CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND

Now a days there is a need for quick period construction for our society. By
comparing the commercial concrete construction, the Rapid wall construction gives
good result for our construction needs in the society. Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum
(GFRG) is a new building material and it is also known as Rapidwall building panel.
It is mainly used to overcome the lack of natural resources like River sand, water,
gravel, etc., The product gypsum is abundantly available as an industrial byproduct
waste. GFRG panels area composite material consisting of calcined gypsum plaster
and glass fibre.
The panel contains cavities that may be filled with concrete and reinforced with steel
bars to impart additional strength and provide ductility and also it can be used for the
construction of walls, floor and roof slabs.Ithas lightweight, high compressive
strength, shearing strength, flexural strength, stiffness and ductility. It has high level
of resistance to fire, heat, water and corrosion. Concrete infill with vertical
reinforcement rods enhances its vertical and lateral load capacities. The rapid wall
buildings are also resistant to earthquakes, cyclones and fire. The panel was originally
developed by GFRG Building System.
Australia and used since 1990 in Australia for mass scale building construction. Now,
these panels are being produced in India and the technology is being used in India.
Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) panels are new building materials that are
suitable for rapid mass-scale building construction. This product was originally
developed and used since 1990 in Australia by Rapidwall Building Systems. GFRG
panels are qualified for carbon credits by the World Bank under Kyoto protocol and
certified as green building material by The United Nations Framework on Climate
Change (UNFCC).

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1.2 GLASS FIBRE REINFORCED GYPSUM (GFRG) PANELS

Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) panels are new building materials that are
suitable for rapid mass-scale building construction. GFRG panels are made essentially
of high quality gypsum plaster (beta plaster), reinforced with glass fibre rovings and
special additives. The panel, manufactured to a thickness of 124mm under carefully
controlled conditions to a length of 12m and height of 3m, contains cavities that may
be unfilled, partially filled or fully filled with reinforced concrete as per structural
requirement. Experimental studies and research in Australia, China and India have
shown that GFRG panels, suitably filled with plain reinforced concrete possesses
substantial strength to act not only as load bearing elements but also as shear wall,
capable of resisting lateral loads due to earthquake and wind. GFRG panel can
also be used advantageously as in-fills (non-load bearing) in combination with RCC
framed columns and beams (conventional framed construction of multi-storey
building) without any restriction on number of storeys . Micro-beams and RCC screed
(acting as T-beam) can be used as floor/ roof slab.
The GFRG Panel is manufactured in semi-automatic plant using slurry of calcined
gypsum plaster mixed with certain chemicals including water repellent emulsion and
glass fibre rovings, cut, spread and imbedded uniformly into the slurry with the help
of screen roller. The panels are dried at a temperature of 275oC before shifting to
storage area or the cutting table. The wall panels can be cut as per dimensions &
requirements of the building planned.
It is an integrated composite building system using factory made prefab load bearing
cage panels & monolithic cast-in situ RC in filled for walling & floor/roof slab,
suitable for low rise to medium rise (single to 10 storeys) buildings.

1.3 CLASSIFICATION OF GFRG PANELS

1.3.1Water resistant grade

GFRG panel for external walls, in wet areas and as floor and wall formwork for
concrete filling.
1.3.2 General Grade
GFRG panels for structural application or non–structural application in dry areas.
These panels are general unsuitable for use as wall or floor formwork

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1.3.3 Partition Grade
GFRG panel a non–structural internal partition walls in dry areas only.

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 CHAPTER 2
GLASS FIBER REINFORCED GYPSUM PANELS

2.1 GENERAL
GFRG panels also called Rapid Wall is an energy efficient green building material
with huge potential for use as load bearing and no load bearing panels. GFRG is
manufactured using Phospho-gypsum as a core material, which is generated as a
byproduct of phosphoric acid plant. These rapid walls can used for both internal and
external walls. GFRG is suitable for hybrid construction in multi – storey buildings.
GFRG panels manufactured at FACT-RCF Building Product Limited (FRBL) in
Kochi.

