire thing or the or actually
forms the layer which is visible to us. (refer time: 23:51)

Now coming to the vehicle. Vehicle or the binder and along with it we add the thinner. So
what is the binder? Binder is one which binds the principles and the pigments that is the base

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together to form continuous hard film. So when the paint dries, the vehicle evaporates and
binds the base particles to the surface of the substrate. What is it? Glue, linseed oil, synthetic
resins, alkyds, acrylic vinyl, polyurethanes.

These all can form the binder. We say glue-size. Linseed oil is the most commonly used
binder. So binder or the vehicle is the carrier, but apart from the binder if we keep on adding
more of binder the cost goes high. So when you are working with it, you can add the thinner,
which is the solvent or the carrier and it usually is volatile in nature and also termed as
volatile organic compounds or VOC.

It is also to be limited because these are these organic compounds, which evolve carbon are
also not healthy. Petroleum, spirit, naphtha, turpentine, all these are solvents or carriers or
thinners. We will discuss at length. Yes, water is also a thinner. (refer time: 26:10)

Now apart from these two basic things, we have additives which reduce the cost. We had
learnt adulterants in concrete also. We could add them to reduce, in low percentage to reduce
the cost. Here also you add additives to get different properties of which one is reducing the
cost without affecting the other properties. So these are added to paints to increase the bulk
that is increase the base without affecting the useful properties of paint.

So chalk, gypsum, barite, which is barium sulphate, silica and magnesium silicate, these all
can go as adulterants which are additives. The other is the plasticizers or driers. So these can
be added up to 3%. Helps in the oxidation process or condensation process of the vehicle.
And if you add excess of it, the paint may break or flake out.

What happened in mode of plasticizers in concrete? It had happened for it had gone for
segregation. Here also if you add plasticizers more in amount, it will flake out. So plasticizers
are added to modify surface tension, to improve some flow property, to improve the finish
appearance or give stability. So these four items, basically the base, the vehicle, the
adulterants and the driers together form paint. (refer time: 28:38)

Once we have gone through the basic ingredients we come to the steps of manufacturing of
paint. So when we are talking of manufacturing of paint we have to mix all these ingredients
in given propose in known proportion and that becomes the first step that is batching. So you
are bringing all these materials in fixed proportion into the grinding mill which is a kind of
mortar and pestle where you grind the basic items with very measured amount of vehicle or
binder into it.

To be precise, binder not vehicle, binder into it. It is just like grinding masala, making masala
paste. So what happens? The particles are getting further reduced in size. And then they are
passed into the thinning tank where the solvent is added to get the desired consistency. So
that is step three, where you are doing the thinning and going for quality check so that you
are getting the desired consistency of the paint.

Now you need to keep the entire thing agitated. As you see in the ready mix concrete you
were carrying concrete with the agitation or vibration that was not to allow segregation. Here
also you are agitating not to allow segregation of base from the binder and the thinner or

404
collectively the vehicle. So once you are keeping it agitated, it is not separating out and when
there is order placed you only then tap it out and pack it.

So until the order is placed you are not packing it because once you pack it you cannot agitate
it. So once the order is placed, the packaging is done and sent to the store. So we will further
go to the next lecture and we will try to see how paint or the proportion is being controlled
and we will thus move to our next lecture.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture No. #37

Paints (continued)

So we are in the continuation lecture on paints, which is the second lecture of module 8. So
we have learnt in the previous lecture what are paints, what are the major constituents of it
and how this thin film is helping that is what is the purpose of paint and also we knew the
characteristics of a good paint. (refer time: 01:04)

So in this lecture, we are going to understand how does paint work and we also need to know
the critical pigment volume concentration, which is the key to quality of paint. And then we
will also come to the defects of paint because, these are very common to all the types of
paints which we have not at all discussed and are not going to discuss also in this lecture, we
will go to the third lecture where we will discuss on all the different types of paints. So now,
let us try to learn how paint works. (refer time: 01:55)

Here you see a phrase like pigment volume concentration. That is also called as PVC of paint.
So defined as the ratio of the volume of the pigment divided by the volume of the pigment
and the binder. Mind that here the word is binder not the solvent, not the thinning agents what
you are adding. So it is the pigment volume divided by the pigment volume and the binder
volume.

406
And it is expressed in percentage. Whatever be it, it is into 100 and you get it as a percentage.
Why are solvents not considered? Because as I told you, the solvents are the volatiles part
which are the thinner which helps as a carrier of these small particles that is the base to move
across very smoothly that is good workmanship. You can carry it very smoothly on top of the
surface so that you get a uniform very thin spread.

So you are only using the solvent to give you that consistency, which is volatile, which will
evaporate within a very short span of time. So that is why the solvents are not added in the
denominator. So it is the pigment volume and the pigment plus binder volume. So it is a ratio
expressed in percentage and that is what pigment volume concentration is. Now how does
this pigment volume concentration help?

This gives a clue that how much of pigment is being bound by the binder and that is called
wetting. So what is wetting? Wetting is the phenomena, so if you are having this base as your
particles and your colouring agents which are much further smaller into the base. What is
wetting? Wetting is you are allowing the binder to flow in between these particles.

So your binder is moving through or covering or coating each of the base particles such that it
enables them to move. So when there is sufficient amount of binder as the coating on each of
the particles of base, that is all the voids are filled in, then we say that the critical volume has
reached. The critical pigment volume has been reached. And that particular value is called the
CPVC or the critical pigment volume concentration of paint.

So that means it is the minimum amount of binder that can cover or coat the pigment. Other
way you can say it is the maximum amount of pigment that can be accommodated within a
binder. Both way you can say. That is the maximum amount of pigment that can be
accommodated within the powder, within the binder.

So if you see the picture on top you see on this end it is having more of base and gradually it
is thinning out at this end. So the critical pigment volume concentration is here reached and
here maybe there is more of base. At some point here it is reached and on this side it qualifies
as paint. So, value below the CPVC we qualify we say it is paint. If it is above the CPVC
then it is not paint. (refer time: 08:14)

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So PVC value is below the CPVC. Hope you all understood that and if you know CPVC you
will have to have the pigment added lesser than the amount which makes it or qualifies it for
the CPVC, critical value. Now why it is so important? Why am I discussing this, because this
PVC actually controls the hiding power or the opacity of paint?

It controls the glossiness of paint. We talk many a time a matte finish, or gloss finish. Which
will have more of PVC? The flat finish will have more of base in it and less of binder in it.
The gloss finish will have more of binder in it and less of pigment in it. It also controls
permeability, adhesion, washability and durability; I have listed it for you. But basically we
have to know paint is glossy or paint is flat.

A flat paint is more durable because it is having more of base in it. And you see here
increasing PVC reduces the gloss and makes paint flat and we say usually CPVC is achieved
below that 50 to 75% of PVC, we call it flat paint. One next is the semi-gloss paint 35 to 40%
PVC value. And the glossier is 25 to 30% of PVC value. You can go further down but then
maybe the paint will break.

The base will segregate. You cannot see that continuous uniform layer. So just by adding a
lot of binder or lot of thinner would not help to qualify as good paint. So these are known by
the workmen who are skilled in the job when they are actually adding some to make a better
consistency to work. But that does not mean that you keep on adding thing, but then
gradually the quality will go down.

