Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 7838–7844

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Affordable housing: Cost effective construction materials for

economically weaker section
M. Arun a,⇑, K. Baskar b, B.S. Geethapriya a, M. Jayabarathi a, R. Angayarkkani a
a
PSG Institute of Technology and Applied Research, Coimbatore 641 062, India
b
National Institute of Technology, Trichy 620015, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In any populous country shelter for everyone is an emerging need. This leads to a concept of affordable
Available online 25 January 2021 housing for developing countries, especially for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). An experimen-
tal investigation has been made with an aim to suggest a cost effective construction technique in order to
Keywords: build an affordable house for EWS people. In this attempt, various cost effective materials such as EPS
Affordable housing (Expanded polystyrene), coconut shell, Foundry sand, Fly ash were used. A separate concrete mix propor-
Low cost material tion was designed and adopted for every cost effective material used in this work. The slab panel with the
Economically weaker section
size of1.50 20 and their companion test specimens were also cast and tested. Three different types of rein-
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)
Geogrid
forcements were adopted in this investigation such as Geogrid, Mild steel rod of 6 mm diameter and two
layer of wire mesh having 1 mm diameter with 10 mm spacing on both the directions were adopted as
three different reinforcements in this investigation. Finally, 15 numbers of slab panels were tested for
gradually increased uniformly distributed load with simply supported condition. The cost analysis to cast
every slab was made and obtained an optimum cost effective material with high strength.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Con-
ference on Materials, Manufacturing, and Machining for Industry 4.0.

1. Introduction of aggregate by EPS beads is 30%.The Workability of EPS concrete

The dream of a common man who is having an average income
in a developing country is to have a own house. The ability of a
common man to own anything without spoiling their day to day
life activities can be called as affordability. Therefore, by merging
these and also by targeting the Economically Weaker Section [EWS]
people, the concept of affordable housing is becoming an emerging
need in the national as well as international agenda.
Through traditional construction methods and by consuming
low cost technologies 26.11% and 22.68% of cost of building can
be saved and also the concrete containing 10% and 25% of crushed
coconut shell as a replacement of stone chips accomplish the
requirements of light weight concrete [2]. There is no remarkable
variation in the bond strength observed up to 25% replacement
of coarse aggregate by crushed coconut shell [5]. By using EPS as
a replacement of coarse aggregate, structurally light weight con-
crete can be done. To obtain better Flexural strength, split tensile
strength, compressive strength the optimum level of replacement
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: arun@psgitech.ac.in (M. Arun).
increases with increase in percentage of polystyrene as a partial
replacement of aggregate [3]. The partial replacement of cement
by fly ash is gaining importance day by day. For lower grade of
cement such as M20, the replacement of cement by flyash having
the considerable increase in strength at 25%. Affordable housing
creates targeted policies which makes more accessible, providing
subsidies and favourable terms on par with financing of infrastruc-
ture. Based on the material availability in particular region the
building materials are selected so that transportation cost of total
30% of construction budget is approximately reduced [4].
2. Plan of affordable residential building
A scheme introduced in June 2015 by the Indian government is
‘‘Pradhan Mantri Awas yojana” which aims to provide homes at
affordable prices for the economically weaker section people
[14]. According to ‘‘Pradhan Mantri Awas yojana” the maximum
size of a house allotted for economically weaker section people is
300sq feet.For the size of 300 square feet, house plan has been pre-
pared using AUTOCAD Fig. 1. By considering the size of single