2.2 DIMENSIONS GFRG PANELS

GFRG panel are manufactured to a standard size of 12.0 m length, 3.0 m height and
124 mm thick, with modular cavities, as shown in Fig2.1.These cellular cavities are
formed between outer skins (flanges) , 15 mm thick, and interconnecting ribs, 20 mm
thick, at 250 mm spacing. Each one metre length of GFRG panel has four such cavities
of size 230 mm length and 94 mm wide, as shown in Fig 2.2

Fig 2.1 Elevation and cross section of GFRG panel [6]

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 Fig 2.2 Enlarged view of a typical cell [6]

2.3 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

i. Axial load capacity - 160 KN/m (16Tons/m)

ii. Compressive strength - 73.2Kg/cm2

iii. Unit Shear strength - 50.90N/m2

iv. Flexural strength - 21.25Kg/cm2

v. Tensile Strength - 35KN/m

vi. Thermal conductivity -0.617

vii. Elastic Modulus (E) -3000-6000Mpa

viii. Sound transmission (STC) – 40

ix. Water absorption - <5%

x. Coefficient of thermal expansion-12×10-6mm/°C.

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2.4 MANUFACTURING OF GFRG PANELS

Phosphors gypsum which is a byproduct of phosphoric acid plant is calcined in

calciner at 140-1500 C at the rate of 15MT/hr. of calcined plaster. This calcined
plaster is stored in product silo having capacity of 250MT.The plaster is then
transferred to batch hopper by screw conveyors and through Entoleter in wall panel
manufacturing area. This area consists of 6 casting tables having dimensions of 3m x
12m, one crab having mixer and glass roving delivery system is for delivering slurry
and glass roving for three tables. The chemicals are added in water & mixed and then
plaster is added & mixed to form slurry. One layer of slurry is laid on the table by the
crab followed by a layer of glass roving. This glass roving is embedded in to the slurry
with the help of screen roller. Another layer of slurry is poured followed by a layer of
glass roving this layer is pushed inside the ribs with the help of temping bar. Finally a
layer of glass roving is laid for the top face of the wall panel. After getting final
Gilmore wall panel is lifted from the casting table to ACROBA frame and shifted to
dryer for drying. The wall panel is dried at a temperature of 275OC for
60minutes.After drying, the wall panel is either shifted to storage area or on the
cutting table. The wall panel is cut as per dimensions supplied by the consumer and
the cut pieces are transferred to stillage‟s which are specially made for transporting
wall panel. The liquid effluent generated during manufacturing process is recycled
back in the system for manufacturing of new wall panels. The solid waste which is
generated while manufacturing wall panels is recycled back to the calciner after
crushing and separating plaster & glass roving in recycle plant. The above system is a
batch process. Six wall panels can be manufactured in eight hour shift per table.
Similarly, 36 wall panels can be manufactured in eight hour shift with 6tables.

2.5 INSTALLATION OF GFRG PANELS

Prior to delivery of the panels the surveyors establish and mark all main grid lines on
the foundations or the concrete suspended floor onto which GFRG panel is to be
positioned. Using the Architectural layout drawings the erection crew marks out the
wall positions in reference to these grid lines. Then the Holes are drilled in the
concrete foundation, starter bars inserted and waterproof membrane applied. After
this Pre-cut GRFG panels are lifted by crane onto the prepared concrete floor or
foundation. Using GFRG lifting jaws, the pre-cut GFRG panels are decanted, one by

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one, from the stillage and placed into their final position, propped and screwed
together. Plumbing and electrical services are installed in the voids and if required,
concrete is poured or insulation inserted into the cavities. Post construction the GFRG
panels are finished in a conventional manner. Each panel has (A) and a (B) side.
Normally the smoother (A) side is installed internally whereas the (B) side is used
externally. External renders or decorative facings can be added externally and
internally the panels flushed and finished ready for primers.

