Buihlin~, Sci. Vol. 2, pp. 95 96. Pergamon Press 1967. Printed in Great Britain.
Book Reviews
Plastics in Building Construction
Editor R. F. DAVIES
170 pages, 45s. (1965). Blackie & Sons, Ltd., 5 Fitzhardinge Street, Portsman Square, London, W.l
FOR C E N T U RI ES past the engineer has been deal-
ing with two basically different materials : those with
molecules whose length, breadth, and depth are
roughly of the same order; and those having
molecules of thread-like shape enormously long in
comparison with their cross-sectional dimensions.
The former fall into the category of metals and
liquids while the latter are the high-polymers like
plastics, fibre and rubber. While metals have been
known for constructional purposes for centuries
past the use of plastics in construction is very
recent. Any text, therefore, which surveys the
current scene covering the material and products
awfilable and the application and future of plastics
in construction, forms a valuable addition to the
scant literature on the subject. The present work
actually forms the proceedings of a Conference on
' Plastics in Building Construction' held at
Battersea College of Technology, in September
1964. II contains eight papers and the various
discussions which took place thereafter. Dr.
Legget, Principal of" the College, presented a short
introduction in which he indicated the interest
shown by that Institution in developing plastic
structures. According to him, research work is at
present concentrated on plastic sandwich panels
for prefabricated buildings: stress distribution in
folded plate structures: development of pyramidal
roof" systems in PVC; and design of barrel vault
roofs of prefabricated glass fibre reinforced units.
As he very aptly put it, in any ordinary domestic
house, except for lhe foundations and perhaps
some of the main structural members there is
nothing which does not or cannot incorporate
plastics in some way or the other. This was the
virtually pace-setting introduction which established
the tone of the Conference. In the morning
sessions which covered four papers, contributions
extended from a general description of the properties
of plastics in particular relation to building and the
use of plastic sandwich panels as cladding and wall
elements to the contribution of plastics to industrial-
ized buildings and structural applications. It may
surprise many to learn that there are about 40
distinct groups of plastic material now available
commercially, and this total grows every year. Out
of this there are only six materials which have a
primary importance in buildings. These are:
PVC (polyvinyl chloride): Polythene (polyethy-
95
lene); polypropylene; polymethyl methacrylate;
polyester/glass fibre, and miscellaneous expanded
plastics. Some of these are very well known and
have been in use in a variety of building components
like wall cladding, transparent roofing, ceiling
panels, floor tiles, pipes, lighting fittings and in other
semi-structural applications. Plastics have in
general low specific gravities ; high specific tenacity ;
and high thermal coefficient of expansion. They,
however, differ markedly from metals and con-
crete in their degree of rigidity. Elastic modulus is
low compared to metals and they are all combustible
although some of them do not support combustion.
Plastics admirably serve as good walling systems
because they satisfy most of the criteria such as
preventing the ingress of water, providing an
effective barrier to heat transfer, and making a
provision for the passage of sunlight, in dealing
with industrialized buildings a brief mention is made
about the cost although this reviewer would have
liked to see this particular item of economy
discussed move virulently and vigorously. It is said
that expenditure on research and development in
building in U.K. is around 0.1 per cent of the
turnover. As such there is little organized demand
for innovation from the building industry itself.
Development thus stems from the component-
producing industry which is naturally concerned
with existing applications. As the author states
the emphasis on the replacement of existing
products has naturally led to great difficulty in
gaining acceptance in the building industry where
prices are so low that in some cases the cost of a
house per pound is little more than the cost of
potatoes!! The bulk cost of most of plastics lies
between 15d. per lb and 48d. per Ib, which is
considerably higher than that of wood at 4d. per lb
to l ld. per lb. However, if prices are compared
as the material is worked into increasing degrees of
complexity the difference diminishes and in fact
could be reversed. Perhaps the most illluminating
paper in this Conference was the one by Prof.
Makowski on the Structural Applications of
Plastics. As one who has been intimately connected
with the design of bizzare structures and taken a
keen interest in the development of plastics his
paper forms an outstanding contribution. He
shows clearly how plastics can be used l\~r truly
structural applications. For example stress-skin
96 K l
structures demonstrate comincingl~ thai thei;
strength is primarily a Function of the gcomctr 3 o~
the structure, i.e. of the contiguration of the inter
connected units and dcpends only t~ :l limited
extent upon the properties of tile material,, of
which they are made. The ~.arious examples he
gives of plastics structures such as tile giant 140 t{
diameter dome recently built by Goodyear Aircralt
Company and the Ivry Market in [:rancc ha~ing
plastic-covered vaults arc examples ~orth stud? inC.
