Current Trends in Technology and Science

ISSN: 2279- 0535. Volume: 3, Issue: 4 (June-July 2014)

Development of Alternative Roofing System by Using

Ferrocement Channel
Swapnil Somnath Gaikwad1, Abdulrashid Chand Attar2
1
P.G Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, Rajarambapu Institute of Technology, Rajaramnagar, Sakharale
(Islampur),Tal. Walwa, Dist. Sangli-415414
2
Dean (Quality Assurance), Department of Civil Engineering, Rajarambapu Institute of Technology, Rajaramnagar,
Sakharale (Islampur),Tal. Walwa, Dist. Sangli-415414
[email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract -The cost of construction is rising day by day high degree of impermeability. Applications of
due to increasing cost of basic building materials such ferrocement is in all field of civil construction, including
as steel, sand, cement, brick, timber and labour. The water and soil retaining structures, building components,
cost of construction using conventional building space structures of large size, bridges, water tank, domes,
materials and construction techniques are not dams, boats, conduits etc.
economical particularly for low income groups of
population as well as middle income groups. 2. HISTORY
Therefore there is a need to develop a cost effective Ferro-cement is the name given by Italian Professor Pier
construction technique either by up-gradation Luigi Nervi to a thin slab of mortar reinforced with
conventional technique or by applying new technique. superimposed layers of wire mesh and small diameter
This paper compares construction cost of ferrocement bars. The result is a product with a high degree of
roofing channel system to conventional roofing elasticity and resistance to cracking which can be cast
system. This roofing system is design as a segmental without the use of formwork. Nervi successfully proved
element, which is very easy to cast, cure and then on many jobs the remarkable strength and lightness of
manually erect over the bearing walls. The strength this method of construction and its great adaptability to
and rigidity are developed through this roofing any shape. The end result of Nervi’s experiments was a
system and it is cost effective. Hence it is ideally suited medium in which the thickness of a finished slab was
for prefabricated construction particularly for low only a very little greater than that of the assembled layers
cost housing. of mesh, the difference being only as much as was
necessary to provide adequate cover for the steel. This
Keyword - Chicken mesh, Cost effective, Ferrocement Ferro-cement was found on testing to have very little in
channel, Weld mesh. common with normal reinforced concrete, however, since
it possesses the mechanical characteristics of a
1. INTRODUCTION completely homogeneous material. ACI Committee 549,
Ferrocement is a form of reinforced concrete that differs Ferrocement and other thin Reinforced Products, was
from conventional reinforced concrete primarily by the organized in 1974 and was given the mission to study
manner in which the reinforcing elements are dispersed and report on the engineering properties, construction
and arranged. It consists of closely spaced, multiple practices, and practical applications of ferrocement and
layers of mesh or fine rods completely embedded in to develop guidelines for ferrocement construction.
cement mortar. A composite material is formed that
behaves differently from conventional reinforced 3. HOUSING PROBLEM
concrete in strength, deformation, and potential Non-affordability of housing by economically weaker
applications, and thus is classified as a separate and sections of society and low income families in urban
distinct material. Unlike conventional concrete, areas is directly linked with the magnitude of urban
ferrocement reinforcement can be assembled into its final poverty. Housing is one of the basic requirements for
desired shape and the mortar can be plastered directly in survival of human beings. Ownership of house provides
place without the use of a formwork. significant economic security and social status in a
society. The total housing shortage in the country at the
Welded mesh, mild steel angles or bars are used for end of 10th five year plan was estimated to be 24.71
forming skeleton, while chicken mesh, square mesh or million dwelling units for 67.40 million households
expanded metal are used as mesh reinforcement. Mortar where 98% of shortage was in the low income and
mix may be (1:1.5) to (1:4) by volume. With ferrocement economically weaker sections. The situation even at the
it is possible to fabricate a variety of structural elements, end of 11th five year plan, the total housing requirement
may be used in foundations, walls, floors, roofs, shells will be 26.53 million dwelling units for 75.01 million
etc. they are thin walled, light weight, durable and have households.
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 Current Trends in Technology and Science
ISSN: 2279- 0535. Volume: 3, Issue: 4 (June-July 2014)

