Author: haroonkhan
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Housing Programme
United Nations has recommended certain norms to improve the quality of life of human beings. The norms stipulated are: (i) settlement policies and strategies, (ii) settlement planning, (iii) institutions and management, (iv) infrastructure and services, (v) land and (vi) public participation. Based on the above norms, housing programmes have to take the following steps:
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IMPORTANCE OF HOUSING
Housing is an important indicator of the level of country’s social progress. Among the basic requirements for mankind to live, shelter takes the place next to food and clothing. Shelter is needed to protect oneself from natural calamities, wild, animals and from fellow beings. As a matter of fact, human beings started from caves and…
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INTRODUCTION
One of the primary needs of human beings is shelter (i.e., to live in a comfortable place called house). A building constructed using natural or man-made material forms the house. There are different national level organizations which deal with housing. Apart from just living, buildings are needed for different purposes. Accordingly the components are different.…
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Adhesives
Adhesives are used to stick two or more parts together so that they behave as a single unit. Adhesives are of three types viz., organic adhesives, synthetic adhesives and rubber-based adhesives. 1. Types of Adhesives (i) Organic Adhesives Organic adhesives are made from animal protein, blood albumen, milk casein or starch, etc. (ii) Synthetic Adhesives…
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Geosynthetics
Geosynthetics are synthetic fabrics which are sufficiently durable to last a long time in any environment. Geotextiles and Geomembrane are the two major products of geosynthetics. 1. Geotextiles Geotextiles are porous fabrics manufactured from synthetic materials that are primarily petroleum products and others such as polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride, nylon, fibre glass, and…
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Rubber
Rubber is a natural material extracted from rubber trees and are also manufactured by chemical processes. The former is known as natural rubber and the latter as synthetic rubber. Natural rubber has high strength, good resistance to wear and tear as well as in flexure. But it has low hysteresis and easily gets affected by…
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MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS
Some of the materials which are used to a lesser extent in building activities are discussed in this section.
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Matrix
Functions of a matrix are as follows: Thermosetting resins are the most common type of matrix. These resins have the property of reacting chemically under certain time and temperature conditions. Epoxy resins are the most widely used thermosetting resins. Polyester, vinyl ester, phenolic, bismaleimide, epoxy novolac, polymide, etc., are the other matrixes. Composites may be…
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Reinforcing Fibres
The following are the functions of reinforcing fibres: Three most commonly used reinforcing fibres are: (a) glass fibres, (b) carbon and (c) aramid. Glass fibres are the heaviest which provide high flexibility. Carbon is the strongest and heavier. Aramid has moderate stiffness. When more than one reinforcing material is used, that material is called hybrid…
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COMPOSITE MATERIALS
Composite materials are formed by combining two or more different materials to utilise their virtues and minimising their deficiencies. These materials are also called as composites. Depending on the requirement, tougher and lighter materials may be combined. Materials utilised retain their physical and chemical properties independently in the finished product. The composites comprise of the…