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.12.265
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Materials, Manufacturing, and Machining for Industry 4.0.
M. Arun, K. Baskar, B.S. Geethapriya et al.
Fig. 1. Proposed plan of affordable residential building.
dwelling unit of economically weaker section, the actual size of the
slab is 16’11’5.2’ as length, breadth and depth. The slab size is
scale down to the length of 2’, to breath of 1.5’ and to the thickness
of 0.8’.
To check the compressive strength (or) carrying capacity of wall
panels, the cubes were cast and tested. The slabs were used to
study the flexural strength of the materials.
3. Experimental investigation
3.1. Materials used
A 43 grade of cement and manufactured sand were used in this
work. A non-biodegradable Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) having the
characteristics of thermal insulation and impact resistance was
also used to replace the coarse aggregate. The coarse aggregate
was partially replaced by coconut shell. A corrosion resistance
welded mesh was used as one of the types of reinforcement in
slabs. With the purpose of changing the brittle failure into ductile
failure and also to increase the flexural strength the geogrid were
also used as reinforcement. The plain mild steel bars of diameter
3 mm were also used as reinforcement as conventional reinforce-
ment for comparison purposes Fig. 2.
3.2. Properties of the material used
3.2.1. Fly ash
Water demand for the concrete will be reduced by 10% if fly ash
is replaced with 20% of cement. The workability of the plastic con-
crete is improved. For the hardened concrete, the strength and
durability of concrete is increased. In addition to that, heat of
hydration is also reduced [1].
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Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 7838–7844
3.2.2. Foundry sand
The use of foundry sand in concrete helps in the waste utiliza-
tion. The use of 15% of foundry sand as a partial replacement of fine
aggregate will not affect the strength and durability of concrete
[11].
3.2.3. Expanded polystyrene
The partial replacement of EPS as a fine aggregate helps in the
waste management. It helps in the thermal insulation characteris-
tics as well as impact resistance [12]. Since EPS is a non biodegrad-
able material, use of these granules in concrete helps in valuable
disposable method.
3.2.4. Coconut shell
The use of coconut shell as partial replacement of coarse aggre-
gate will increase the impact resistance of concrete [10]. The water
absorption of concrete is also increased. The use of natural aggre-
gate in concrete makes it a environmental friendly construction
[13].
3.2.5. Welded mesh
It helps in the even surface and firm structure. It also helps in
quick installation process. It is corrosion and oxidation resistance.
It is also used in making frames [6].
3.2.6. Geogrid
The geo grid helps in providing the flexural strength and also
the ductile behaviour. The geo grid as the reinforcement in slabs
will provide the ductile failure rather than the brittle failure.
3.2.7. Conventional reinforcement
The conventional steel reinforcement in concrete will provide
the flexural strength to the plain concrete. The deflection of the
M. Arun, K. Baskar, B.S. Geethapriya et al.
Fig. 2. Different materials used.
slab is also increased instead of the sudden failure in the plain
slabs.
4. Mix design
The process of selecting suitable ingredients to make concrete
and to determine their relative proportions, with the objective of
producing concrete with minimum strength and durability as eco-
nomically as possible.
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Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 7838–7844
The mix proportions are determined for the five different con-
crete mixes used in this work. The details about the combination
for five different concrete mixes are as follows:
Mix 1 : Cement + MSand + Coarse aggregate
Mix 2 : Cement + Flyash + Foundry Sand + Coarse aggregate
Mix 3 : Cement + Flyash + MSand + Coarse aggregate
Mix 4 : Cement + Flyash + MSand + EPS + Coarse aggregate
Mix 5 : Cement + Flyash + MSand + Coarse aggregate + Coco-
nut shell
Mix 1 is the conventional one. In Mix 2, cement is replaced with
15% of fly ash and M- sand is completely replaced by Foundry sand.
M. Arun, K. Baskar, B.S. Geethapriya et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 7838–7844

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram to transfer the load as UDL on slab.

Fig. 4. EPS cube.

Fig. 6. Formation of crack in slab.

The mix proportions for various mixes are calculated and

shown in Table 1.
The replacement ratio for 5 different mixes are given in Table 2.

