Skip to main content

Alternate Building Materials Used in The Construction Industry

PC: theconstructor.org

 Alternate building materials are those which can be used economically by replacing the conventional building materials. Alternate building materials are made from waste products and thus they minimize environmental pollution.

 These alternate building materials can be used when they meet their respective specifications in the code of practice. Here are some novel construction materials and technology, with some briefly discussed:
  • Aluminum
  • Bitumen Materials
  • Soil Conditioning Agents
  • Tempered Glass
  • Crumb Rubber
  • Fiber Reinforced Polymer
  • Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics
  • Bamboo reinforced plastics
  • Ferro-cement
  • Polyester Fibers

 ALUMINIUM
sound-proof-aluminium-construction. PC: theconstructor.org
  1. More than 3000 commercialized applications.
  2. 35 percent aluminum produced is used in construction.
  3. Non-Corrosive.
  4. High durability and low maintenance.
  5. Can be alloyed.
  6. Ductile and malleable.
  7. Aesthetically attractive.
Applications of Aluminum In Construction
  1. Windows, doors, facades
  2. Roofs, walls, building superstructure
  3. Door handles, catches, staircases
  4. HVAC and waterproofing
  5. As a support structure for solar panels
  6. Panels, solar collectors and light shelves.
  7. Wall cladding.
BITUMEN MATERIALS

 Super pave system
Superior performing asphalt pavements systems

 Advantages
Reduces Permanent deformation
Fatigue cracking
Low temperature cracking in hot asphalt mixtures

 SOIL CONDITIONING AGENTS
Bentonite Slurry
Polymer Liquids
Foams

 Applications
Tunneling
Pipe Jacking

 TEMPERED GLASS
Thermally tempered glazing – automobile windows
Polycarbonate glazing – bullet proof glazing

 CRUMB RUBBER

 Crumb – scrap tires are shredded
Crumb rubber added to asphalt is called CRMA (Crumb Rubber Modified Asphalt.)

 Advantage
Helps in noise reduction
Reduces skid

 BAMBOO/ TIMBER MAT BASED WALLS (EKRA WALLING)
Plastered on either side by mud or cement mortar over bamboo mat placed between horizontal and vertical timber/ bamboo as a frame. They are easy to construct, cost less and are popular in hilly areas due to self-help.

 However, these are non-load bearing and need a supporting structure. This upgraded traditional technology is relevant for earthquake view point walling option. (Conventional)

 COMPOSITE FERROCEMENT SYSTEM
PC: civildigital

 It is simple to construct and is made of ferrocement, i.e., rich mortar reinforced with chicken and welded wire mesh. These reduce the wall thickness and allow larger carpet area. Precast ferrocement units in trough shape are integrated with R.C.C. columns.

 Ferrocement units serve as a permanent skin unit and as a diagonal strut between columns. Inside cladding can be done with mud blocks or any locally available material. Ideally suitable for seismic areas. (Developed by HUDCO)

 Read more on this publication at The Constructor

 Pleas visit our Home Page for more interesting material!
Labels:

Comments

  1. theaApril 21, 2022 at 11:06 PM

    nice post i'm currently looking for house construction materials needed for my home renovation

    ReplyDelete
  2. Buy TarpaulinsJuly 5, 2022 at 6:40 AM

    nice

    ReplyDelete
  3. samuelSeptember 22, 2022 at 5:22 AM

    Your blog has very good knowledge and gave huge instructions, which were commendable ideas. Thank you so much for sharing the article. This is very useful for me. For more detail you can visit Top Architects in Chennai.

    ReplyDelete
  4. vigneshkumarOctober 10, 2022 at 2:38 AM


    This is a wonderful blog regarding the services provided in this region, the civil contractors In Chennai also provides a professional services.