2.6ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GFRG PANELS

2.6.1 Advantages

These can be given as follows: Very fast construction, reduced hassles of construction
with less material, saving in transport cost of sand, bricks/concrete blocks, granite
metal, cement, steel, water, scaffolding and shuttering materials, fire proof, strong and
quality construction, earthquake resistant building at no extra cost. less maintenance
cost, less recurring cost for cooling or heating of indoor space. However, in terms of
the application of GFRG wall is limited for its poor lateral stiffness even though it is
filled concrete in its hollow cores, its lateral stiffness to be suitable for small high-rise
residential building is a valuable choice for researchers

2.6.2 Disadvantages

The handing, fixing and equipment requirement for these panels is fairly different
from conventional style. Although it is not very difficult to learn the right techniques,
it will eventually take time for becoming and industry trend. The Panels are
customized according the design and drawings of your house when manufactured.
Unfortunately, you cannot make a lot of changes during fixing stage. Hence planning
is important. Also the doors, windows and other openings are made by cutting
through the panels, hence the planning for placing doors and windows also needs to
be extensive. In India, it is very likely that the plot is already surrounded by built
house. The GFRG technique needs empty space around the plot so that cranes can be
placed while fixing panels. Also the panels need special care while storing them and
need more space as compared to cement/blocks. These 2 factors make it difficult for a
full scale implementation in India empty space to store and move panels is needed.
The fact that panels are specifically made for a design and transported from factory,
the price of each type of panel goes done significantly only when used on a large

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 scale. Comparatively you can save 25–30% compared to that of conventional
building method and even more if used on large scale.

2.7 APPLICATIONS OF GFRG PANELS

i. As load bearing walls in buildings, to resist gravity load.
ii. As partition or infill walls in multi-storeyed framed RC structures.
iii. As compound walls in combination with minimum quantity of concrete.
iv. As shear walls, to resist both gravity load and lateral load from earthquakes and
wind also as walls of lift- well and parapet walls.
v. As floor slabs / roof slabs, pitched roof slabs and also as staircase waist slabs and
midlanding-slabs.

2.8 COMPARISON BETWEEN RAPID WALL AND

CONVENTIONAL BUILDING

The following tables shows the comparison of quantity of materials used ,cost of
construction and time for construction between a conventional two storey building
and a two story building made by using GFRG panels.
Table No 2.1 Comparison of cost of construction

Materials/items Rapid wall Conventional Savings in %

building building

Cement 16 tons 32.55 tons 50.8

Steel 1800 kg 2779 kg 35.2

Sand 20 cum 83.87 cum 76

Granite 38 cum 52.46 cum 27.56

Brick - 57200 -

GFRG panel 500 sqm -

Water 50000 ltr 200000 ltr 75

Labour 389 man days 1200 man days 67.59

Construction time 21 days 120 days 82

Wt. of
superstructure 170 tons 490 tons 65
Construction cost Rs. 13.25 lakhs 18.27 lakhs 61.5

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 Table No 2.2 Comparison of construction time

S. No. Item of Work RCC (inDays) GFRG (inDays)

1 Earth work Excavation 2-4 2-4
2 C.C Bed 1:4:8 2-3 2-3
3 Brickwork inFoundation 5-7 5-7
4 Plinth Beam with DPC 2-4 2-4
5 Columns 9-10 -
6 Walls (Brick / GFRG) 10-15 2-4
7 Beams 15-18 -
8 Lintels and Sunshades 4-5 2-3
9 Slab 28 14
10 Plastering 10-12 -
11 White Wash 3-4 -
12 Colour Wash 2-3 2-3
13 Flooring 3 3
Total Duration 98-120 34-44
From these two tables it is clear that construction using GFRG panels require less
materials, time and cost

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 CHAPTER 3
CASE STUDY

3.1 GFRG BUILDING AT IIT MADRAS

Experimental and theoretical studies on GFRG panels have been carried out at IIT
Madras for over a decade. To demonstrate the application of this technology, a two-
storeyed GFRG residential building has been built at the IIT Madras campus. The
built-up area of this model building is 184 sq. m. This model building consists of a
total of four apartments. This includes two flats of 25 sq. m. carpet area each and
another two flats of 46.5 sq.m. each. The superstructure including the finishes was
completed in a record time of 29 days after laying the foundation. The use of
prefabricated light-weight GFRG panels for the entire building system facilitated
substantial reduction in the building self-weight, construction duration and workforce
requirement. There is great potential toutilize this technology for affordable mass
housing projects in India.