5. Details of specimens

5.1. Slabs

1. Slab with normal reinforcement

Fig. 5. Testing of slab (EPS with RCC).
In Mix 3, cement is replaced with 15% of fly ash. In Mix 4, Coarse
aggregate is replaced with 20% of EPS. In Mix 5, coarse aggregate
is replaced with 20% of coconut shell. The experimental and soft-
ware analysis for all the slabs are determined.
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First slab is casted with reinforcement rods made of mild steel
of 5 mm diameter bars which is placed transversely and longitudi-
nally in a number of 7 and 11 in which the aluminum bars are tied
with one another sharing equal spacing of 5 cm.
2. Slab with chicken mesh
Second slab is casted with chicken mesh laid as two layers in
both the directions of diameter 1 mm of spacing 1 cm between
the mesh pieces.
M. Arun, K. Baskar, B.S. Geethapriya et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 7838–7844

Fig. 7. EPS with normal reinforcement.

Fig. 8. Compressive strength for cube.

Fig. 9. Flexural strength for slab.

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M. Arun, K. Baskar, B.S. Geethapriya et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 7838–7844

Table 1 the centre of the each 16 mm diameter bars in perpendicular direc-

Mix proportions.
S. No. Mix
1 Mix
2 Mix
3 Mix
4 Mix
5 Mix
tion [7].
Ratio By using this loading setup the single point load is converted as
1 1 : 1.56 : 2.9 uniformly distributed load over the slab. The slabs were tested in a
2 1 : 0.18 : 1.8 : 0.002 : 3.42 100 kN capacity computer controlled UTM.
3 1 : 0.18 : 1.83 : 2.74 : 0.14 Before placing the slabs for testing all the slabs were white
4 1 : 0.18 : 1.83 : 3.42 washed and marked the grids with the dimension of 2 cm  2 cm.
5 1 : 0.18 : 2.32 : 3.42

Table 5
3. Slab with geogrid Comparison for cost and strength of slabs.

Third slab with geogrid along both the directions. S. No Description of Slabs Cost (Rs.) Strength (N/mm2)
1 Conventional RCC 25,000 9.45
2 EPS RCC 22,825 15.9
6. Experimental setup 3 Fly ash RCC 23,310 4.8
4 Foundry sand RCC 27,045 3.95
Based on the dimensions in an affordable house plan, roof a 5 Coconut shell RCC 24,895 2.95
6 Conventional chicken mesh 21,180 5.65
1/8th scale down model of actual slab was tested. Since, the actual 7 EPS chicken Mesh 19,085 5.3
slab in practice is subject to uniformly distributed load, the labora- 8 Fly ash chicken mesh 12,875 4.85
tory scale down model of the slabs were also tested again uni- 9 Foundry sand chicken mesh 16,610 4.45
formly distributed load with the consideration of two way slab 10 Coconut shell chicken Mesh 14,460 4.7
11 Conventional Geogrid 21,800 5.65
action. An indigenous setup to transfer the load as uniformly dis-
12 EPS Geogrid 19,705 14.7
tributed load on the slab was made [8]. 13 Fly ash Geogrid 13,500 2.50
In order to create a load transfer setup as uniformly distributed 14 Foundry sand Geogrid 17,230 5.35
load 3 numbers of 16 mm diameter bars are placed parellelly with 15 Coconut shell Geogrid 15,080 2.15
the distance of 60 mm. A 32 mm diameter bar is welded exactly at

Table 2
Replacement ratios for various materials.

S. No Mix ratio Cement (kg) Fine aggregate (kg) Coarse aggregate (kg) Replaced material Replaced with Amount of replacement
% (kg)
1 Mix 1 1.39 2.17 4.05 – – – –
2 Mix 2 1.18 – 4.05 Flyash, Foundry Sand Cement, Fine Aggregate 15, 100 0.21, 2.74
3 Mix 3 1.18 2.17 4.05 Flyash Cement 15 0.21
4 Mix 4 1.18 1.74 4.05 Flyash, EPS Cement, Fine aggregate 15, 20 0.21, 0.0003
5 Mix 5 1.18 2.17 3.25 Flyash, Coconut Shell Cement, Coarse Aggregate 15, 20 0.21, 0.15

Table 3
Compressive strength.

