CHAPTER 7:

OTHER CONSTRUCTION
MATERIAL
 TOPICS

• 7.1 Bitumen
• 7.2 Rubber
• 7.3 Plastic
• 7.4 Polymer
• 7.5 Gypsum
• 7.6 Glass
• 7.7 Fiber Reinforced Polymer
 7.1 BITUMEN

• soluble in carbon disulfide.

• is a class of black or dark-colored (solid, semisolid,
or viscous) cementitious substances, natural or
manufactured, composed principally of high-
molecular-weight hydrocarbons, of which asphalts,
tars, pithces and asphaltities are typical (ASTM D8)
• Most bitumens contain sulfur and several heavy
metals such as nickel, vanadium, lead, chromium,
mercury and also arsenic, selenium, and other toxic
elements.
• provide good preservation of plants and animal
fossils.
 NATURAL BITUMEN

Figure 7.1: Natural Bitumen

From Iran Mines

 7.1.1 BITUMEN PROPERTIES

• The Paving Grades of bitumen are 30/40, 60/70 and

80/100.
• The grade 80/100 is commonly used in Malaysia but
for lower temperatures other grades are preferable.
 7.1.2 BITUMEN APPLICATION

• primarily used for paving roads.

 7.1.2 BITUMEN APPLICATION

• waterproofing products, including the use of

bitumen in the production of roofing felt and for
sealing flat roofs.
 7.1.2 BITUMEN APPLICATION

• Thin bitumen plates are sometimes used by

computer enthusiasts for silencing computer cases
or noisy computer parts such as the hard drive.
 7.1.2 BITUMEN APPLICATION

• Bitumen layers are baked onto the outside of high

end dishwashers to provide sound insulation.
 7.1.2 BITUMEN ALTERNATIVE

• now be made from non-petroleum based

renewable resources such as sugar, molasses and
rice, corn and potato starches.
• can also be made from waste material by fractional
distillation of used motor oils, which is sometimes
disposed by burning or dumping into land fills. Non-
petroleum based bitumen binders can be made
light-colored.
• Roads made with lighter-colored pitch absorb less
heat from solar radiation, and become less hot than
darker surfaces, reducing their contribution to the
urban heat island effect.
Pithces
is the name for any of a number of highly viscous liquids which
appear solid. Pitch can be made from petroleum products or plants

Molasses
is a viscous by-product from the processing of the sugar beet or
sugar cane into sugar

Fractional distillation
is the separation of a mixture into its component parts, or fractions,
such as in separating chemical compounds by their boiling point by
heating them to a temperature at which several fractions of the
compound will evaporate.

Urban heat island

is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its
surrounding rural areas.
7.1.4 METHODS OF TESTING BITUMEN

2. Sampling Bituminous (ASTM

1. Specific Gravity (ASTM D70)
D140)

3. Ductility (ASTM D113) 4. Viscosity

5. Penetration of Bituminous
6. Float Test (ASTM D139)
Materials (ASTM D5)
7.1.4 METHODS OF TESTING BITUMEN

1. Specific Gravity (ASTM 2. Sampling Bituminous

D70) (ASTM D140)
• use of a pycnometer • cover the method used
• can be expressed as to sample bituminous
the ratio of the weight material at points of
of a given volume of manufacture, storage
the material at 250C or or delivery
at 15.60C to that of an • is to determine the true
equal volume of water nature and condition
at the same of the material
temperature
7.1.4 METHODS OF TESTING BITUMEN

4. Viscosity
3. Ductility (ASTM D113)
• ASTM D2170 : Kinematic Viscosity
of asphalt (Bitumen)
• is measured by the • Covers determination of the
distance to which it will kinematic viscosity of liquid
asphalt (bitumen), road oils and
elongate before breaking distillation residue of liquid
asphalt (bitumen), all at 600C
when 2 ends of specimen and for asphalt cement at 1350C
are pulled apart at a in the range of 6 to 100,000
centistokes.
specified speed and • Measure the resistance to flow of
temperature a liquid under gravity.
• ASTM D2171 : Viscosity of asphalt
• to measure the adhesive by Vacuum Capillary Viscometer
and elasticity of the • Determination of viscosity of
asphalt (bitumen) by vacuum
asphalt. capillary viscometer at 600C.
• It is applicable to material having
viscosities in the range from 0.036
to over 200,000 poiss (P).
7.1.4 METHODS OF TESTING BITUMEN
5. Penetration of Bituminous
6. Float Test (ASTM D139)
Materials (ASTM D5)
• measure the hardness and
softness of the material • is a consistency test
• test are taken at least 3 used for material that
determination on the surface are too soft to undergo
of the sample at points not
less than 10 mm from the side the standard
of the container and not less
than 10 mm apart. penetration test and
• However, the test is empirical too hard for use with
and many engineers would viscosity test
like to replace it with ASTM
D2171 (Viscosity of Asphalts
by Vacuum Capillary
Viscometer)
 7.2 RUBBER

• used in a wide range variety of product.

