GYPSUM

GYPSUM AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

 GYPSUM PROPERTIES AND FORMS

• Gypsum is a naturally occurring mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4.2H2O, known as
calcium sulphate dehydrate. The three hydration levels:
• Anhydrate with the chemical formula CaSO4,
• Dehydrate with the chemical formula CaSO4.2H2O (gypsum),
• Hemihydrate with the chemical formula CaSO4.1/2 H2O (plaster).
 PRODUCTION STEPS
 Excavating
 Crushing (~25 mm diameter)
 Grinding
 Heating (calcining)
 Cooling and pulverizing
 Marketing in bags
 CALCINATION
 GYPSUM ROCK WAHEN HEATED TO 100-190°C LOOSES ¾ OF ITS WATER.

CASO4.2H2O → CASO4.½H2O + 3/2 H2O

PLASTER OF PARIS
This is low burning process and named as INCOMPLETE CALCINATION.
 WHEN CALCINATION IS CARRIED OUT AT TEMPERATURES ABOVE 190°C ALL WATER IS
REMOVED.
CASO4.2H2O → CASO4 + 2H2O

GYPSUM ANHYDRITE

This is high-burning process & COMPLETE CALCINATION.

 Both of these products form gypsum rock by recombining with water.

CASO4.½H2O + 3/2H2O → CASO4.2H2O

CASO4 + 2H2O → CASO4.2H2O

Calcination process is carried out in two types of kilns.

• Kettle kilns
• Rotary kilns
 KETTLE KILN
MIXE
R

FIRE BRICK

~ 2-3 m
GYPSUM
ROCK

DISCHARGE

HEAT
~ 2.5-3 cm
ROTARY KILN
 GYPSUM PLASTERS
 OBTAINED BY INCOMPLETE CALCINATION (CASO4.½H2O)

1. Plaster of paris : is formed by incomplete calcination at 100-190°C. No admixtures are

found.

2. Hard wall plaster

Plaster of paris + admixtures (glue, sand...)
 Obtained by complete calcination (CaSO4)

1. Flooring plaster (CaSO4 with no impurities)

2. Hard finish plaster (CASO4 + AL2(SO4)3)

(CASO4 + NA2B4O7)
 PROPERTIES & USES OF GYPSUM PLASTERS
Plaster of Paris is obtained by pulverizing the gypsum (calcium sulphate hemihydrate
CaSO4 0.5H2O) which is heated to a temperature of 150 deg centigrade.
Upon addition of water, plaster of Paris (pop) becomes regular gypsum (dihydrate)
again causing the resultant material to harden. This hardening material can be used to
create moulds for casting and in construction.

Plaster of paris
• Color of finished surface: white
• Setting time: 25-30 minutes
• Coverage area (considering 12mm thickness): 21 sq.Ft per 25 kgs bag
• Compressive strength: 60-70 kg/cm2
• Shelf life: 4 months
 ADVANTAGES OF GYPSUM PLASTER
• Ease of application (workability): gypsum can be directly applied over brick/block work
without separate finishing. It is also very easy to apply and level gypsum plaster.
• No shrinkage cracks: gypsum reaction produces less heat as compared to cement reaction
with water. So there are fewer shrinkage cracks in gypsum plaster as compared to traditional
cement plaster
• Quick setting time: gypsum sets quickly (i.E., Within 25-30 mins). So painting could be
started 72 hours after application of gypsum plaster. Plaster has to be dried up before painting.
• No curing time required: unlike traditional cement plaster, gypsum plaster doesn’t need any
curing saving water and time during construction
• High productivity: reduces time considerably when compared to conventional cement plaster
• High performance: excellent high strength after drying, durable and light weight (reduces
dead load on structure)
 ADVANTAGES OF GYPSUM PLASTER
( CONT.)
• Smooth finish: perfectly lined, levelled, smooth walls and perfect right angled corners
• Reduced supervision: careful quality checking is required for cement plaster as cement and
sand has to be properly proportioned. In contrast, gypsum plaster doesn’t require same
amount of quality checks for application thus reducing supervision efforts.
• Readily available raw materials: gypsum is a ready available material. Natural sand, which
is a raw material used in traditional cement plaster, is hard to obtain.
• Fire resistant: gypsum plaster is highly resistant to fire
• Low thermal conductivity: gypsum has low thermal conductivity. This saves electrical cost
for heating and cooling rooms in a building.
• Decorative application: it can be easily applied to decorative purposes also and can be
mould into different shapes
 DISADVANTAGES OF GYPSUM PLASTER
• Gypsum plaster cannot be used for outside walls since they retain dampness. Also
gypsum plastering cannot be done in areas which are continuously damp such as
bathroom etc.,
• Gypsum plaster is costlier than traditional cement motar plaster (cement and sand) for
same thickness of plaster. But in areas where natural/river sand is not available for
construction, cement mortar plastering would require a 6 mm gypsum layer to finish it
making cement plaster more costly.
 SETTING OF GYPSUM PLASTER
• The hydration process occurring in the paste causes the setting of the plaster and
thereby develops its strength.
• The setting not only Involves the physical changes but is also a physico-
mechanical phenomenon. The gypsum has a relatively large internal surface after
hardening is not a compact mass, but is a porous solid material consisting of
large interlocking crystals which is in shape of plate and needles
• The rate of setting of the gypsum plaster is mainly dependent on the following:
fineness and purity of the gypsum and the mixing velocity of the gypsum plaster
 DEHYDRATION
• Gypsum also known as calcium sulphate dehydrate is structurally combined with two water
molecules contains about 20.9% of water by weight. This water can be easily removed by
elevating the temperatures of gypsum. Gypsum loses its water content by two steps of
endothermic decomposition:
• The initial dehydration is the process in which the conversion of dihydrate (CaSO4.2H2O) to
hemihydrate (CaSO4 0.5H2O) takes place.
• CASO4 2 H2O + HEAT → CASO4 0.5H2O + 1.5 H2O

