Thermocol-based multi-storeys to be future quake-resistant buildings

Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (IITR), researchers have found that thermocol or Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) could resist earthquake forces on up to four-storey buildings, and thermocol could be the material of the future for the earthquake-resistant building's construction. Thermocol could be the future material for earthquake-resistant buildings construction even in the most seismic zone with thermal insulation and could also protect the energy required to develop construction materials. At the National Seismic Test Facility (NSTF) of the department of earthquake engineering, IIT Roorkee, the researchers examined a full-scale building and several wall elements built with thermocol sandwiched between two concrete layers. This project was developed under the Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) program of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, as per the release from the Ministry of Science and Technology. Adil Ahmad, the research scholar who conducted the tests, assessed the behavior of the construction under lateral forces, as earthquakes create a predominant force in the lateral direction. This project was supplemented with a detailed computer simulation of a realistic four-storey building. Supervising the research, Yogendra Singh, a professor at IITR, said that the analysis reveals that a four-storey building built with this technique is capable of resisting earthquake forces, even in most country's seismic zones, without any additional structural support. The researchers have attached this capability of earthquake resistance to the fact that the EPS layer is sandwiched between two concrete layers, having reinforcement in the form of welded wire mesh. The researcher said that during an earthquake the force being applied to a building is due to the inertia effect and hence depends on the building mass. Thermocol resists earthquakes by reducing the building mass. Besides being earthquake resistant, the EPS core use in building concrete walls can result in thermal comfort. The core gives the needed insulation against the heat transfer between the interior and exterior environment of the buildings. This can help in maintaining the building interiors warm during cold environments and cool in hot environments. Thermal comfort is an important consideration along with structural safety. Image Source Also read: Upcoming tallest residential building in Ahmedabad faces bottlenecks Also read: Buildings can now be developed within a year using new tech