• It is an elastomer.
• in which the arrangement of the polymer molecules
allows considerable reversible extension to take
place at normal temperatures.
• Elastomer exists as long chain molecules which are
irregularly coiled, bent and generally entangled
when in the unstressed state.
7.2.1 ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF
ELASTOMER RUBBER

• Long lasting
• Good in impact absorption
• Good bonding with metal
• Good resistance to ageing
• Good tearing properties
• Good physical properties
• Good resistance to oil and chemicals
• Suitable for hot and cool temperature.
7.2.2 ENGINEERING APPLICATION OF
ELASTOMER RUBBER
(i) natural rubber
(ii) Neoprene
(iii) High Damping Rubber (HDRB)
(iv) Styrene-butadiene Rubber (SBR)
(v) Acrylonitrile-butadiene Rubber (NBR) or
Nitrile Rubber
(vi) Ethylene-propylene Diene Monomer
(EPDM), as for liquid EPDM, it can be used
for roof coating
7.2.1 ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF
ELASTOMER RUBBER
Physical Properties Natural
SBR EPDM NBR Neoprene
Rubber
Specific Gravity 0.93 0.94 0.86 1.00 1.23

Durometer, Range 30-100 40-100 30-90 30-90 40-95

Tensile Strength E F-G VG VG VG

Elongation VG-E G G G G
Compression Set G G G G F-G P = Poor,
Heat Resistance F F-G VG-E G F-G
F = Fair,
Resilience or Rebound E F-G G F-G VG
G = Good,
Impact Resistance E E G F G
VG = Very Good,
Abrasion Resistance E G-E G-E G-E G-E
E = Excellent
Tear Resistance E F F-G F-G F-G
Cut Growth E G G G G
Physical Properties Natural
SBR EPDM NBR Neoprene
Rubber
Flame Resistance P P P P G

Impermeability, Gas F F F-G G F-G

Weathering Resistance P-F F E F-G VG

-20° TO - -30° TO -
Low Temperature Limit* -10° TO -50°F 0° TO -50°F -10° TO -50°F
60°F 40°F

275°F
158° TO 158° TO 300° TO
High Temperature Limit* 225°F
225°F 225°F 350°F

Table 7.1: Physical Properties of Elastomer

7.2.2 ENGINEERING APPLICATION OF
ELASTOMER RUBBER
 7.3 PLASTIC

• polymeric (usually organic) of high molecular weight which

can be shaped by flow.
• In general, plastics exhibit a number of outstanding
characteristic:

- lightness in weight (generally half as light as

aluminum)
- high dielectric strength (electric insulation)
- low heat conductivity (heat insulation)
- special properties toward lights (colorability)
- extremely resistant toward chemical
- metal insert may be molded into the plastic (since
plastics are inert toward such materials)
- many high-quality products can be developed by
using a lathe, sawing, punching and drilling.
 ORGANIC PLASTIC

(i) Thermoplastic:
an organic plastic, either natural or synthetic, which remain permanently
soft at elevated temperatures. Upon cooling, they again become hard.
These materials can be shaped and reshaped any number of times by
repeated heating and cooling. Some of the most familiar natural
thermoplastics include asphalts, bitumen, pitches and resin.

(ii) Thermosetting:
an organic plastic that were originally soft or soften at once upon heating,
then harden permanently. Thermosetting plastic are hardened by
chemical changes due to heat, catalyst or to both. Thermosetting plastics
remain hardened without cooling and do not soften appreciably when
reheated. The most common thermosetting plastic is polyester.