Fig 3.1 GFRG building at IIT Madras [5]

3.1.1 Research and development in GFRG panels
GFRG building systems, typically comprising vertical walls and horizontal slabs, are
designed as load- bearing systems, without beams and columns. Selected cavities in

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 the walls and slabs are filled with low-grade concrete and suitably reinforced with
minimal steel. In the case of walls of buildings up to two or three storeys, only few
cavities need to be infilled (typically every third cavity, reinforced with one 8 mm
diameter bar); but for high rise buildings, all the cavities have to be infilled with
concrete and suitably reinforced (with one or two bars in each cavity), to impart
additional strength and ductility. The empty cavities of the panel can be utilised for
electrical wiring and piping works, and can also be filled with quarry dust mixed with
five percent of cement and water (for increased security and to facilitate nailing on the
walls). Buildings with GFRG load bearing systems in combination with reinforced
concrete can be as high as 8-10 storeys in low seismic zones. Presently, buildings up
to 4 storeys have been constructed in India. Research has also been carried out in
identifying waterproofing chemicals that are suitable for both GFRG and concrete, for
ensuring prolonged life of these buildings.
Based on these studies at IIT Madras, GFRG has been approved as a building
material suitable for construction of buildings in India up to 10 storeys by BMTPC
(Building Materials Technology Promotion Council), which has published the
following manuals for adoption inpractice

i. GFRG / Rapidwall Building Structural Design Manual

ii. Manual on waterproofing of GFRG / Rapidwall Buildings

iii. Schedule of Items and Rate analysis for GFRG Construction
A BIS code on design and construction of GFRG has been prepared and is presently
under wide circulation. A draft of the Method of Construction of GFRG / Rapid wall
Buildings has also been prepared for publication. These standards and guidelines
serve to assist architects, guidelines serve to assist architects, structural engineers and
construction engineers on the design and construction of GFRG buildings in India.
Guide lines serve to assist architects, structural engineers and construction engineers
on the design and construction of GFRG buildings in India

3.1.2 Planning of the project

Preplanning of the project is most important task before taking up any GFRG
construction project, as this helps in maximizing efficiency in both construction and
saving .While carrying architectural design it is desirable to adopt room size,
whereby the GFRG panels (available in 12m × 3m) can be cut to size in such a

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 manner that they can be optimally used as walls and floors, with minimum wastage.
With regard to the actual construction, it is important to prepare a bar chart with the
sequence of activities to be done along with the time schedule for each. Also, it is to
be made sure that all the required construction materials, including panels, and
equipment (for hoisting the panels and screed concreting) are procured and made
available at the site.
In addition to the usual drawings used for any conventional construction work,
the following additional drawings are also needed:
i. Network of reinforced concrete plinth beams and starter bars in position

ii. Floor plan drawing showing the location of panels and the cavities that need
to be reinforced
iii. Network of reinforced concrete concealed beams for floor / roof slab

iv. Wall and floor/ roof panel cutting drawings (Cutting drawing indicates the
dimensions of the cut panels (cut according to the site requirement)
including panel notations and openings for windows and doors).
After carrying out the structural design, “cutting drawings” need to be prepared (with
notations marked properly) and sent to the GFRG panel manufacturer so that all the
panels can be cut perfectly and shipped to the site. The openings for doors and
windows will also be cut, and hence there will not be any provision for changing their
locations at sites. The cutting drawings have to be prepared efficiently in order to
avoid unnecessary wastage of the panel and to minimise the number of joints. If the
planning is not done properly, additional works like manual cutting of the panel at the
site can cause delay in the project and can also be difficult and sometimes expensive.
The construction was planned to be completed (fit for occupation) within 40 days: 11
days for foundation work and 29 days for the super structure, and this was
successfully accomplished. The foundation provided for the GFRG demo building
consisted of fly-ash block masonry, resting on 900mm wide concrete strip base at 1m
depth below ground as shown in figure 3.2