5.1. Mould Preparation

4. ADVANTAGES OF FERROCEMENT Steel mould: If steel mould used for manufacturing of
Ferrocement is a suitable technology in developing concrete pipe is easily available then it is used for
countries for the following reasons: manufacturing of roofing channel or manufacture the
steel mould for channel that have to be casted but it is
1. Its basic raw materials are readily available in expensive.
most countries.
2. It can be fabricated into any desired shape.
3. The skills for ferrocement construction can be
acquired easily.
4. Heavy plants and machinery are not involved in
ferrocement construction.
5. In case of damage, it can be repaired easily.
6. Being labor intensive, it is relatively
inexpensive in developing countries.
7. Less use of cement and steel for any section
compared with RCC, with corresponding
reduction in self weight.
8. This technique dose not required any
scaffolding, shuttering or a concrete mixer or a Fig. 2 Steel mould
vibrator.
Mud mould: This is permanent fixed construction built
5. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS up with the help of mud and bricks in to the shape of
Details of section roofing channel. After preparing of desired shape the
whole construction is coated with cement mortar of about
10 mm thickness proper curing is required in order not to
develop cracks during the casting periods of roof
channel. The curing of construction is over the entire
surface of the mould is cleaned with sand paper and
coated with engine oil; this procedure is repeated until
the cement stops absorbing the oil. Now the mud mould
is ready for continuous casting of ferrocement roof
channels.

5.2. Steel and Mesh Preparation

The two bottom steel rods either 8, 10 or 12mm
Fig. 1 Section of Ferrocement Channel thickness. It changes according to the span of the channel
and load taken on channel. One top steel rods of 6 or
Dimensions: 8mm thickness are used. Weld mesh and chicken mesh
Length : 3 m are tied with the help of binding wire to the steel rods
Width : 400 mm longitudinally.
Height : 150 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Steel reinforcement : 2 tor steel rods 8mm at
bottom
1 tor steel rod 6mm or 8mm at
top
Mesh Reinforcement : 22gage GI hexagonal mesh
(Two layers)
Water/Cement ratio : 0.45
Cement/Sand : 1/2
Curing period : 21days
Manufacturing time : 3hrs.
Weight : 30kg/running meter

Fig. 3 Steel and Mesh Reinforcement

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 Current Trends in Technology and Science
ISSN: 2279- 0535. Volume: 3, Issue: 4 (June-July 2014)

5.3. Casting procedure This procedure ensures that there is sufficient moisture
1. The steel mould is lightly coated with waste on the inside of the roof channel during the whole curing
engine oil. After that news papers are laid on period. The curing medium is kept moist all the time and
mould. never allowed to dry out. One should keep watering
2. The total amount of mortar required is prepared accordingly. Curing may also be done by any other
with ratio of water/ cement/ sand as 0.45:1:2 appropriate method for curing cement elements. A curing
3. The first layer of mortar mix is applied on top of period of minimum 7 days to maximum 10 days is
the mould already coated with waste engine oil recommended.
and news paper. This mortar mix is evenly
spread out over whole surface of the mould.
4. The prepared steel and mesh frame is placed on
the first layer of cement mortar.
5. The second and final layer of cement mortar is
applied over the steel and mesh frame. Several
irregular lines are made on the lower portion of
both sides of roofing channel in order to
facilitate the bonding process with the concrete
mix while joining the channel together. If the
channel is used as roof, some final polishing is
done with the mason’s trowel. This is not
necessary in case roof channel is used as floor or
filled up for heat insulation. Fig. 5 Curing of Ferrocement Channels
6. After the casting the channel is left for four days
on mould. 5.6. Installation Procedure
1. Care should be taken while handling the
5.4. Demoulding Procedure channels and sufficient people to lift the
The demoulding of the roof channel is done after 48 channels. Normally two people per running
hours (with more handling experience one can even try to meter are sufficient.
demould on the very next day) For this purpose, the 2. The lifting on top of the wall is usually done
specially made small gaps in the bottom of the mould for with the help of small scaffolding.
an easy grip during the demoulding – are opened by 3. The dimensions of the roof channel define the
removing the mud. The roof channel is slightly lifted on size of the roof/floor of the building. Allowance
one side by using the gaps right under the border of the for the gap between the channels during
element, the other side is lifted and in the next move the installation is calculated.
whole channel is carried to the curing space. 4. The channels are placed next to each other and
the valley between these channels is filled with
concrete mix 1:2:4 and finishing is done.
5. Proper curing practice or method should be
applied at least 7 days since the structure has to
function as roof, proper curing of the joined
channels is the most important.
6. In case of floor application a brick border is
provided around the entire floor structure, with
height corresponding to chosen thickness of the
overall filling.
7. The valleys can also be used for laying of
conduit pipes for electricity prior to filling them
up.
8. The finishing layer should be done with a
Fig. 4 Demoulding of Ferrocement Channel cement plaster or tiling and providing a
rainwater slope for drainage is recommended.
5.5. Curing Procedure
We use for curing the left over “waste” material from the
fiber husk of the coconut shell, also called “coir dust”.
This material is light, easy to apply and to remove and
has great water retention capacity which is an excellent
quality for curing practices. Other material, like sand or
bags, or plastic sheets can be used.
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 Current Trends in Technology and Science
ISSN: 2279- 0535. Volume: 3, Issue: 4 (June-July 2014)