    ReplyDelete
  5. sanjayprabhuNovember 4, 2022 at 3:40 AM

    Thank You for sharing this informatiom. I really Like your content. Hope you will share more post about Top architects in bangalore.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Architects and civil contractorsJune 20, 2023 at 7:09 AM

    Thank you for sharing this useful information. I got useful information from this blog. Architecture companies In Bangalore have the responsibility of envisioning and creating functional, safe, and visually appealing structures while considering the needs and desires of their clients. They oversee the entire design and construction process, from initial concepts to final execution, while ensuring compliance with regulations and meeting project objectives.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

See Also

 Meet our personality of the week,our Immediate Past President Mr.Samuel Kweku Afari Can you tell us about yourself?   I am Samuel Kweku Afari, born on the 4th of March 1998. I am 23 years of age and I pride myself to be the only child of my parents. I come from Abesim in the Bono Region where I started the earlier part of my junior high education at Sacred Heart Preparatory School.  I moved to Tarkwa to continue my junior education at Golden Age School complex and that is where I had my Basic Education Certificate after completion in 2014. By God’s grace, I went on to have my senior high school education at St John’s School in Sekondi where I read General Science. Whilst in St. Johns School I served as the Sports Prefect (2016/2017). I completed St. Johns School in the year 2017 and by God’s grace had the opportunity to start my university education the same year at my dream university, KNUST.  I am currently in my final year reading BSc. Metallurgical Engineering a...
Post a Comment
More Here»

Non-stick surface technology

By Hilda Kafui Nuworku [3min read] Non-stick is a surface engineered to reduce the ability of other materials to stick to it. Non-stick is often used to refer to surfaces coated with Polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE),  but in the 21st century other coatings have been marked as non-stick, such as anodized aluminum,  ceramics, cast iron, carbon steel and many others. Cast iron, carbon steel, cast aluminium and steel cookware may be seasoned by applying fat to the surface and heating to polymerize the fat. This produces a dry hard smooth, hydrophobic coating, which is non-stick when food is in it. Polytetrafluroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer or tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. Its well known brand is Teflon® , by Chemours,  a polymer company. PTFE molecular structure. PC: susbtech.com Properties of PTFE: It's a fluorocarbon solid, with a high molecular weight. It's hydrophobic due to the high electronegativity of Fluorine. It ...
2 comments
More Here»

Personality of The Week: Prof. Samuel Kwofie

Prof. Samuel Kwofie To end this month's Personality Dialogue is the first Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in Ghana, Prof. Samuel Kwofie. He shares with us his rich knowledge and experience. Enjoy the read as you learn along. PROFILE Prof. Samuel Kwofie is the first professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the country. He lectures at the Department of Materials Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He is the immediate past Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, formerly the Faculty of Chemical and Materials Engineering. He is an alumnus of Independence Hall in KNUST and Ghana Senior High Technical School (GSTS-Takoradi). He hails from Elmina in the Central Region. His skills and expertise include Powder Metallurgy, X-ray Diffraction, Mechanical Testing, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Failure Analysis, Mathematical Modeling, Experimentation, Characterization, Electron Microscopy, among others. ...
2 comments
More Here»

Be A Survivor -- A Poem By F. Agyemang

Many across the globe are bearing the brunt of Covid19. Some who haven't experienced it can't really imagine its consequences on people and economies. Let us thus relieve ourselves of the stress with this exhilarating poetic piece by @cocajuana_pens You can call me Covid I'm more dangerous than conflict I have no limit And I kill without mercy Cos I have no vaccine Just don't dare me I might end your destiny I'm so wicked! But you can avoid me Stay at home Give a distance And do no hommies For instance If you have to sneeze or cough Just cover it off Don't do it raw Else it'll be an issue So kindly use a tissue Hand washing should be regular That's the normal routine Do it with soap under running water Even if you haven't eaten Wondering how to keep clean? Use a hand sanitizer Just like many diseases I know I won't last forever A vaccine will be made And I will be slayed Until then, you have to be a survivor ...
3 comments
More Here»

THE WAIT

Illustration. Credit: HIOS The past they say hunts you down . But to get someone who overlooks all the past and says, ''Hey you deserve another shot'', has always been a one in a million event. We met in the weirdest of ways but we have grown to become the best of friends. If anyone had told me things would have grown this fast between us, I wouldn't have believed. Today I stare at your pictures and I can literally smell you. ''Am I getting mad?'', I ask myself. Maybe, no; probably yes. But if I would go mad because of the person who although I needed a new start due to my past transgressions, yet believed in me, then I wouldn't think twice about it. I guess the light I see in her is what she sees in me. We are taking things slow, not rushing a thing; trusting Your timing, not pushing when we need to pull--step by step, growth by growth--not  missing even a single nano-detail of the process. Am I mad to wait till you are ready?  For I...
2 comments
More Here»