Specimen Compressive strength in N/mm2

Conventional Fly Ash Foundry Sand Coconut Shell EPS
Specimen 1 23.9 28.6 18.4 17.35 19.7
Specimen 2 25.5 24.4 21 18.9 21.3
Specimen 3 26.7 23.7 21.58 19.5 19.9
Average 25.2 25.5 20.32 18.5 20.3

Table 4
Test results for slab.

S. No Description of Slabs Ultimate Load (kN) Deflection (mm) Flexural Strength (N/mm2)
1 Conventional RCC 1.890 3.250 9.45
2 Fly ash RCC 0.96 3.11 4.8
3 Foundry sand RCC 0.790 2.070 3.95
4 EPS RCC 3.180 13.89 15.9
5 Coconut shell RCC 0.59 4.47 2.95
6 Conventional Geogrid 1.13 2.34 5.65
7 Fly ash Geogrid 0.50 5.07 2.50
8 Foundry sand Geogrid 1.07 10.30 5.35
9 EPS Geogrid 2.93 12.8 14.7
10 Coconut shell Geogrid 0.43 2.31 2.15
11 Conventional chicken mesh 1.13 2.14 5.65
12 Fly ash chicken mesh 0.97 1.06 4.85
13 Foundry sand chicken mesh 0.89 1.82 4.45
14 EPS chicken Mesh 0.6 4.3 5.3
15 Coconut shell chicken Mesh 0.72 3.9 4.7

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M. Arun, K. Baskar, B.S. Geethapriya et al.
The deflections were recorded for each increment in loading and
also the crack patterns were observed [9] (Figs. 3–6).
7. Software analysis
ANSYS software is used for the software analysis of all the slabs.
The scale down size of the slab is 600 mm as a length, 450 mm as a
breadth and 20 mm as a thickness of the slab. The support condi-
tion of all the slabs is simply supported. An uniformly distributed
load is applied on the slabs.
 Equivalent stress
In EPS with normal reinforcement, by software analysis the max
equivalent stress is 5.5kN/m2 and min equivalent stress is 0.31kN/
m2. For the same mix, the max and min equivalent stress from
experimental analysis are 4.47kN/m2 and 0.37kN/m2 respectively.
 Equivalent Strain
In EPS with normal reinforcement, by software analysis the max
equivalent strain is 0.0033 and min equivalent strain is 0.0013. For
the same mix, the max and min equivalent strain from experimen-
tal analysis are 0.0056 and 0.0012 respectively Fig. 7.
 Loading diagram and Support conditions
In the above diagram the points A and B are the supports. The
point C is pressure that is uniformly distributed throughout the
slab.
8. Result and discussion
From Fig. 8, it was observed that the compressive strength of
the EPS is relatively below the average compressive strength of
all materials compared I this investigation. From, Fig. 9, it was wit-
nessed that the EPS category of materials exhibited higher flexural
strength than other materials used in this investigation. This may
be attributed due to the Poisson ratio value of the tested slabs. Fur-
ther, it is suggested that the slabs are reinforced with different
types of reinforcement that leads to the higher flexural strength
value.
9. Conclusion
This work is aimed to suggest a cost effective construction
material so that it is affordable for economically weaker section
people. The growing trends in a modern construction industry is
either to develop or to use a low cost sustainable construction
materials as far as possible. The various cost effective materials
are tried in this work such as
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Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 7838–7844
EPS (Expanded polystyrene), coconut shell, Foundry sand and
Fly ash. The expenses for the construction of scale down model
of a slab has been computed for all the 15 types of slabs cast in this
study. The strength of these slabs are obtained by testing all the
slabs upto failure. Based the expense incurred to cast the slab
and the strength of the slab, a cost effective construction material
is recommended (Tables 3–5). It is concluded that EPS with normal
reinforcement exhibits the high strength with low cost followed by
EPS Geogrid than the conventional slab.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
This work is carried out in Concrete laboratory of Civil Engi-
neering department at PSG Institute of Technology and Applied
Research, Coimbatore, India and this was supported by Science
and Engineering Research Board, India, under the scheme of TARE
SERB/TAR/2019/000222.
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