Pigments with platelet shapes, usually these base etc., these are as I told you in micron size.
Here you see we can have the shapes usually are considered as spherical, but we can have
platelet like shapes like mica, alumina, and aluminium and they can reduce the permeability,
if they are aligned parallel to the coating surface. So then that is again a skilful job.

If you are getting that, then with lesser amount of material you can actually have a very
uniform spread. So the key takeaway from here is PVC should be below the CPVC and lesser
the PVC value glossier the paint, higher the PVC value, flatter the paint. (refer time: 12:38)

Now coming to how do we calculate the CPVC? You can see here that CPVC is given by as
the upper part was pigment if that is one unit divided by one plus the amount of binder that is
the oil absorption and the density of the material the pigment divided by the density of the
hundred times the density of the binder. If we consider linseed oil, its density is 0.935. If it is
water, the density is 1.

So you are taking hundred times the density you are dividing by that at the denominator part.
So this is 93.5 that is hundred times the density of linseed oil. This is rho which is the density
of the pigment that is what has been added the base. Oil absorption is the amount of oil in
grams consumed or required for 100 grams of pigment. So you are using 100 grams of
pigment grams of linseed oil required and then you are finding out taking the density of the
base.

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So density when it is more of the material, the CPVC value decreases. So increasing the
density of the material or the base you can get a decreased CPVC value. So denser or heavier
the base lesser is the CPVC. Because this base are all mineral oxides you can get a clue of
this the density rho value. See here if you have the oil absorption or OA as 20, rho as 4.2
which is of that of titanium oxide CPVC comes out to be 52.69%.

So if you have linseed oil and titanium oxide as your base at 52.69% your CPVC is achieved.
So you have to have lesser value of PVC to get a titanium oxide base paint, with titanium
oxide as base paint. (refer time: 15:55)

So now, let us come to the defects of paint. Now paints as I have told you can be applied on
plastered wall surface, wood surface, metallic surface, and concrete surface. They are not all
of the same nature. But mostly all these surfaces can be both old and new. That is common
for all. Defects of paints are also more or less common for all.

If we look into the types of defects not going into the types of paints, we will see that defects
are mainly of three types majorly and other is always the weathering action. So if we say talk
of defects or manmade human involved defects, it will be three types. And nature is always
there which can lead to defects. So quality of ingredients is one of the primary cause of
having different defects.

Next is the defects related to bad workmanship. And the third is improper surface treatment.
Why I am telling improper surface treatment? Because not always we are painting a new
surface. Many a times we are actually painting old surface. So if you are not doing proper
treatment to whatever be the surface, plastered surface, concrete surface, wood surface, or
metallic surface you are entering into a set of problem which may be related to improper
adherence.

That is the paint is not adhering to the substrate. So these are mostly observed in old kind of
surfaces. So proper surface treatment has to be done. So these are the key areas which have to

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be kept in mind. So whenever you see paint with some defect, you as an architect should be
capable of through your trained eyes to find out why this defect has happened.

As I had shown you that when you see a patchy wall you have to look for whether it is any
service line passing through it what is the space or whether some water leakage, whether it is
the topmost floor or whether it is some patch some water coming from the ground level. So
location can give you a clue. Similarly, the paint nature can give you a clue. Oh this is not a
good quality paint!

Okay, the material has sagged at different points. It is fat at some points. So the brush marks
are seen that is workmanship defect. So it was not done by good people. The quality of paint
may be good. And sometimes things come out. As I told you, the thickness: it has to be as
thin as possible. If it is not, sometimes because of that it may come out, flake out.

And sometimes it may be because of improper surface treatment, it comes out. We have two
pictures here. In one picture you see ununiformed paint. You can see lots of lines here and
there, wavy things. Maybe the wall was not cleaned properly. Here you see the layers are so
thick, it has actually come out, flaked out, or peeled out. So you can actually pull it from that
point and you can see the inner surface.

So there could be lack of adherence between the substrate and the paint. So maybe proper
cleaning was not done. So adherence did not happen at some points. (refer time: 21:43)

So we can just go through finding some defects. Sometimes you sit and your back becomes
dirty. It is not dust, it is not something bad, it is basically the base coming out because the
binder was less in it. That means the base was more in it. So the base is eventually not being
held in position and the excess amount is actually coming out. Insufficient opacity can expose
the substrate.

You can see the substrate from your naked eyes. That is called grinning. So you will see
patches of inside seen through the paint layer. You can see the blooms have come out. So the
surface did not dry properly. So the vapour got entrapped. So the wall did not get sufficient

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time to evaporate out its entrapped water or entrapped moisture. And later on it came out in
forms of blooms.

Fading, discoloration that could be because of sunlight, that could be because of exposure to
rain, continuous exposure of one particular facade to rain because sometimes the monsoons
come and fall in one particular facade. So that particular facade can discolour. Sunlight,
ultraviolet rays can discolour. Mildew, what you can see in the picture also. That is fungal
growth, organic growth. So the organic items could grow on top of the paint surface.

Another is saponification due to chemical action, say alkalis, some pipes which are carrying
some chemicals can actually or eventually lead to saponification of the top coating or the
covering paint. Some acid fumes, alkali fumes can actually help in saponification also.
Flashing that is glossy patches due to bad quality paint is also seen in cases when it is not of
that good quality. (refer time: 24:54)

We have some more workmanship defects. You can see some paint which was uncontrolled
by the workman has eventually ended up into thick or fat edges. So wherever the travel
stopped, from there the paint was not carried up. So that has left to some blunt droplets.
Brush marks because of not correct consistency of paint. The paint left brush marks.

When the brush moves the marks remain. So that is because of not perfect consistency which
the workman is supposed to control. Wrinkling due to thick layer of paint application. So as
in one particular layer, if you add amount of say two layers, then it might get because it is
getting dried gradually. So the inner vehicle or the solvent cannot come out.

That will lead to some entrapments of gas. The volatile gas cannot come out. So that will
entrap and create wrinkle on the entire surface. So thick layer just to escape in one go I will
do it would not help. The inside layer which cannot get dried up immediately will lead to
such wrinkle formation. Same type is developing fine cracks due to different types of paints.

Two layers are of different types that is called aligatoring. So you can see these defects with
your own eyes, maybe in your own house, maybe in some neighbour’s house, maybe in some

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areas where you visit regularly. You try to look into these around you and try to find out
whether you can find out what it is. Improper surface treatment as I have told you this leads
to lack of adherence.

Blisters, locally, you will see a portion has swelled up. You can see in this picture, these are
blisters. Trapped air bubble under paint film or grease as or grease on substrate. So if there is
grease on substrate, the paint could not adhere to it. So you require proper surface treatment.
So that means before applying the paint, the treatment of the surface is very important
particularly when it is an old item, old substrate.

Flaking, lack of bonding, I had shown you in the first in the slide where I started defects. So
peeling off or flaking off is again very common kind of defect which arises because of
improper surface treatment. So substrate or treating the substrate is very important to be
known allowing it to dry hundred percent to stop items like blistering etc., you can just go,
you can just avoid those.