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 Fig 3.2 Reinforcement laid on the plinth beam [5]
The waterproofing of the foundation was done subsequently as per the Manual of
water proofing of GFRG structures as shown in figure 3.3

Fig 3.3 Water proofing [6]

The foundation along with the network of reinforced concrete plinth beams with
starter bars was completed in 11 days as shown in fig 3.4

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 Fig 3.4 Foundation along with start-up bars [6]

3.1.3 Construction of Super Structure

The superstructure construction starts with the lifting and erection of wall panels on
to the previously prepared foundation on which a plinth beam (with starter bars) is
already cast. Erection and casting of each component of the super structure is shown
in the following sections. The entire superstructure of the demo building, including
the final finishes, was completed in 29 days. The pane l shall then be supported
laterally using props as shown in Fig 3.5.

Fig 3.5 Wall panels at the ground floor have been erected [6]

The reinforcement in the appropriate cavities have to be inserted and tied to the starter
bars. Next, the infill of concrete is to be done. Prior to in filling of concrete, the joint
between the reinforced concrete plinth beam and the panel needs to be sealed-off using

14
appropriate waterproofing chemical, to prevent leakage of concrete slurry. The initial
filling of concrete shall be limited to a depth of 300 mm (to avoid possible bursting of
the GFRG skin); this filling will also serve to maintain the panel in a sturdy vertical
position. It is recommended that the cavities in the panels be filled by pouring concrete
in 4 stages, with an interval of 2 hours in between the successive pours. All the
cavities at the location of windows other than the cut portion need to be necessarily
filled with concrete. Also, in the case of door and window openings, it is to be made
sure that the adjacent cavities are concrete infilled. Every third cavity of the walls of
the demo building was infilled with M20 concrete and reinforced with a single 8mm
diameter bar as shown in gig 3.6

Fig 3.6 pouring of concrete into the wall panel cavity [5]

The walls of the GFRG building are likely to be subjected to nailing / screwing for
various uses. The risk for the breakage of panels or for the development of cracks lies
only when the cavities remain unfilled. Hence all the empty cavities were infilled with
quarry dust mixed with 5% cement and water. Wherever electrical pipelines or
conduits had to be provided, the cavity was left empty for this purpose, and
subsequently infilled.

For all openings on the wall panels (without sunshades) up to a span of 1.2 m,
reinforced concrete lintels need not be provided. In the case of sunshades, ribs and
outer flanges of the cavities on the top portion of windows need to be cut open
(including bearing) and reinforcement for the lintel beam and sunshade is to be

15
inserted and concreted.
Once the sunshade is concreted, then the remaining height of the cavities of the wall
above this is to be infilled with concrete to a height of 2.65 m. This is illustrated in Fig
3.7.

Fig 3.7 Constructing lintels and sunshades [5]

At the top of the wall, provision shall be made for insertion of a horizontal tie beam
(200 mm deep). The reinforcement cage is inserted into the top of the wall by cutting
200 mm of web prior to concreting. The embedded horizontal tie beam runs
throughout the length of the walls and provides a box-like action to the building,
preventing out-of-plane failure of the walls in the event of an earthquake.

i. Laying of floor / roof slab panels

Before the slab panels of the demo building were erected, steel beam supports were
provided at the top level of the wall panel to prevent the sudden deflection and hence
failure of the GFRG slab while concreting, as shown in Fig 3.8.

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 Fig 3.8 Propping done for placement of GFRG slab [5]

These were supported by means of props provided at the corners. The acrospans
were aligned perpendicular to the direction of cavities. Before the slab panels of the
demo building were erected, steel beam supports were provided at the top level of
the wall panel to prevent the sudden deflection and hence failure of the GFRG slab
while concreting. These were supported by means of props provided at the corners.
The acrospans were aligned perpendicular to the direction of cavities.
The panels were then lifted horizontally by means of spreader bars attached with soft
slings and were laid on the supporting wall panels giving a bearing of 40 mm, shown
in Fig 3.9

Fig 3.9 Panel lifted using two spreader bar [5]

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 Shuttering using 6mm plywood was provided throughout the perimeter. Then the top
level of the reinforced concrete screed was marked on the side shutter using a laser
level (water tube level can also be used). A 10 gauge weld mesh of 100 x 100 mm
size was then spread over the entire slab giving a cover of 20mm from the top of the
GFRG panel at a spacing of 750mm in both directions. After this, concreting was
done as shown in Fig 3.10.