(iii) Chemically Setting Plastic:

are those that harden by the addition of a suitable chemical to the
composition just before molding or by subsequent chemical treatment
following fabrication.
 7.3.1 PROPERTIES OF PLASTIC

• plastics are light material with relative density between 0.9 - 2.0

Table 7.2: Strength-weight relationships for plastic and some common structural
elements.
 7.3.2 APPLICATION OF PLASTIC

• Raw materials used in the manufacture of plastics

traditionally come from two main sources:

i. Animal and vegetable by-products

such as casein (from cow’s milk), cellulose (mainly
from cotton fibers too short for spinning) and wood
pulp, common products being cellulosics.

ii. Petroleum by-products

obtained during the refining and ‘cracking’ of crude
oil, common products being polythene, PVC and
polystyrene. This method is responsible for the bulk
of plastics manufacture.
7.3.2 APPLICATION OF PLASTIC

Table 7.3: Typical uses of plastic material

 7.4 POLYMER

• generally an engineering field that designs,

analyses, and/or modifies polymer materials.
• Polymer engineering covers aspects of
petrochemical industry, polymerization, structure
and characterization of polymers, properties of
polymers, compounding and processing of
polymers and description of major polymers,
structure property relations and applications.
 7.4.1 POLYMER MATERIALS

• basic division of polymers into thermoplastics and

thermosets
• widely in composite materials when reinforced with
stiff fibres such as fibreglass and aramids.
• they have physical properties more similar to
traditional engineering materials like steel.
• very much lower densities compared with metals
makes them ideal for lightweight structures.
• suffer less from fatigue, so are ideal for safety-critical
parts which are stressed regularly in service
 THERMOPLASTICS

• relatively low tensile moduli, but also have low

densities
• properties such as transparency which make them
ideal for consumer products and medical products.
• include polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, acetal
resin, polycarbonate and PET, all of which are
widely used materials.
 THERMOPLASTICS

Polymerization
is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical
reaction to form three-dimensional networks or polymer chains

Acetal resin
is an engineering plastic, a polymer with the chemical formula -(-O-CH2-)n-.
It is often marketed and used as a metal substitute

PET
is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in
synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming
applications; and engineering resins often in combination with glass fiber.
 ELASTOMERS

• have very low moduli and show reversible extension

when strained, a valuable property for vibration
absorption and damping.
• They may either be thermoplastic (in which case
they are known as Thermoplastic elastomers) or
crosslinked, as in most conventional rubber
products such as tyres.
• Typical rubbers used conventionally include natural
rubber, nitrile rubber, polychloroprene,
polybutadiene, styrene-butadiene and fluorinated
rubbers such as Viton.
7.4.2 APPLICATIONS OF POLYMER

• monocoque structures for aerospace and automobiles,

as well as more mundane products like fishing rods and
bicycles.
• The stealth bomber was the first all-composite aircraft,
but many passenger aircraft like the Airbus uses an
increasing proportion of composites in its fuselage.
• quite different physical properties of composites gives
designers much greater freedom in shaping parts, which
is why composite products often look different to
conventional products.
• some products such as drive shafts, helicopter rotor
blades, and propellers look identical to metal precursors
owing to the basic functional needs of such
components.
7.4.2 APPLICATIONS OF POLYMER

Monocoque
is a construction technique that supports structural load by
using an object's external skin as opposed to using an internal
frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing
skin

Stealth bomber
is an American heavy bomber with "low observable" stealth
technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses
and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons.
7.4.2 APPLICATIONS OF POLYMER

Figure 7.2: B-2 Spirit stealth bomber Figure 7.3: A time-trial carbon fibre
of the U.S Air Force. composite bicycle with aerodynamic
wheels and aero bars
 7.5 GYPSUM BOARD

• widely used for internal walls and ceilings by the

construction industry
• is a material of growing importance in the do-it-
yourself sector.
• manufactured by calcining gypsum into a plaster,
making a slurry from the plaster, and passing the
slurry through machines which shape, set, and cut
into a board.
• Also commonly known as drywall, wallboard and
plasterboard.
7.5.1 GYPSUM BOARD MANUFACTURE

• is made of a paper liner wrapped around an inner core made

primarily from gypsum plaster, the semi-hydrous form of
calcium sulfate (CaSO4•½ H2O).
• raw gypsum, CaSO4•2 H2O, (mined or obtained from flue gas
desulfurization (FGD) must be calcined before use.
• plaster is mixed with fiber (typically paper and/or fiberglass),
plasticizer, foaming agent, potash as an accelerator, EDTA,
starch or other chelate as a retarder, various additives that
increase mildew and fire resistance (fiberglass or vermiculite),
wax emulsion for lower water absorption and water.
• then formed by sandwiching a core of wet gypsum between
two sheets of heavy paper or fiberglass mats.
• When the core sets and is dried in a large drying chamber, the
sandwich becomes rigid and strong enough for use as a
building material.
 7.5.1 GYPSUM BOARD MANUFACTURE
Hydrous
containing water as a constituent