Workmanship you need proper skilled workman for painting because it is your final layer to
the building. So you have to go for good workman. And we will discuss at length in our next
lecture on different types of paints. Because after knowing all these, you must be curious
enough to know which kind of paint should be applied on which type of substrate. And we
are only discussing or every time we are talking of paints and paints.

In case of wood we want to show the grains to the people because that gives value to it. We
want to show the grains of wood. There we put some coating, which is called varnish, which
does not hide the substrate rather it exposes or reveals the substrate at the same time keeping
it protected against whatever points we said. So we will have to know the different types of
paints and where it is applied, which we will discuss in our next lecture. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture No. #38

Paints (continued)

In the previous two lectures of this module we have actually discussed on paints and we as
architects need to know, what are the different types of paints and what is to be recommended
on what type of surface and how it is to be applied onto a surface. So we will try to
concentrate or maybe finish off today in today’s lecture, the paints chapter. (refer time:
00:59)

And we will try to cover the different types of paints, the application of paints, and we also
need to know the special type of paints and again some nano applications. So we have
discussed in my previous module, nano applications. Here it will be little different or
particularly specific to that of paints. Now paints as I already told, it gives a protective
covering. Now we had also discussed on the defects of paints.

There we had found that paints, there are three kinds of defects. And one is improper surface
treatment. So surfaces are very important, when we are looking into the application of paints.
But prior to that, we need to know what type of paint is applicable where. (refer time: 01:57)

So let us come to the different kinds of paint. We have interior applications that is the internal
facades of the rooms, house, kitchen, toilet, chemical laboratory, all what we can imagine. So
we are referring to the wall surfaces, which are mostly plastered surface or concrete surface.
Similarly, we have such exterior walls. Beyond that, we have wood surfaces and metal
surfaces.

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So you can see all these that from paints, it has branched out. But what is important to know
is whenever whatever be the surface, we have to apply the paint when the surface is dry. That
is point number one to be remembered all through because on new surface even if it is new
even you think it is okay we can apply paint just after finishing plastering, it would not help.
We will come to why.

Other is if you put a primer coat an initial coat, what will happen? It will stick to the main
surface or the substrate and a much amount will be absorbed by the material. Because other
than metal we have concrete which can absorb, we have wood which is absorber. So they will
absorb some amount of paint. So cheaper it is better it is. And at the same time this
absorption will lead to the adherence of paint to the substrate.

So next coat on top of this primer coat will be less consumed. You can put a better quality of
paint as the second coat. And obviously, depending on the hiding capacity of the paint, the
primer coat will be getting invisible with coats. So this gives a durable protective coating. So
primer coating is very important on any surface being painted.

Next point is for particularly walls. We have wall putty. That is a kind of sealant or a filler of
all the kind of pores on the concrete surface or the plastered surface which is sand and
cement. It is usually cement based powder or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, HPMC which
is a gelatinous substance, is glue like. So this glue like substance is coated as a primary coat
on top of the wall surfaces be it interior or exterior.

Obviously if it is exterior, you can have a very good damp protection from the rain water.
Now coming to the interior paints. You see a list of interior paints, which are distempers and
plastic emulsions. As I have told you in my previous lecture, base and vehicle, these are the
two major components forming the paint.

So now base has its pigment component and the basic or the principal component and vehicle
has the binder component and its solvent or the thinner component. And if I have missed out,
the binder is carrier. The solvent or the thinner helps in carrying further, that gives the
workability. And the binder actually oxidizes whereas the thinner evaporates.

So the binder forms an oxide coating carrying the pigments along with it. So distempers
which are very basic coatings, very basic paints will be water based paint. Now here you see
we have dry distemper, synthetic distemper, and acrylic distemper. We will come to that little
later. Now for wood and metals, you see it is different. It is not the same paint as was being
applied on interior wall surfaces.

It may be polyurethane and melamine on wood or it may be varnish. Now varnish is applied
which is very much colourless or it may have a very light tint. But varnish is applied to make
the wood grains visible. This I think I have told in my previous lecture sometimes. So
sometimes we need a coating which should help in revealing the inside. At the same time for
interior wall paints, we want to hide the imperfections or hide the main material or the
substrate.

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So that is what varnish helps to achieve. Other than that, we have the metal paints which are
general purpose enamel paints, synthetic enamel paints, and the premier enamel paints. So
maybe you have seen many a company containers, where it is written what it is. But now you
need to train yourself that where it is applicable. So you may see synthetic enamel paint or
you may see dry distemper.

Now whether it will be applied on top of a metal or it will be applied on top of a wall. Now I
think you can segregate or identify. Coming to the exterior wall, exterior wall is the jacket.
On top of it the paint is the jacket that is the protection. So we have to be very particular on
the water proofing characteristics of the paint also into the fineness of the material.

We use cement paint, we use acrylic emulsion, we use textured plastic paints. So cement
paint helps in better adherence with the substrate. Now if you have a wall putty on top of it,
fine. Otherwise, you can start with cement paint, because wall putty sometimes is cement
based powder applied as the initial coat or the primary coat. So we can start directly with
cement paint as the first coat. So I think you can now segregate the material onto which,
which kind of paint will be applied. (refer time: 10:13)

Let us move to the distempers. Distempers are the most commonly used paint which is water
based, washable, durable, and smooth. Now you get dry distemper in the market. You add it
with water and glue as the adhesive or the binder and you actually paint on the wall, simple
interior paint. Acrylic distemper it has acrylic co-polymer formulation. It is also water based
paint, provides smooth surface, you can clean it.

In case of dry distemper it may not be possible to clean every time because it will fade out.
But acrylic distemper you can clean it. Same with synthetic distemper or oil bound distemper.
It is having additionally oil in it which dries out. But it helps in carrying the distemper, in
carrying the base easily. So it has higher coverage. The paint film gets hard with time and
makes the surface easy to clean, which was again not possible for dry distempers. (refer time:
11:49)

Let us see, plastic emulsions. These are water based water based paint where tiny polymer
particles are suspended or emulsified in water. It has higher coverage than ordinary paints.
We had discussed 10 to 12 square meters per litre. Here it covers around 15 square meters per
litre and the paint dries and the particles fuse together creating film of paint on the wall.

If we look into the advantages, it is easy to apply because it is having the polymers in it. It is
pulled very easily. It moves very easily and it is drying quickly with no odour, washable,
scratch resistant anti-fading. So you can wash it without any fading because it has oil in it and
it is polymer based and it is being carried by the vehicle. (refer time: 13:14)

Coming to the exterior paints. The cement based paints. As I have told, it is also a water
based paint, where cement is the base and it is weatherproof. Because of the presence of
cement it prevents ultraviolet radiation. Best adheres when it is newly plastered wall.
Obviously, because it is having cement as one of the components in the plastered wall. You
see two pictures here, these are textured paint.

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So these are water reducing paints. These are thick paints. Sometimes or at times, asbestos
fibres were added but presently those are not used. Coarse grains of sand, gypsum, metals are
added with the binder. It is not necessarily very fine paint, it is a rough paint. You get this
feel when you are touching it. So you may have seen this. Try to observe buildings, public
buildings where regular painting is not possible.

