JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #77 - December 2012 - 28

indian experience
with weather coats for improved life span. The roof was covered with terracotta tiles to improve heat insulation properties and prevent UV attack on the roofing sheets. The flexible construction using steel frames fastened with nuts and bolts was ideal for bearing tensile, compression and flexural stresses and allowing lateral movements of the structure, thus reducing the effect of seismic forces.
Fig. 3: Shelter cluster made of NF composite boards, shops

cater to these shelters, 128 FRP community toilet units complete with septic tank, wash basin and water tap were also constructed. Composite materials such as jute-coir composite boards, rice-husk particle boards with bamboo mat veneer, etc. fixed on mild steel angles (ISA 40 x 40 x 6) and channels (ISMC 75 x 40) and erected quite quickly (3-5 units per day) were an effective solution for shelters. These natural materials have all the properties required for a general-purpose board and can be used in place of wood or MDF synthetic resin boards. The steel channels and angles were erected through proper grouting, bolting and welding to get the shelter dimensions (6.10 m x 3.65 m x 2.45 m high) along with steel purlins on the top to support the roofing sheets. The boards were fastened to this structure allowing provisions for door and windows. The door and windows were also made of composite boards. The flooring was done by levelling and compacting the soil to obtain the desired height. Finally, plain cement concrete was applied over the compacted soil to form the permanent floor. Generally, the dimensions (length and width) of the floor were built slightly larger than the inside dimensions of the shelter to protect the foundations of supporting steel structures. As the UV attack of sunrays disintegrates the polymeric resin, thus reducing the life of the boards, the outer walls of the shelters were painted

On 26 December 2004, the tsunami played havoc by causing colossal damages in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and in the archipelago of Andaman & Nicobar. Building upon the experience gained in the Kutch rehab project, TIFAC was approached by the Government of India to mitigate sufferings for tsunami victims. Towards a token intervention to rehabilitate the livelihood of the affected people, a project was implemented by TIFAC for the construction of 50 community sheds made of natural-fibre composite in 8-10 worst affected villages around Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu). The community sheds found excellent uses as classrooms for schools, daycare centres for children, vocational training centres, village libraries, dispensaries and doctors’ rooms for health centres, storage of supplies, offices for local government employees, etc. Each community shed, measuring 44.6 m² (7.3 m long x 6.1 m wide x 3.65 m high), was made using 12 mm-thick jute-coir composite boards on the walls and roof supported on a steel structure (using channels and angles). Each shed was provided with an FRP sandwich door and two windows made of jute-coir composite boards. The flooring had a sandfilled construction covered with PCC slabs.

Fig. 4: Library and health centre, shelter from the inside, play school

forest reserves, natural-fibre composites based on renewable resources could be the ideal choice of material for the building & construction sector. An efficient mechanism such as the Advanced Composites Programme can be instrumental for achieving the desired objectives and can help in synergizing the users and industry, so that products can reach the market with a shorter gestation period. Such objective-oriented and demand-driven projects on novel composite technology with the involvement of stakeholders may go a long way in developing innovative composite applications meeting international quality requirements and wider acceptance by the users. n
More information: www.tifac.org.in

Conclusion
When developing new materials, there is now a growing emphasis on criteria such as environmental durability, embedded energy and fire resistance. With ever-depleting

28 jec composites magazine / No77 December 2012

http://www.tifac.org.in

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #77 - December 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #77 - December 2012