Flue gas desulfurization

is the technology used for removing sulfur dioxide (SO2) from the exhaust flue gases in power plants that
burn coal or oil to produce steam for the steam turbines that drive their electricity generators

Plasticizer
are additives that increase the plasticity or fluidity of the material to which they are added, these include
plastics, cement, concrete, wallboard and clay bodies

Foaming agent
is a surfactant, which when present in small amounts, facilitates the formation of a foam, or enhances its
colloidal stability by inhibiting the coalescence of bubbles

Potash
is the common name given to potassium carbonate and various mined and manufactured salts that contain
the element potassium in water-soluble form.
 7.5.1 GYPSUM BOARD MANUFACTURE
EDTA
Ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid, a crystalline acid with a strong tendency to form chelates with metal ions.

Starch
an odourless, tasteless white substance occurring widely in plant tissue and obtained chiefly from cereals
and potatoes. It is a polysaccharide which functions as a carbohydrate store and is an important constituent
of the human diet.

Chelate
a compound containing a ligand (typically organic) bonded to a central metal atom at two or more point.

Mildew
a thin whitish coating consisting of minute fungal hyphae, growing on plants or damp organic material such
as paper.

Vermiculite
is a natural mineral that expands with the application of heat.
 7.5.2 GYPSUM BOARD WASTE

• up to 17% of gypsum board is wasted during the

manufacturing and installation processes] and the
gypsum board material is frequently not re-used,
disposal can become a problem.
• Some landfill sites have banned the dumping of gypsum
board.
• Some manufacturers take back waste gypsum board
from construction sites and recycle it into new board.
Recycled paper is typically used during manufacturing.
• More recently, recycling at the construction site itself is
being investigated. There is potential for using crushed
gypsum board to amend certain soils at building sites,
such as clay and silt mixtures, as well as using it in
compost.
7.5.3 APPLICATION OF GYPSUM BOARD

• Regular white board, from 1/4" to 3/4" thickness

• Greenboard, the drywall that contains an oil-based
additive in the green colored paper covering that
provides moisture resistance. It is commonly used in
washrooms and other areas expected to
experience elevated levels of humidity.
• Blueboard, blue face paper forms a strong bond
with a skim coat or a built-up plaster finish providing
both water and mould resistance.
• Cement board, which is more water-resistant than
greenboard, for use in showers or sauna rooms, and
as a base for ceramic tile
7.5.3 APPLICATION OF GYPSUM BOARD

• Soundboard is made from wood fibers to increase the

sound rating (STC)
• Soundproof board is a laminated board made with
gypsum, other materials, and damping polymers to
significantly increase the STC
• Enviroboard, a board made from recycled agricultural
materials
• Lead-lined gypsum board, used around radiological
equipment
• Foil-backed gypsum board to control moisture in a
building or room
• Controlled density (CD), also called ceiling board, which
is available only in 1/2" thickness and is significantly stiffer
than regular white board
GYPSUM BOARD WALL

Figure 7.5: Gypsum Board Wall

GYPSUM BOARD WALL
GYPSUM BOARD FALSE CEILING
GYPSUM BOARD FALSE CEILING
 7.6 GLASS

• principle ingredients of common soda glass are silica

sand, lime (from limestone) and soda ash (crude sodium
carbonate).
• can be recycle, large amount of scrap glass (cullet) are
used in glass manufactured.
• At 15900C temperature in gas-fired furnaces which hold
up to 250 tonnes of molten glass, acidic silicate will
reacts with basic lime and soda to form the mixed
silicates known as glass.
• can be rolled, blown, cast or pressed for a variety of
uses.
• glass is extremely weak and codes and standard have
been established to deal with the utilization of glass in
engineering project - ANSI) Z97.1
 7.6.1 PROPERTIES OF GLASS

• plastic at high temperatures and rigid at low

temperatures but under normal manufacturing
conditions glasses do not crystallize.
• glasses have no crystal structure making molecules
are unable to move significant distance relatively at
one another making glass extremely brittle at
ambient temperature.
• rate of viscous flow is dependent mainly upon the
prevailing temperature but is also dependent upon
the composition and structure of the glass.
• Small applied stresses will cause the more highly
strained bonds within the structure to be ruptured
 7.6.1 PROPERTIES OF GLASS