Where people regularly come, enter go but no one takes the maintenance as a responsibility.
They are applied with textured paints. They have become very popular because you can
create a rough wall surface. The colour is remaining. It provides better protection to the
external wall. You can create a lot of pattern with brush mark as the other picture shows.

The other paint that can go is the acrylic paint. It is a fast drying paint made of pigment
suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. So acrylic paints are again water soluble, but
becomes water resistant when dry. So they are washable. Washable means the nature washes
it. Because of rain it can get washed without water entering into the building. (refer time:
16:14)

Now coming to the wood and the metal paints. As I was discussing on varnish it is a solution
of resin or any resinous substance like amber, copal, shellac and it is dissolved in alcohol,
turpentine or spirit and is applied. When it is applied, it does not create any colour. It is
colourless or transparent and the natural fibres or the grains are visible. We have
polyurethane or melamine coating, PU and melamine coating.

This is again a synthetic hydrocarbon polymer which forms a film over the wood surface. It
can protect the base material from any kind of corrosion, weathering, and abrasion to some
extent. But it laminates the wood and does not allow the wood to breathe. So what happens?
Wood being organic, it may have some internal defects. If you remember, wet rots, dry rots.
Some dry rots can happen from inside the wood.

And if it was breathable, maybe it could not have happened. But now because it is having an
impervious coating this polyurethane and melamine coating is restricting the wood to breathe
and hence internally decay may happen. Metal surfaces mostly it is enamel paints. Enamel

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paints are oil based paints, cheap, durable and waterproof. It is anti-termite and hence can be
applied on wooden surface. So when you apply enamel paint on wooden surface, you cannot
see the wood surface. You can see the colour of the enamel paint. So the wood, whether it is
wood or any other material you cannot make out. Yes, from the profile you can make out
maybe. So the oil content allows the paint to be very smooth. And it adheres to the surface
much longer.

Metals do not have any roughness, if it is not having any kind of corrosion in it. So enamel
paint actually creates a coating, very smooth coating and it adheres or sticks to the metal
surface quite for a long time. (refer time: 19:31)

Now coming to the major point, which is application of paint. So we could see there are
many types of paints by name. Commercially they are available in many other names as I told
emulsion paint, silky emulsion, velvet, royal emulsion. So that those are all how find the
paint is, how easily it is moving, how much of coverage it is providing. And other point is
how durable they are.

But when we are applying paint on plastered surfaces as I told you, we have to the wall
surface has to be dry and we have to put a layer of putty. But why do we need to have the
surface dry? because till it is wet the hydrated cement is on the wet surface, is active on the
wet surface. So the hydration of cement is still taking place and it may lead to flaking off the
paint layer.

Hence paint is to be applied on dry surface. If it is a wet weather condition then you have to
add zinc sulphate prior to applying paints. Zinc sulphate will actually eat away the alkalis and
then allow the paint to adhere to the surface. Sometimes a layer of glue, if you cannot do a
primer coat, you can apply a layer of glue mixed with water on the entire surface.

That will reduce the consumption of the paint to achieve economy. So if you directly apply, if
you do not have primer, and if you plan to directly apply paint, you will end up in much of
absorption of the good quality paint. So you can put a layer of glue. And if it is damp surface,
continuously damp surface say some water outlets or areas which is underwater.

So it is expected that the facade will be wet, wall will be wet, you can put an initial coat of
paraffin, benzolene, and resin in the proportion given and that will actually save your paint
layer. So paint is not only protecting, it is also adding aesthetic value. So even if it is a damp
surface and you want to cover up the damp, you have to take proper measures.

Otherwise the paint layer you put it, it will come out because of the damp. And then it will
become an ugly picture. Similarly, for old surfaces, we have to be very careful. Why?
because old surface is already painted and now you are repainting it. So first point is you
have to remove the old paint, how? By means of brush. You can by means of emery paper, by
means of brush you have to take out the patches which are still present.

Maybe it is in a very poor, dull condition. You have to take it out or scratch it out from the
substrate. So that will be the first step of painting any old surface which was painted. Other
than that you have to take care if there is any efflorescence, if there are any patches, chalky

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substances, organic growths, you have to clear off them. And then you have to wash the
entire wall surface and wait till dry.

Any kind of defects, cracks in plasters etc., should be corrected before applying paints.
Otherwise those will become the vulnerable points. So before painting, it takes a few days to
actually do these dressings. (refer time: 24:41)

Coming to metal surfaces, we are much concerned when it is ferrous metal. As we had
discussed, aluminium does not need paint. Why? Because of the oxide layer formed on top of
it, which is self-protective. Unless you need to give a colour you do not need to paint
aluminium. But ferrous metal we have to paint it. Even if it is new the oxidation process
starts.

So it is always better to clear off with emery paper and free it from any kind of oxide formed
in which is a very gradual process. If not done, the paint will start flaking off be it old surface
or a new surface. Next is particularly if it is catching some oil or greasy items, it has to be
cleaned with petroleum or alkaline solutions like sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydroxide and
immediately after removing these you have to apply primer on top of it. Once primer is
added, it is ready to take any enamel paint over it. (refer time: 26:17)

For new wood surfaces, again I reiterate it has to be dry, clean, seasoned wood. And because
it is organic, any kind of knots, any kind of rotten areas are to be taken off. If it is possible,
you can take it off or you have to treat it with hot lime. If you are not treating it the internal
sap or the resin from the inside will come out and will damage the finish from these knots.

So it is very important that before applying the primers such kind of pores, knots are to be
filled. And usually varnish or melamine coats are applied in three coats only after each layer
drying. In case of old wood surfaces, the earlier coat has to be removed. Sandpaper which is
emery paper, you must have seen or have heard is the best way to take off the earlier layer.

Oil greasy surfaces are to be washed by soap solution and then after drying the new coats are
to be applied. Now another important point in case of all the paints, paints may look that they
are very thick. It may always tempt a workman to add some water into it or some solvent or
thinner into it. But this is a time dependent property which is called thixotrophy, which
makes you feel that the paint is solid, solidified.

But once you churn it you give dynamism into it. It becomes viscous. The thick fluid
becomes much workable. This property is called thixotropy, which a workman is supposed to
know and hence paint should be applied with right consistency so that you get maximum
coverage with maximum hiding power etc. (refer time: 29:26)

Coming to some special paints. We have already discussed aluminium paint, ground
aluminium or metal aluminium mixed into the solvent, mixed into spirit and applied onto
metal surfaces. Anti-corrosive paint, Chromium oxide, red lead oxide, zinc chrome, lead is
not used nowadays, are used to form the anti-corrosive paint. These are also applied on to
metal surfaces. We have asbestos paint.

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Also this is unhealthy and getting obsolete day by day. They have asbestos fibre, which was
initially once I mentioned for textured paint, here I mention for fire resistance, but nowadays
this paint is getting obsolete. Bituminous paint, if you remember when we covered bitumen in
damp proofing, there we discussed it. It is bituminous material suspended in oil or petroleum
which is used for sub structures or underwater structures.