• At a temperature of about 80ºc the dehydration starts at a slower pace which becomes rapid
at around 120ºc. The entire dehydration process is completed approximately at 160ºc. The
formation of a soluble anhydrate is at either 300ºc or at 650ºc which is commonly called
dead burned gypsum. The conversion of hemihydrate to anhydrous gypsum is the second
dehydration reaction which is chemically represented as
• CASO4 0.5H2O + HEAT → CASO4 + 0.5 H2O
 FIBRE REINFORCED GYPSUM PLASTER:
• Gypsum products like the other inorganic cements lags in tensile strength strong compressive strength.
To overcome the brittle failure of the matrix phase at a low water/gypsum ratio, the organic and inorganic
fibres may be incorporated into the gypsum matrix thereby assuming durable gypsum composite with a
light weight nature.
• The two essential methods of reinforcing the gypsum matrix with the fibrous material includes,
1) the first method in which concentration of fibres is done on the tensile zone to compensate the external
tensile stresses acting whereas the matrix phase can compensate the compression forces
2) the second method is the formation of homogeneous mixture in which the fibres are uniformly dispersed
in the matrix phase. The easier incorporation and ability to flow Depending on the type of fibres added the
strength of the fibrous gypsum composite material either increases or decreases.
• Another most important factor which defines the efficiency of fibre reinforced gypsum plaster is its
fibre/gypsum ratio which is commonly known as reinforcement/modular ratio.
 GLASS FIBRE REINFORCED GYPSUM
PLASTER:
• Glass fibres have several advantages such as high
modulus of elasticity, remarkable fire resistant
property and hence they are used in gypsum plaster as
reinforcement to improvise the performance of
gypsum.
• Gypsum holds a PH value of 7 and hence non-alkaline
in nature. This property makes the gypsum compatible
with the glass fibres without causing any deterioration
to both the physical and chemical composition of glass
fibres.
• Majumdar studied the bond between the glass fibre
and gypsum plaster and reported that the bonding
mainly depends on the magnitude of water/plaster
ratio.
 MECHANICAL AND DURABILITY STUDIES ON
GFRG:
• Effect of variation of gypsum/plaster ratio on the mechanical strength of plaster
and reported that the glass fibre proved to be an efficient reinforcement due to
the effective interaction between glass fibres and plaster. With reference to the
impact strength it was observed to attain high impact value for a glass content of
10% in gypsum.
• The study on glass fibre reinforced gypsum modified by the polymers was done
in which the plaster was exposed to accelerated ageing condition and 400 cycles
of alternate wetting and drying. The results showed that the disintegration of
glass fibre reinforced gypsum were observed greater than the polymer modified
gypsum due to this exposure.
 GYPSUM REINFORCED BY NATURAL FIBRES:

• The harmful effects of non-degradable and non-renewable nature of synthetic

and mineral fibres have encouraged several researchers to replace them with the
eco-friendly natural fibres. The advantages of natural fibres include their
recyclable nature, impact on healthy living, low cost, low density and low
thermal conductivity.
• The waste additives such as rice husk ash, slag were incorporated And
manufactured a light weight gypsum plaster suitable for non-load bearing units.
 SYNTHETICALLY MODIFIED GYPSUM
PLASTER:
• The high cost associated with mineral fibres and the hydrophilic nature of natural
fibres made the researchers to find out the other ways of preventing a catastrophic
failure of the gypsum composites. The synthetic polymer reinforcements have been
found effective due to their distinguished property.
• Gypsum plaster are also used in conjunction with an epoxy resin due to their superior
performance, excellent adhesion, low shrinkage, high compressive flexural and
tensile strength, with exceptional chemical resistance and ease of curing.
 WHAT IS GYPSUM BOARD?