• When glass is drawn to a fine fiber and cooled

quickly, a high tensile strength is produced.
• Glass is extremely stable and will not deteriorate.
• Special glasses used in fiber-reinforced composites
can reach strength of up to 15 000 MPa (under
ideal condition), but in practice a lower strength of
about 3500 MPa would be obtained since surface
damage of the fiber is caused by contact with
other material.
• These microscopic surface scratches act as stress-
raisers.
7.6.2 APPLICATION OF GLASS

Table 7.4: Properties and Typical Use of Glass

 7.6.2 APPLICATION OF GLASS

• There is little in common between mechanical properties of glasses and

metals when under the action of applied forces. Such difference can be
classified as follows:

(i) under short-time testing methods, glasses are brittle at

ambient temperatures. They are elastic right up to the point of
fracture and fail without any previous yield or plastic deformation .
Even the most brittle of metal show some plastic flow;

(ii) although an external load may be applied in compression, failure

in glass always results from a tensile component of the stress. The
strength of such materials can therefore best be described in terms of
tensile strength;

(iii) the time for which a static load is applied has a great influence
on the strength of glass in the long term. Thus the extrapolated infinite-
time modulus of rupture for glasses is usually between a third and a half
of that for short-time loading.
7.6.2 APPLICATION OF GLASS

Figure 7.7: Stress-Strain Graph of Copper and Glass

7.7 FIBER REINFORCED POLYMER (FRP)

• made of a combination of continuous fiber

embedded in resin matrix is an advanced
composite material that has been identified as a
potential new construction material
• high tensile strength, lightweight, non-magnetic and
durable.
• it is a non-corrodible material it may be used as
reinforcement in concrete member.
• The most commonly available FRPs, which can be
used for civil infrastructure, are glass (GFRP), carbon
(CFRP) and aramid (AFRP).
 7.7.1 PROPERTIES OF FIBER
REINFORCED POLYMER
• Advanced FRP composites are made from different
constituent materials, i.e. fiber, resins, interface,
fillers, and additives.
• Higher modulus fibers contribute to the mechanical
strength of the FRP, whereas the matrix helps to
transfer or distribute the stress from one fiber to
another, through interface shear resistance, and to
improve the durability of the fiber against
environmental and mechanical damage.
• The fiber generally occupies 30–70% of the matrix
volume of the composite
7.7.1 PROPERTIES OF FIBER
REINFORCED POLYMER

Figure 7.8: Microstructure of FRPbar

 7.7.1 PROPERTIES OF FIBER
REINFORCED POLYMER
• The interface between the fiber and the matrix is
known to significantly affect the performance of
FRP composites.
• three basic components (fibers, resins, and
interface), the fillers serve to reduce cost and
shrinkage.
• additives help to improve the mechanical and
physical properties of the composites as well as the
workability.
 7.7.2 APPLICATIONS OF FIBER
REINFORCED POLYMER
• applications of FRPs in concrete construction is very
wide.
• From the basic application point of view, FRPs can
be used in concrete in three basic forms:

➢ Internal reinforcement for reinforced concrete structures;

➢ External reinforcement for strengthening or repairing
existing deficient structures;
➢ FRP structural elements (e.g. beams, girder, and column)
in concrete–FRP composite structures.
 7.7.2 APPLICATIONS OF FIBER
REINFORCED POLYMER

Figure 7.11: GFRP reinforcing bars

Figure 7.10: FRP reinforcements for civil infrastructure

application
 FRP REINFORCEMENT

• external to a concrete structure, can be effective in

the form of external plate bonding or fiber
wrapping.
• External plate bonding by adhesive is a well
established technique to strengthen or repair
deficient reinforced concrete beams or slabs.
• Initially the method was developed with steel plates
but, at present, CFRP plates are being widely used
all over the world.
 FRP REINFORCEMENT

• The wrapping of concrete columns by resin

impregnated FRP fabrics or straps to improve the
strength and ductility is a technique used in seismic
retrofitting of concrete structures.
• an alternative to the steel jacket technique.
• has a long-term durability advantage, and a great
potential to be used extensively to strengthen or
upgrade ageing reinforced concrete infrastructure
facilities.
 FRP REINFORCEMENT

Figure 7.12: Concrete columns reinforced with FRP sheets

- THE END-