We have cellulose paints where cellulose forms the base. It isobtained from plant and it
hardens by evaporation and not by forming oxide. So this is a different kind of paint, very
limited application in buildings. But yes cellulose paint is also one such. (refer time: 31:37)

Now let us come to few nano applications of paint. You can see the word intumescent paint.
Intumescent means it swells. What happens when the fire, if you see this picture, when the
fire is touching the metal surface this black intumescent paint, the colour black here, is
expanding and not allowing the fire to touch. It is nano silica in the paint. A thin film of 0.25
millimetre maximum 5 millimetre on metals on steel structures actually these are painted to
keep it off from fire.

It can prevent or give support to the steel structure for 4 hours. The dry film thickness swells
on hydration under the condition of heat and temperature. And hence the fire spread or the
damage to the main structure can be restricted and by that time the fire protection can be
done. Other two nano applications are applications of microscopic ceramic balls in rubber or
ethyl cellulose as the suspended binder.

These can be used for thermal insulation. Mend W. It is self-healing paint. Say some portion
has got damaged or there is a scratch, some balls will come out or come rolling, rubber balls,
polyurethane dispersion, the rubber balls will come and hide or cover that scratch or correct
that scratch. It will seal that area. That is also called gap closing or crack sealing paint.

The commercial name is Mend W or Mend MW. So it is mending itself, self-healing. Thermo
S. It is ceramic balls which is preventing it from fire insulation, thermal insulation. Walls,
pipes, tanks, which are exposed to high temperature differences. So you are applying such

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kind of things there. So everything are explored in building industry. So these applications
are very limited.

As we had seen nano applications on self-cleaning glass, it is self-healing paint. Strength

gains etc., we had discussed in the last module. So lot of research is being done in each of the
material domain. So you as architects, you have to keep yourself updated with the new
materials coming in, what kind of building it is applied? Yes, these are not applied every day,
not applied in all buildings every time.

But you must have the knowledge or the base that what is to be recommended where, for
which particular context, and what are you going to gain out of it. Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture No. #39

Plastics

The last two lectures of this module or the finishing module rather will be on plastics. Yes
plastics have come into the building industry for a long time. But it had limited applications
until it is being explored more and more. We have discussed plastics when we were doing
composites, glass fiber reinforced plastic, where we were talking of pultruded sections, etc.,
which has replaced aluminium or maybe wood.

In our day to day life, in our day to day buildings, we are finding replacement of many other
materials by plastics. Now do we find plastics in a structural component? Maybe no. It does
not replace reinforcement bars. It does not become a wall which will take load. (refer time:
01:50)

So let us try to discuss on what are plastics? What are the two major types of plastics?
Characteristics of plastics and constituents of plastics in this particular lecture. (refer time:
02:10)

But prior to moving there, we will see this huge structure by Zaha Hadid, which is of glass
fibre reinforced plastic and glass fibre reinforced concrete, a mix of it. It is Heydar Aliyev
Cultural Centre in Baku. You all may have seen it or will study it in your courses. You will
know architect Zaha Hadid. So this particular shape structure was possible because of the
composite material of GFRP and GFRC. (refer time: 03:01)

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Here you see another building which is an aquatic centre Beijing Aquatic Centre. Because it
is Aquatic Centre, it is looking like water bubbles forming the facade. It is not taking any
structural load, but the material is such that it is giving that feel that it is a bubble or bubbly
kind of thing. So it is again an expression possible by the use of plastic. So it is the architect’s
imagination, how he has used it.

But the material has made it possible. So there are different types of plastics which can be
used up to this level. (refer time: 04:10)

You have all seen this, which is expanded form of plastic, polystyrene. We call it regularly,
we see it in packaging industry, thermocol. We find it in insulation. This is also plastic. So
you are using plastic as an insulator. That means its thermal conductivity is very low. We
have discussed this in thermal insulation, this material. But this is nothing but one kind of
plastic. (refer time: 04:52)

And in our regular life if you see the Venetian blinds, if you will see the shower curtain,
which is actually allowing the water to roll down just like self-cleaning glass. You see plastic
flooring, vinyl floating. It is just pasting the flooring on top of the existing flooring giving it a
new look. All the polypropylene sheet which is the seat of the chair or the back of the chair.

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Or maybe some plastic polyurethane panel which can be used as a false ceiling or a wall
cladding or a partition. We see all these things in most of our daily uses. We see these in
offices. We see these in all domestic houses. So we need to know this material, which is a
replacement of many of the materials. But yes, it may have some good points, some bad
points and let us come to that. (refer time: 06:22)

So what are plastics? It is the generic name for polymers having high molecular weight. So
what is polymer? Now polymers are monomers. Mono means single. Monomers chemically
combining by the process of polymerization to form polymers. So what names I was telling in
the last slide, those are actually the name of the polymers. What is the source?

Usually crude oil or petroleum or it is cellulose derivatives. It is mostly synthetic made from
wide range of organic polymers like polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, nylons etc. And from
the plant it is cellulose, latex. From animals it is formaldehyde, glue casein. From animal
hides, etc. So plastic is the generic name for the polymers. Hence, there are various types of
plastics.

Now these are mostly impervious in nature, if it is not organic derived organically derived
that is the cellulose plastics. It is non-biodegradable. So that is again a negative point. It does
not get degraded easily. It is malleable and can be moulded like metals. It can be given any
desired shape and can be used as a building material wherever possible, because you can
achieve any kind of moulded shapes like metals. It has a low specific gravity. It is more than
1 and varies up to 1.4. (refer time: 08:52)

After knowing these basic points, we see these are the monomers where you see
polyethylene, which is carbon hydrogen bonding. Polyvinyl chloride, which is carbon,
chlorine and hydrogen bonding. Polytetrafluoroethylene that is carbon fluorine bonding.
Polypropylene where you see it is again carbon hydrogen bonding. Polystyrene and
polymethyl methacrylate. (refer time: 09:34)

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Now coming to the two types of plastics. As I have told you, these are organic materials,
these are long molecular chains. They are having high molecular weight. So on heating these
molecular chains remain as it is. It only gets reshaped, but does not break, does not dissociate.
Hence, the properties remain as it is even if it is heated. So even if it is heated you nothing is
breaking, none of the bonding is breaking.

So the properties are getting retained. Hence, even by heating to a certain temperature, you
can mould it, reshape it and again reuse it. So this is the beauty of thermoplastics. That
means, you can use it n number of times. Hence, it is recyclable. Similar to metals maybe.
Metals as I have told it is hundred percent recyclable. Thermoplasts are also recyclable. Now
remember thermoplasts are not hundred percent used.

It will be added with some other material because the polymer is the binder, but it will be
binding other things also. We will come to that little later. Now other thing is on the tensile

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strength, it can take up to 28 Newton per millimetre square. It is bendable, it can take impact.
(refer time: 11:50)

So after knowing thermoplasts, the other important type of polymer is the thermoset. What
happens here you see the cross links, the black spots are the cross links which actually
dissociate when it is heated. But yes, it does not dissociate at very low temperature, which
thermoplasts do. This dissociate at a little higher temperature and they become rigid. So these
are having higher tensile strength, but they are brittle in nature.