Personality of the Week: Mr Ibrahim Sualah Bamba

For this week, our Personality Dialogue dial falls on a gentleman of the Department, Mr Ibrahim Sualah Bamba, a final-year Materials Engineering student. He has great interest in Debating and is specially interested in Composites. Enjoy the ride with him. Who is Ibrahim Sualah Bamba? I am the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bamba. Born on October 03, 1993 Any more thing about you? I have always lived my life moving from one place to the other. I am from Banda, a beautiful town in the west - central part of Brong Ahafo Region. So I am a proud Ghanaian. I have lived in different towns aside my hometown. Berekum, Wenchi, Techiman, Sunyani, Lapaz, Nungua, Accra New Town and many more areas across Ghana. Well, I have also lived in Adjifou, a city in Abidjan of Ivory Coast. How has the educational ladder been for you so far? Schooling has not been easy for me right from day one. This was because to me, I had to compete hard to understand both the local Akan and English languages just to ...
1 comment
More Here»

The TRATECH Committee

Alabi Joshua Atta, TRATECH Chair The Trade and Technology (TRATECH) committee is headed by the TRATECH chair. The committee represents the department in all aspects pertaining to Fairs.  The committee also supervises and approves all projects and exhibitions in the association.
Post a Comment
More Here»

Seater of The Week: El-Freda Narh Kugbajor

Today on Sports Seat, we meet a pretty third-year Materials Engineering student who doubles as the Africa Hall Sports Chair. She tells us about herself, her program of study and sports. El-Freda-SOTW Please tell us about yourself(Relationship status:Single,dating,broken up or crushing)   El-Freda Narh Kugbajor is my name, a third year Materials Engineering student and currently in Africa hall. I attended Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ School and I’m an ambivert . I am single. Interesting Share with us your experience in secondary school. Life in YAGSS was interesting. I had the opportunity to learn to be a better person. All the sadness, fun and tough moments groomed me to be who I am today. Haha, certainly Materials Engineering,were you given the programme or you chose it? If the latter, what informed your decision? Actually, I chose Materials Engineering. A very good friend who is just like a sister introduced the program to me and I had interest in it. ...
Post a Comment
More Here»

The 'thinking metal': Shape Memory Alloy

Nitinol wires. PC: Wikpedia By Francis Agyemang, Member of the Editorial Team, MATESA KNUST We are the intelligent metal alloys !!! Yes! People prefer to call us shape memory alloys and it is the name we well deserve. We never forget our shape when thermal or mechanical load is exerted on us. Once the load is removed, we regain our pre-deformed shape. Our thermal deformation is very unique, unlike other metals, we deform under low temperatures and regain our shapes upon heating. Our effect (shape memory effect) was first discovered in an alloy of gold and cadmium (AuCd) by Swedish physicist Arne Olander in 1932. 2D view of nitinol's crystalline structure during cooling/heating cycle The two most prevalent smart alloys are copper-aluminium-nickel (CuAlNi) and nickel-titanium ( Nitinol). Though we have many uses and potential applications, we are commonly used in mending broken bones and making of dental braces. A nitinol paperclip bent and recovered aft...
Post a Comment
More Here»

WHAT MINDSET HAVE YOU?--By Isaac Asiedu

As Henry Ford said, ‘‘W hether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right ’’ . Whatever your mindset is, it affect s  you. Your mindset is the lens through which you perceive the world. And th is lens affect s  how you live and the choices you make every day. The quality of your life is defined by the quality of your mindset. Your life can never get any better than your mindset. Your mind is a powerful thing and the stories you tell yourself and the things you believe about yourself can either prevent change from happening or allow new skills to blossom. According to Carol Dweck, a researcher at Stanford University, there are two types of mindset and the difference between these two mindsets and how they impact our performance are explained below : The first mindset is the fixed mindset .   S tudents with this mindset believe that their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that is that, and th...
4 comments
More Here»