• Gypsum board, commonly known as drywall,

is the technical product name used by
manufacturers for a specific board with a
gypsum core and a paper facing. Gypsum
board is the premier building material for
wall, ceiling, and partition systems in
residential, institutional, and commercial
structures and is designed to provide
amonolithic surface when joints and fastener
heads are covered with a joint treatment
system.
 MAKING GYPSUM BOARD

• To produce gypsum board, calcined gypsum is mixed with water and additives to
form a slurry which is fed between continuous layers of paper on aboard
machine.
• As the board moves down a conveyer line, the calcium sulfate recrystallizes or
rehydrates ,reverting to its original rock state.
• The paper becomes chemically and mechanically bonded to the core.
• The board is then cut to length and conveyed through dry restore move any free
moisture.
 USES OF GYPSUM PRODUCTS IN HOME
• Plaster boards
INTERIORS
• Plaster board is used for partitions and the lining of walls, ceilings,
roofs and floors. The properties of plasterboard can be modified to
meet specific requirements, such as fire resistance, humidity
resistance, impact resistance , etc.
• Decorative plaster
• Plaster powder, mixed with water, manually or through the use of
silo-supplied spray systems, is used to create an effective and
aesthetically-pleasing lining for brick and block walls, and for
ceilings.
• Building plaster
• •Gypsum plaster is used for walls and ceilings.
• Plaster blocks
• Gypsum blocks are used for partitions and gypsum
tiles for ceilings.
• Gypsum based self levelling screeds
• Anhydrite or alpha-hemihydrates are used in the
production of self levelling floor screeds.
• Gypsum fibre boards
• Gypsum fibre board is used for partitions and lining of
walls, ceilings, roofs and floors. Gypsum fibre board
offers good performance when it comes to impact
resistance, sound insulation and humidity resistance.
 GYPSUM PRODUCTS UNIQUE PROPERTIES
1) fire properties
• Due to the natural composition of gypsum, gypsum plasterboards are
inherently fire resistant.
• The chemical formulation of gypsum is CaSO4.2H2O –calcium sulphate
dehydrate.
• In nature, gypsum occurs in the form of crystals.
• The presence of water in gypsum (H2O), one square meter of
plasterboard of 15mm thickness contains around 3 liters crystal water.
• Through the action of fire, the crystal water evaporates and a protective
layer of gypsum is formed.
• Behind this layer, the material under fire attack, remains at constant
temperature around 100 C as long as water is released from the gypsum.
• The inclusion of glass fibres in gypsum
boards enhances their fire protection
performance by maintaining the integrity
of the board in a fire.
• Gypsum is a powerful fire retardant
element in the construction sector due to its
non-combustibility and ability to delay
for up to 4 hours -according to the number
of plaster boards in the corresponding
system-the progression of fire.
• 2)acoustic properties
• The gypsum industry has a beneficial impact on noise reduction as it produces special acoustic grade
plasterboard which offers greater sound extinction which can be applied where a particularly high
performances required.
• Drywall systems provide effective sound insulation because they are designed to provide a physical
barrier to sound, in corporate a sound break and minimize reverberation.
• Between the two sides of the partition there is an air cavity, which interrupts the flow of sound.
• Because the two sides of the partition are separate it is harder for impact sound to pass through.
• These characteristics mean that a typical drywall partition in a house can be only 75 mm thick. A
comparable masonry wall would need to be 110 mm thick to achieve the same sound performance.
3) thermal properties
• Lightweight building techniques (plaster board on frame work)can supply excellent thermal
performance since the construction has cavity that can be filled with the required amount of
insulation.
• The interior plasterboards protect the insulating material and contribute, together with the
vapour barrier, in preventing indoor humidity from getting in, or being trapped in, the
insulation material.
• Gypsum equilibrates humidity and heat peaks
• Gypsum is capable of storing humidity when a room is humid an automatically releasing this
humidity if the indoor air becomes too dry.
• Plasterboards have also a “heat-storing” ability. Small temperature increases are absorbed and
radiated back later when the temperature in the room decreases.
4) A ESTHETICS AND DESIGN

• A richness of forms can be created in plaster board or stucco.

• For architects, building with gypsum products allows them to unleash their
creativity thus allowing them to answer , even more dramatically, to the demands
of their customer while remaining with in an affordable budget.
• In short, gypsum allows the creation of stunning interiors in any and all styles,
from the classical to the modern.