And they get charred at around 350 degrees centigrade temperature. They are chemically
resistant. (refer time: 13:02)

Coming to the basic differences between the two, they change shape. They can be worked out
at around 50 degree centigrade. Thermosets need a little higher temperature but it is only
once formed, around 170 degrees centigrade. Thermoplasts are expensive whereas,
thermosets are cheaper. Thermoplastics are recyclable, thermosets are not. And we can see
that thermoplasts are much flexible and not so rigid, not so brittle.

And they can change shape upon heating and cooling which is not possible for thermosets.
Thermosets the very popular example is Bakelite. As you can see the early day switches. The
early day telephones. They were all made of Bakelite. Even our handles of utensils, pressure
cooker, they are also made of Bakelite. Whereas you see the other two pictures on this side
where it is polyethylene, which is used as a damp proofing membrane for roofing.

If you see the pictures little clearly you can see the application of a very flexible membrane
like material, thermoplasts. Thermosets if you have a membrane like material, it will break on
minimum pressure. (refer time: 14:54)

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Now coming to the characteristics. Plastics are sufficiently strong for taking general loading
condition. But long term loading leads to deformation. If you keep something for a long
period of time over a plastic chair the chair may get deformed. So it gains tensile strength by
putting fibrous reinforcement into it. As we have talked of glass fibre reinforced plastic.

Then only you can achieve a higher tensile strength of say 70 Newton per millimetre square.
So they can even fail without any warning. So that is why none of these plastic materials are
recommended as a structural material. They are very good as a filler material, supporting
material, fine. Taking general loads, a seat, a chair, a simple table it is okay.

But beyond that, it is general plastics cannot play that play the role of a structural material.
Being organic, most plastics are susceptible to fire, temperature and heat. And as you know
the temperatures at which thermoplasts melt 50 degree it can get deshaped. So a minimum
fire can actually destroy it.

Polyvinyl chlorides, phenol formaldehydes, urea formaldehydes are exceptions, which can
withstand fire because of their molecular structure, because of their carbon fluorine bond
carbon chlorine bond. That makes it hydrophobic too. Then plastics being impervious are
waterproof, but mostly affected by ultraviolet radiation. Hence, it is preferred that it has
indoor applications more.

Because keeping it exposed to ultraviolet radiation makes it brittle and it may fail further
without any warning. So life of the plastic becomes shortened. Yes, you can recycle it if it is
a thermoplast. But indoor applications are preferred. Now plastics are resistant to acids,
alkalis, chemicals and even corrosion proof. And as I had already discussed, plastics have
low thermal expansion and thermal conductivity.

It resembles wood and foamed plastic and expanded plastic are used as thermal insulators.
We have covered that while we discussed thermal insulation. (refer time: 18:29)

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Now coming to the workability. Whenever we discussed materials we had also talked of
workability, concrete workability, wood workability, joinery, glass workability. How to join,
how to use it? When we have done brick, you are adding or joining by the mortar. So you
have to use plastics in its usable way in a building. So you need to do certain operations on to
it.

Metals. Similar to metals plastics can be riveted, welded, clamped. Plastics can be sawed,
drilled, screwed like wood. So you see the versatility of the material. Sometimes I am
comparing it with wood, sometimes with metals, sometimes with glass. You can fabricate it,
you can blow it. Like glass, you can calendar it you can make sheets. You can cast it giving it
particular shape. You can mould it, you can laminate it.

And the other advantage is, it is light in weight, low maintenance cost or maybe no
maintenance cost. You do not need to put a paint coating on it. Because it is not disturbed by
any of the weathering agents, even corrosion, even chemical action. So those are the very
advantageous points of using plastic. Now plastics are inert but hazardous when it bonds. As
I told you 50 degree centigrade, it will start getting deshaped.

It can produce toxic fumes, like you know polystyrene which contained CFC,
chlorofluorocarbon that will be liberated in air, which is toxic. How to measure that? Just to
introduce to these two terms, this is a scale basically from 0 to 100, low to high flame spread
index. That means propensity to burn rapidly and spread fire. How much rapidly it is burning.
So it is a comparative scale.

Smoke development index or SDI. This also measures in a scale of 0 to 100 and it measures
the concentration of smoke it creates on being burnt. So these two terms actually help in
measuring the quality of plastic, hazard of any material which is going to get burnt. (refer
time: 22:32)

Now as I told you, the resinous part or the binder part is actually the plastic or the polymer
part. Like in paints you learnt that base is actually giving the body to it. You are adding
something which is not altering the quality of the material, but it is acting as a filler material
giving it some body or mass to the main material. So plastic items have a resin component
and then we have the fillers, plasticizers, pigments, lubricating agents and the catalysts.

Resin which is the binder part is hard. Plasticizers modify the plasticity for gaining different
strength, flexibility and hardness and they are separate polymer chain which push the resin
chain and delay the crystallization process. That makes it flexible or pliable. And those are
namely the adipates and the phylates phytalates.

Fillers or additives are the inert materials which may be fibrous form, which may be
powdered form, which may be laminated form and they can actually impart other properties
which the resin or the binder does not have. It can make it fire retardant. It can make it
ultraviolet ray protected. Pigments similar to paints are the colouring agents and they can also
act as a filler.

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And you see it is similar to that of paints. Zinc oxide, barytes. Yes in the fillers, you can have
chalk. You can use sawdust as filler material. You can use carbon dust. Now the lubricating
agents are the paraffins, graphites and the wax, which help in demoulding. That means, it
makes it slippery, lubricant so that it comes out very easily from the mould.

And the catalysts, it may be optional, which helps in polymerization like esters used for urea
formaldehyde. So catalysts may be used, may not be used, but these are the constituents
forming the plastics. (refer time: 26:30)

Here you see some pictures, where you see the molded joint, pipes, service lines. Here you
see the sheet form. Here you see the tanks, which will be standing on rooftops for long years.
So they are to be ultraviolet protected, they are not to be brittle in nature. So that particular
type of plastic will come here. Here you see lots of pipes. It may be water pipes. It may be
fitting into all these joints.

These joints has to be rigid, has to be strong. What you see in this picture is the electrical
conduits placed on slab before pouring of concrete. So you see reinforcements and you see a
number of pipes coming out. So these will be the carriers of the electrical roots. Here you see
another sheet form that is polycarbonate sheet.

So all these are different types of applications other than what special applications I had
shown you in the specific buildings. So those are very special application, very innovative.
And yes, you would be fortunate to work with such kind of, making such kind of expressions.
But otherwise, you as an architect will be handling all these materials or recommending all
these types of materials in your day to day life.Thank you.

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 Building Materials and Composites

Prof. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Lecture No. #40

Plastics (continued)

So we have understood plastics that they are of basically two types: thermoplasts and
thermosets. And yes we had seen the special applications where it is creating an expression,
which is the architects imagination, application and obviously it is also having some purpose
or some function. And now, we will be entering into the different types of plastics, which we
need to know, because we have seen a number of materials but which is what, we need to
know or get aware as architects and also need to know what is the purpose, why it is being
used. (refer time: 01:24)

Now, we will enter into the different types of plastics not the types based on thermosets and
thermoplastic. But, farther down within the thermosets, within the thermoplasts, within the
elastomers which is the rubber part, which we did not cover in the previous lecture, we will
just mention those considering its application in building industry. So we will try to cover the
polyvinyl chloride which is the third most used plastic material in this industry.