The afternoon sessions also covering four papcrs
deah with thermal insulation ~ith particuhH
reference to the properties of cellular plaslic,,: lhc
thermo-plastic and thermo-setting types o1' pre,,surc
and non-pressure plastic pipes including thcil
jointing methods and other characteristic-,: and
some aspects of economics of tile component,, of
buildings used in plastics. If an ave,'age 1000 lt ?
house needs approximately 2500 site man hour,,.
then a rationalized construction can reduce site
man hours to 800. The prefabricated plastic box
Basic Building Science
C. B. W1LBY and R. J. SALTER
200 pages, 20s. (1966). Edward Arnold, London.
T H E D E C L A R E D object of this 200 page book is
an explanation for students in architecture, building
and engineering of the basic principles of science
that apply to the construction industry. The preface
indicates that it should prove useful to those study-
ing for examinations graded upwards to the first
year of University and C.N.A.A. degrees. While
this may be true of the more elementary qualifica-
tions in these subjects the book is certainly not of a
sufficiently high standard for undergraduates. The
attempt to explain scientific principles in a scientific
manner has been over simplified.
Building is a complex of many scientific discip-
lines but it is here represented very largely as an
exercise in engineering construction. The basic
scientific principles for example that determine the
physical environment within a building are only
briefly considered with an elementary account of
heat transmission and artificial lighting. Acoustics.
a subject of considerable importance in building
design is not mentioned.
l)avie'.
type building can bc erected i)~ the Cnlptoxnacul {i
~,, little as 100 ~,ite man hour,
I'hc~c cannot bc any doubt lhal: plastic,, i~z~c ,
posiii,,e future, for in /i K. ~,he3 :~re g)'o~.ing at ar~
.:l',,Cl'JgL" ~IIII1LI{:tl I'LIIC Of dYOlllld [ } pL'r t2cll{ liiL
construction indtls|r~ ill pia',tic~: ia grox~,Htg dl ~W~
al~l-lual iatc of approximately 4 per cent. ~ h>:
c~,utcrcncc ha- clearly rexeaicd th:~ plastic buiidine>
HiU Hl,.'qtlld tile c,,HllCi dilL! iiKll ,)',i{h CX[Ci~S{\~.'
re,,emch and experilnentalam {!~chc na~lt,,.:li{![:- ~zH}
I/O! ~Illv b e used f{)r Iloll-xlIHCllIr;ti :~pplication,, htl{
CCl|l be uidized For load l~cari~:g :,!Yucture>, ~ '.~e{!
pr,~\ided !he latter arc :ati,.ma!{5 desi?ncd o:! :~>c
!'i,ght lil'~es '[he genera{ ~tandmd 1~!";,riming and
15p(*graph ) {'~ excellent atlhough ~t nmst i,,, ,a~,,!
!hal g{)ll'lC Ot" tile photographs :~t~: no! {is clcaF a-,
lhe} should be. Thi~, book should interes( aichitcc{>_
civil a n d s t r u c t u r a l engineer~,, c~mtracto>,, buiMer>
and plastic research establishment:,
'~ K. (.}HASWAI.~
The book divides building science broadly imo
three major sections: structures, materials and
building services which include heating and vent-
ilating, electricity, lighting and simple mechanics.
The first of these is treated more fully than the rest
and is well illustrated with clear diagrams and
several worked examples. The student will prob-
ably find this to be the most useful part of the book.
Elsewhere the treatment is thin except possibly the
section on materials which gives a descriptive
account of the traditional building products. It is
surprising however that glass one of the most
versatile materials used in building is not considered
except in the minor context of the reflection and
refraction of light. Plastics are not mentioned at all.
The book appears to serve little purpose as the con-
tents aretreated elsewhere and possibly in greater
detail in the specialized texts that form the academic
training of the student. Perhaps a more appropriate
title would be 'Elementary Science for students m
Building, Engineering and Construction."
A. W. PRAt~