The threat of climate change caused by the increasing concentration of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is pushing the whole world into a catastrophic crisis
situation with universal concern. Building construction causes CO2 emissions as a result of embodied energy consumed in
the production of energy intensive building materials and also the recurring energy
consumption for cooling and heating
of indoor environment. Rapidwall, also called gypcrete panel is an energy efficient green building
material with huge potential for use as load bearing and non load bearing wall panels. Rapidwall is a large load bearing panel with modular cavities suitable for both external
and internal walls. It can also be used as intermediary floor slab/roof slab in combination
with RCC as a composite material. Since the advent of innovative Rapidwall panel in
1990 in Australia, it has been used for buildings ranging from single storey to medium -
high rise buildings. Light weighted Rapidwall has high compressive strength, shearing
strength, flexural strength and ductility. It has very high level of resistance to fire, heat,
water, termites, rot and corrosion. Concrete infill with vertical reinforcement rods
enhances its vertical and lateral load capabilities. Rapidwall buildings are resistant to
earthquakes , cyclones and fire. PHYSICAL AND MATERIAL PROPERTIES
Rapidwall panel is world’s largest loadbearing lightweight panels. The panels are
manufactured with size 12 m length, 3m height and 124 mm thickness. Each panel has 48
modular cavities of 230 mm x 94 mm x 3m dimension. The weight of one panel is 1440
kg or 40 kg/sqm. The density is 1.14g/cm3, being only 10-12% of the weight of
comparable concrete /brick masonry. The physical and material properties of panels are
as follows:
Weight- light weight 40 Kg/ sqm
Axial load capacity 160 kN/m{ 16 tons/ m}
Compressive strength 73.2 Kg/cm2
Unit Shear strength 50.90 kN/m
Flexural strength 21.25 kg/cm2
Tensile Strength 35 KN/ m
Ductility 4
Fire resistance 4 hr rating withstood 700-10000 C
Thermal Resistance R 0.36 K/W
“U “Value 2.85W/M2K
Thermal conductivity 0.617
Elastic Modulus 3000-6000Mpa
Sound transmission{STC} 40
Water absorption < 5%
The vertical and lateral load capability of Rapidwall Panel can be increased many
fold by infill of concrete after placing reinforcement rods vertically. As per structural requirement, cavities of wall panel can be filled in various combinations. JOINTS:
Wall to wall ‘L’, ‘T’, ‘+’ angle joints and horizontal wall joints are made by
cutting of inner or outer flanges or web appropriately and infill of concrete with vertical
reinforcement with stirrups for anchorage. Rapidwall Panel can also be used for intermediary floor slab / roof slab in combination with embedded RCC micro-beams and RCC screed concrete. FOUNDATION:
For Rapidwall buildings/ Housing a conventional
foundation like spread footing, RCC column footing, raft
or pile foundation is used as per the soil condition and
load factors. All around the building RCC plinth beam is
provided at basement plinth level. For erection of panel
as wall, 12 mm dia vertical reinforcement of 0.75m long
of which 0.45m protrudes up and remaining portion with
0.15m angle is placed into the RCC plinth beams before
casting. Start up rods are at 1m centre to centre. RAPIDWALL FOR RAPID CONSTRUCTION
Rapidwall enables fast track method of construction. Conventional building construction involves various cumbersome and time consuming processes, like
i) masonry wall construction ii) cement plastering requiring curing, iii) casting of RCC
slabs requiring centering and scaffolding and curing iv) removal of centering and
scaffolding and v) plastering of ceilings and so on. It also contributes to pollution and environmental degradation due to debris left on the site. ABOUT GFRG
Glass fiber reinforced gypsum(GFRG) wall panel is made essentially of gypsum plaster reinforced with glass fibers. The panels are hollow and can be used as load bearing walls. The hollow cores inside the walls can be filled with in-situplain or reinforced concrete. RECOGNITIONS
GFRG Wall panels approved By Building Material Technology Promotion Council(BMTPC).It also Tested and approved By Structural Engineering Research Centre(CSIR-SERC) for using GFRG panel in the construction of building in earthquake prone area. Structural Design Manual prepared by IIT Madras, they tested and Constructed a 2 storeyed 4 apartment building at IIT Madras campus. GREEN PRODUCT
Our product conform to green building concepts which refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource efficient throughout a building life cycle. Compared to the traditional building products, our products uses only 50% of the energy and has very low Carbondioxide emissions.