We have acrylics, we have fluoropolymers, the polycarbonates, polystyrene and

polyethylenes. So we will try to find the particular or specific properties, what makes it
usable for the particular purpose. (refer time: 02:42) So first let us try to see this slide. Here
you see the same names the thermoplasts, the thermosets. And also there is another in orange
what you see here which has low modulus of elasticity, which is nothing but the elastomers
which is also derived from petroleum. We have rubber, neoprene, EPDM and butyl rubber.
Coming to thermoplasts, these are more what we use.

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The polythenes, the polypropylenes, the polybutylenes, acrylic, vinyls, polyamides,
polycarbonates, fluoropolymers. Now here in the polyethylene you see high density
polythene and low density polythene. And we also have another intermediate, medium
density polythene. Similarly, with the vinyls you see you have polyvinyl chloride, chlorinated
polyvinyl chloride, and unplasticized polyvinyl chloride. Also on the fluoropolymer side you
have polytetrafluoroethylene and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene. PTFE and ETFE.

So you will come across the terms PVC, PTFE, ETFE, LDPE, HDPE, acrylic which is
actually PMMA but it is more known as acrylic, is more available name is more used name is
acrylic. And other is polycarbonate sheet which has replaced GI sheets, any kind of
corrugated metal sheets. Other is the thermosets. You see the resins; polyester resins,
phenolic resins, epoxy resins.

And the formaldehydes; melamine formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde. Where do we see?

These are all in adhesives. EPDM. Where did we hear this term? When we were doing damp
proofing. So these are the if you remember this slide these are the major types of plastics used
in our domain. (refer time: 06:25)

So you see sheet form, you see moulded form, you see moulded forms of chair. This is again
repetition of the pictures. (refer time: 06:46)

So we will enter into the major component what has plastic replaced and who has replaced.
Plastics have replaced glass in sheet form. The acrylic, it has replaced glass. Plastics have
replaced galvanized iron sheet, again corrugated acrylic sheet or polycarbonate sheet,
replaced metals in pipes for sanitation, water supply, etc. Reinforced plastic replaced metals
when used in pultruded form in door, window frames.

Replaced wood in door, window shutters. Replaced wood in indoor applications like
furniture. Replaced wood in electrical wiring application with plastic casings. Wood fibre
materials plastics have replaced for acoustical boards. 10% of sand can be replaced with

430
plastics in a concrete mix. Polymer modified bitumen that is mod-bit we had discussed during
bitumen, is application of plastics giving it different property.

So plastic which was not degrading can go into road constructions, in its own form modifying
bitumen. So plastic is versatile. (refer time: 08:53)

Now we first discussed polyvinyl chloride. You had seen a number of pictures and as I told
you, the carbon chlorine bond of PVC is hydrophobic. So it resists oxidation, it is anti-
corrosive and does not burn. It is non-flammable, unaffected by chemicals. Hence it becomes
a carrier of chemicals. It becomes a carrier of corrosive items, the sewer lines. The sewer
lines if it is metallic, it has acidic environment inside it.

And it gradually gets corroded away by the soil it carries which is not possible if it is PVC.
So PVC is replacing metals particularly in these building service lines. Now PVC is very hard
and rigid when it is considered alone or when it is considered as the binder, but it is the
phytalates which acts as the plasticizer and keeps it soft, keeps PVC very soft like rubber.

And helps it in getting in sheet form which can be further rolled into pipe form, can be
molded into any profile. Now PVC, because it is not affected by chemicals, it finds maximum
application in hospitals, chemical and pathological laboratories, computer laboratories. It is
hydrophobic. It takes out the dust and the water from it. It does not allow it to stick. It does
not allow organisms to stick to it.

Even general flooring can be of PVC. Potable water can be carried through PVC pipes,
because metal pipes can actually on long term makes the water polluted. Sewer lines as I told
you, it is not scouring the lines. Rainwater pipes, electrical cables and conduits we find
maximum application of polyvinyl chloride. (refer time: 12:20)

We see here the laminated form of PVC. It is a sheet form. So this laminated board has been
obtained by thermoforming. That is on heat application this particular form could have been
made possible. This is a ply of plastic of a given thickness which has been finally made or
given this shape. We find its application in doors, windows, shutters. And you can replace
wooden doors and windows particularly washrooms, kitchen door with these kind of plastic
doors.

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So the wood does not get rotten, particularly the lower part and plastics are a good answer to
it. Here you see PVC as fibrous form. It can be used as reinforcement in concrete which
reduces shrinkage and also temperature related cracking. So if you add PVC fibre into
concrete, where there are expected large changes of temperature, then PVC fibre is a good
answer. Coming to chlorinated polyvinyl chloride.

This is chemically resistant and can withstand high temperature. High temperature means you
can have water lines which will be carrying water at different temperatures. That means hot
water lines say in hotels, in hospitals, when there is a central heating system, from the roof or
some intermediate position, the water is being carried to different rooms, we prefer a CPVC
pipeline.

It is chemically resistant and it can carry chemicals also. Unplasticized polyvinyl chloride. So
here the plasticizers are not there, it is hard and rigid but they are strong enough. You do not
require the flexibility, you have to push it down, boring pipe, electrical routes, major lines
they have to be hard and rigid. We use unplasticized polyvinyl chloride over there. (refer
time: 16:05)

Next we come to acrylics. The chemical name is of the polymer it is polymethyl

methacrylate. It is Perspex sheet, we commonly call it, Plexiglass we commonly call it which
resembles glass. It can be transparent; it can be translucent with some coloured tints, exactly
similar to glass, but having half the weight of glass, same thickness: 10 times stronger than
glass.

Much less affected by ultraviolet radiation and has promises a life of 10 years. Initially, it is
as brilliant as glass that is as clear as glass when it is not having any other pigment. But the
major drawback is it is difficult to cut. High-rise buildings if a glass pane falls or if you
provide a tempered glass maybe it becomes much costly. In place you can use an acrylic
sheet, replacing glass. Public buildings.

corrugated sheet as roofing material you can use acrylic sheets. (refer time: 17:49)

Now we come to the fluoropolymers. These are fluorocarbon which gains property in
strength, toughness, self-lubrication from the aggregate effect of carbon fluorine bond or
carbon fluorine hydrogen bond whatever the case may be. The first one is carbon fluorine
bond in case of polytetrafluoroethylene. It is carbon, fluorine and hydrogen bond for ETFE or
ethylene tetrafluoroethylene.

And these can have a high tensile strength over a wide temperature range. And that is why
you have seen application of this ETFE sheet or the PTFE sheet applied on outer facade of
buildings which does not allow heat to come in. Which is scratch-proof and chemically
resistant. And it can be very fine membrane. You see thickness can be as low as 0.05 to 0.02
millimeter.