Fig .6 Finished Ferrocement Roofing Channel

6. COST ANALYSIS
Table 1 Cost analysis for single ferrocement channel Graph 1 Cost Comparison
Item Qty. Rate Amount (Rs.)
Concluding Remark
Steel 3.55 kg 46/kg 164 From the cost analysis it is conclude that Ferrocement
Chicken 36 sq. ft. 5.5/sq. ft 198
channels casted using chicken mesh are 35% cheaper
mesh
Cement 0.5 bag 300/bag 150
than conventional roofing systems (R.C.C) and also the
sand 0.035 cu. m 4500/brass 56 weight of ferrocement roofing channel system is less than
the conventional roofing system. If chicken mesh is
Labour 1 125/3hr. 125
replaced by weld mesh then cost as well as weight of the
(skill)
(semi-skill) 2 80/3hr. 160 channel increases. Channel casted using chicken mesh
Total 853 and channel casted using weld mesh gives nearly similar
Contingencies, Tools and 900 strength so channel casted using chicken mesh is
plants charges (Add 2% in preferred.
total)
7. TESTING OF FERROCEMENT CHANNEL
Therefore cost for 3m ferrocement roofing channel
roofing = 900 Rs.
Consider Room size: 10ft. × 10ft.
No. of ferrocement channel required = 8
Cost of channels required =8×900
=7200 Rs.
Cost of gap filling between channels and
installation=1000Rs.
Total cost required for 100sq. ft. =8200 Rs.
Therefore Total cost using ferrocement channel roofing
system = 82 Rs. /sq. ft
Total cost using conventional (R.C.C) roofing system =
125 Rs. /sq. ft Fig. 7 Testing of ferrocement channel
Therefore % saving = 35%

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 Current Trends in Technology and Science
ISSN: 2279- 0535. Volume: 3, Issue: 4 (June-July 2014)

[6] Nagesh M. Kulkarni, D. G. Gaidhankar, “Analysis

and design of ferrocement panels an experimental
study”, IJIES, volume-1, Issue-5, April 2013,
pp.1-8
[7] S. F. Ahmad, “Precast Ferrocement Barrel Shell
Planks as Low Cost Roof”, Taylor & Francis
Group, London, 2010, pp.645-649
[8] Vivian W. Y. Tam, “Cost Effectiveness of using
Low Cost Housing Technologies in Construction”,
Science Direct Procedia Engineering, Vol.14,
2011, pp.156-160
[9] Wail N Al-Rifaie, Azad Ahmed, “Experimental
Investigation on Thin ferrocement Structures”,
Graph 2 Load Vs Deflection IJEAT, volume-3, Issue-2, December 2013,
pp.373-377
Actual Deflection = 6.7 mm [10] Dr. B. N. Divekar (2012), “ferrocrete Technology-
A construction Manual”, pp.1-15
Allowable Deflection = 3000/250 [11] K.S. Jagadish, B.V. Venkatarama Reddy and K. S.
= 12 mm …….Hence safe Nanjunda Rao “Alternative Building Material and
Technologies”, 2007, pp.160-184 and 108-112
8. CONCLUSION [12] K. Chandrashekhara, “Analysis of Thin Concrete
Ferrocement channel is efficient for flooring/roofing Shell”, 1986, pp.163
system with many advantages that it is viable option for [13] 11th and 12th five year plan
low cost housing. This is very suitable alternative
technique to conventional roof. It is very easy to cast and
cure then manually erected over the bearing walls. These
channels are 30 to 35% cheaper than conventional roofing
systems. It can be produce on commercial scale also and
sold directly to contractors and builders like precast
members.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to thank Dr. A. C. Attar, all technical and non
technical staff for continuous guiding and helping for
completion of this project.

REFERENCE
[1] A. K. Jain and M. C. Paliwal, “Adoption of
Appropriate and Cost Effective Technologies in
Housing: Indian Experience” World Academy of
Science, Engineering and Technology, 2012, Vol.
63, pp.206-208
[2] ACI Committee 549, “State-of-the-art report on
Ferrocement”, ACI549-R97, in Manual of
Concrete Practice, ACI, Detroit, 1997, pp.26
[3] ACI committee 549-1R-88, “Guide for design
construction and repair of ferrocement,” ACI 549-
1R-88 and 1R-93, in Manual of Concrete Practice,
ACI, Detroit, 1993, pp.27
[4] B. V. Venkatarama Reddy, “Sustainable Building
Technologies”, Current Science, October 2004,
Vol.87, No.7, pp.899-907
[5] B. V. Venkatarama Reddy and K. S. Jagadish,
“Emboided Energy of comman and alternative
building materials and technologies”, Energy and
Buildings, Vol.35, 2003, pp.129-137

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