Fig 3.10 .Concreting the roof slab [5]

ii. Staircase

The staircase waist slabs and mid-landing slabs were constructed using GFRG. Flanges
from all the cavities were cut open from the top and were reinforced concrete infilled.
Landing beams were provided at both the floor slab and mid-landing level. These were
also constructed using GFRG panels. In a similar way, the construction work for the
upper storey was also done. The parapet walls and the staircase headroom were also
constructed using GFRG as shown in Fig 3.11

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 Fig 3.11 GFRG Panels used as waist slab for stair case [5]

iii. Water proofing and Finishing

Tests have shown that GFRG panels absorb very less water. The water absorption of
the panels is found to be less than 2% even after 24 hours of immersion in water; the
panels are therefore water resistant.
Since the panels are water resistant, it is not possible to paint the walls directly, as
there is likelihood of peeling of paint. Primers available in the market currently are
suitable for only use on cementitious surfaces. Hence, a special primer, developed for
GFRG, was applied on the panel surface before painting.
In addition to providing bonding to the paint, the primer also has the property of
enhancing the abrasion resistance of the panel material. The type of primer as
specified in a manual was used in the demo building Alternate primer shave also been
identified. Eventhough GFRG panels do not require any plastering, it is desirable to
provide „rendering‟ on the external wall surfaces, by applying a thin layer of either
gypsum based wall plaster or cementitious wall putty, to give a smooth finish. This
wall puttyis to be mixed with suitable waterproofing chemical in order to prevent it
from peeling of from the panel, especially during rain.
The methodology adopted for priming and rendering was carried out as per a manual for
fixing tiles over the GFRG wall panel surface for toilets and kitchen, special additives
need to be used

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 CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION
The use of GFRG panels for construction of residential buildings results in
significant increase in the construction speed, reduction in the labour requirement and
construction cost, reduction in the use of energy intensive construction materials and
promotion of reuse of industrial by-product waste generated by fertilizer industries in
large magnitudes. Moreover, the use of light weight GFRG panels minimizes the
building self-weight significantly, which makes the GFRG building technology
appropriate for use in higher seismic zones. The whole building, made out of
concrete infilled GFRG panels, avoids the use of bricks (with multiple joints and
weak locations) and reduces the use of concrete significantly. The excellent surface
finish of GFRG panels eliminates the need for plastering. At least one-fifth of the
construction cost can be saved due to the use of this technology. From the durability
point of view, the life of GFRG buildings can be expected to be not less than that of
similar conventional buildings. There is great potential to utilize this technology for
affordable mass housing projects in India. Housing using GFRG is an ideal solution
for mass housing which can be rapidly built, which addresses sustainability and
delivers quality houses.

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 REFERENCE

1. Shinto Paul, Philip Cherian, Devdas Menon and A.Meher Prasad (2016), Use
of glass fibre reinforced gypsum panels with reinforced concrete infills for
construction of walls andslabs .Vol. 90, Issue 12, pp. 19-32.
2. Anjana R, Silambarasan G and P. Balamurugan (2017), Reviews On Glass
Fibre Reinforced Gypsum Panels© IJEDR 2018 | Volume 6, Issue 2
3. K. Alagusankareswari, Jenitha.G and S.Sastha Arumuga Pandi (2017),
Reviews On Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum PanelsIndian J.Sci.Res. 17 (2): 217 -
220

4. V. M. Mujeeb and R. Udhayasakthi (2018), Case Study on Glass Fiber

Reinforced Gypsum Panel Mass House Economics. 6 No. 2, 2017, pp.15-19
5. Devdas Menon (2019), Rapid affordable mass housing using glass fiber reinforcd
gypsum panels Volume 5, Issue 7, July-2014
6. www.google.com

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