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And it can withstand a large change or difference in temperature with low coefficient of
friction. Low coefficient of friction why do I mention? Anything comes on top of a PTFE
sheet will roll down, will fall off. Hydrophobic is case when we talk only of water, but
anything which hits it will not sit on it, but will roll down. It has very low surface energy.
That means, it does not attract anything on its body. We will see its application more. (refer
time: 20:32)

This is PTFE sheet of Burj Al Arab, which is on this entire facade, which is facing the sea
which is protecting the glass from the ultraviolet radiation. Behind it the heat is not going. So
it is also acting as a thermal insulator. So there is an air gap. So this membrane the circular
way it is put it is actually acting as a hydrophobic membrane. It is taking off sand. It is taking
off any water coming on to.

It is protecting the entire glass fabric. It is giving a cooling effect to the entire building. You
see application of ETFE sheet in Eden Park. It is a bio park where these structures, these
circular structures are made of very thin ETFE sheet. They are scratchproof. No one can cut
it. They are they are air filled. Same is also adapted in Allianz Arena Football Stadium.

We have in India an example of PTFE sheet application with glass fibre fabric, which is in
the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. So these air filled panels are giving it a thermal
insulation. There is practically no wall. But it is a framed structure which is coated with this
PTFE, with this ETFE pneumatic panels. The same was in the Beijing Aquatic Center. Those
were PVC sheets with air insulation.

So these are fluropolymers. These are the advantages. Now you may have heard of non-stick
pans, non-stick utensils. The top coating which makes it non-stick is actually this PTFE and it
is scratchproof. It is so thin even then it is scratchproof unless and until you are doing
scratching it purposefully with knife or some sharp object. So that is why you are asked that
this fluorine gets exposed.

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So you are not supposed to tamper it, otherwise it is a scratchproof layer. It is impervious and
hydrophobic too. So nothing sticks on top of it. (refer time: 24:25)

Coming to the polycarbonates, you see a number of sheets here in different colors. But these
are all capable of withstanding the ultraviolet rays of the sun. They are tough materials,
optically transparent. You can work it, you can give different shapes, you can mould it out.
And it can withstand differences of temperature. Very thin sheets up to 2 millimeters.

You can see this is a polycarbonate roofing, very thin membrane on the steel support. Now
although they are very thin, they have high impact strength of maybe 200 times that of glass.
Acrylic is difficult to work with whereas, polycarbonates it is easy to work with
polycarbonates. You can get it clear, you can get it having some colour sorry it has poor
resistance to ultraviolet radiation whereas acrylics have better resistance to ultraviolet
radiation.

It is higher in cost as compared to acrylics. Now you can improve the ultraviolet radiation
resistance of this particular polycarbonate sheet by adding some filler materials into it and
that is the additives that can actually make it more durable to outdoor uses. And hence
polycarbonate sheet similar to acrylics have large application in outdoor environment.

Say cycle sheds, say outdoor or temporary shoppings, temporary even bus stops bus shelters.
These are all having either polycarbonate or acrylic sheets as their topping. So it has replaced
maybe corrugated metal sheets or maybe metal sheets or maybe even concrete. And it is
giving a much easier solution, lighter solution to the function where there is no habitation.

It is keeping cycles, it is covering a portion, it is giving temporary shading to the spectators of

a stadium, and you can use polycarbonate sheets. It is not a habitable space, but it needs a
covering. These are examples of outdoor application of plastics. (refer time: 27:45)

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Now coming to thermocol, that is polystyrene we had discussed it is used as an insulation
material. It is expanded polystyrene foam EPS and it is containing around 95 to 98% air and
when it is having chlorofluorocarbon then we get a higher thermal insulation and the filled in
air is chlorofluorocarbons, CFC and it is having a higher thermal insulation value.

We have polyethylenes in different forms as if you can go back to the chart and you will find
LDPE, HDPE is written over there, high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene and
we also have a medium density polyethylene. So these are having various uses for flexible
joints, water tanks, pipe fittings. These are ultra violet resistant and has outdoor applications
as well as indoor applications. (refer time: 29:21)

Other than the poly thermoplasts we have use of polymers in paints, the polyvinyl acetates,
the ethylene vinyl acetate helps in plastic emulsion paints, polymers in adhesives. Those are
all thermosets. Urea formaldehyde, phenol formaldehyde, ethylene vinyl acetate, which is
used for hot adhesive. So we find thermosets over there. We find thermosets in the FRPs that
is the fibre reinforced plastics.

So where glass fibre is being reinforced the plastic which is used is a thermoset. We have
epoxy vinyl ester or polyester as the thermosetting plastic in case of FRPs, we have
elastomers which was the last item in the list. We have neoprene, we have silicones. Here you
see the person putting a rubber gasket on the window. It is a tape like neoprene gasket which
is rubber, which is an elastomer.

These are chemically stable and flexible over a wide range of temperature and used for water
sealing, thermal sealing. So when it is a case of insulation of say double glazed wall, double
glazed window you have to have neoprene gasket all around. You can use silicone gaskets,
silicone as adhesives, when you are using precast concrete slabs. So the sealants are actually
silicon based.

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So these are various applications of plastics in our building domain. We may not remember
them as plastics, because plastic is the generic name, but we may remember it as silicone, we
may remember it as neoprene gasket, we can remember it as PVC or acrylic sheet or
polycarbonate sheet or HDPE tank. And we will see we are using plastics for every now and
then in building industry considering the casings of electrical lines.

So dry lines, wet lines, it is having so many properties that replaces many of the materials,
which we commonly use for building. (refer time: 32:42)

Now coming to the end of the course, I would like to summarize telling that we do not have
an end to this particular course maybe. This is a very basic course which is a building block
of being an architect. You get training, when you are in very school level, very primary level
you are taught ABC. Building materials is actually the ABC of architecture.

If you know this subject very well, if you explore every day, what is new, what are the
challenges in this material, you will always come out with a very complete new good
building. You have to remember all the aspects which a building experiences, because a
building is facing the environment. It is facing the inclined weather. It is facing freeze and
thaw if it is in a very cold country.

So context climate, affordability of the client, what is the type of building, what is the
expected life of building, what is the purpose of the building, who are the users, who will
maintain it all you have to keep in mind when you are choosing or recommending a material.
Material should be reliable. It should be available and the skill should be available.

That is why our country could not move to the faster construction methods of precast items.
Though they have limitations, but we at times require fast construction. So we have to
understand what the purpose of the building is and we have to find whether these materials
are code specified before recommending it. Ease of working also is another point to be
considered, particularly like joining two items, the masonry works.

436
Research is on. We are advancing in this area, in this subject and its application. So maybe
other materials will come. Many traditional materials are to be thought of which can be
improvised and made available, so that we can reach, we can maintain the environment
friendliness. We also have to look into the embodied energy or the amount of energy spent in
making a building material.

When on one hand, we are looking into the basic materials, we are also looking into the nano-
applications where a very small amount can do a change or bring a change. So we have to
tread forward. This was the stepping stone, or maybe a very basic course for architects and
hope you enjoyed it. All the best for your assignments.

All the best for your examinations, which will be held and hopefully you could do the
assignments which were always communicated to you after every module. Thank you.

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