Introduction
Construction has flourished over the past few decades with modern building materials and technologies. With the conscious of materials with adequate technologies, architecture and construction have bloomed and touched unthinkable heights. Construction material and technology cover: cement, brick, concrete reinforcement, ceramics, timber, glass polymers, steel, bamboo, non -conventional material, etc.
Burj Khalifa, one of the prominent architectural wonders of the world has been constructed mainly with steel, concrete, and glass. Deck sheets are used for flooring in order to reduce the load of the building and add strength to the building technologies and manpower used to construct the structure showing the fascinating growth of the industry.
Many famous buildings have come into being using modern technologies and materials. Modern technologies have worked more efficiently and are time-saving. The role of manpower has also significantly reduced with modern construction technologies coming into action.
Table of Contents
Building Materials and Technologies in Construction
Mud and Clay
Building materials have certain type of properties like strength, and durability that make them in the right application. It is selected on the basis of the function of the structure, physical form, and weight that determines the type of material to be used in the structure.
The combination of soil, loam, silt, or clay with water is referred to as mud. Near rivers or other water sources, it typically spontaneously forms after rain. The mud eventually hardens and transforms into mudstone.
Mud is also known the names such as slurry, mortar, plaster, stucco, and concrete, mud is known by many distinct names. To construct walls, floors, and even roofs, subsoil and water are typically mixed with stone, gravel, straw, lime, and bitumen. In the past, mud was typically used to manufacture mud bricks, plaster building walls, and construct building walls.
Clay Brick And Block Types of Building Material
Mud bricks are also known as clay bricks or adobe.The binder straw is used during the preparation of the clay bricks.It helps to bind the block and redistribute the load throughout the brick and hence increasing its strength and reduce the chances of breakage.clay bricks are commonly used in construction of the houses.
Aggregate
It is the most commonly used material in construction. It is used in concrete and asphalt concrete by enhancing the strength of the material. Due to its hydraulic conductivity, it is used in retaining drain walls. It is used in the construction of water tight application and repair works.
Rock
Rock is one of the natural materials available in abundance. It is used in construction as it is strong, durable, hard and free from all the cracks and damage. Rock/stone is used in the making of marble, granite, limestone, ballast etc. These types of stones are used in building kitchen, dams, used in ornamental interior/exterior work, flooring etc.
Thatch
Thatching is one of the oldest method used in roofing.It has water resistant and insulation properties.This type of roofing is still used in developing countries in areas with low budget housing and in developed countries it is used to give earthy look and the feel to the viewers.The material is sustainable in both winter and summers.
Wood and Timber
Wood is commonly and sought after material in construction and carpentry work. It is durable, good isolation properties. Wood is a natural material available in different shape and size with good, durability and strength.
Some of the applications of wood are that it is used in door and window frame ,table, flooring, cabinets, furniture, walls etc.
Fire Bricks
Fire bricks are just like normal bricks but during the heating process,it is burnt under high temperature.Fire bricks have good chemical properties unlike conventional bricks.
It is used in inside of the lining surfaces,chimney,fire resistant structures etc.
Cement
In the construction industry, cement is one of the most often utilised building materials to build practically any sort of structure. Sand and coarse aggregates are combined using it as a binder.
Cement is used in construction for a variety of purposes, including creating concrete (cement + sand + aggregates), which is used to build slabs, columns, and footings, as well as mortar (cement + sand), which is used in plastering and brickwork structure.
Fabric
Fabric structures are made of artificial fibres and provide customers with a wide range of aesthetically pleasing free-form building designs. Tensile structures are strong, resilient, lightweight systems that give architects more formal flexibility than other types of construction elements can.
The capacity to span wide spaces uninterruptedly, sound dampening, and light diffusion are some of fabric’s properties. To satisfy global structural, flame retardant, weather-resistant, and natural force criteria, custom fabric structures are created and constructed. A subset of tensile structures is known as fabric structures.
Fabrics are earthquake, resistant,tensile,durable.It also acts as a tensile structure.Fabrics are used in different applications considering its strong properties,It is used to make tents,walkways,low tension frame structure etc.
Foam
Polyeuthrene or polystyrene is used with concrete or wood during construction.It is light weight material,good insulator.There are two types of foam i.e; rigid foam and spray foam.
Spray foams are used in packing materials as it has good expansion properties from 30 – 60 times its liquid volume once it sprayed on the surface.
GLASS
Glass is an amalgamation of sand and silicate. It is used in all the contemporary structures along with steel which gives an strong evolving design.Glass is used in the facades of the building as curtain walls or as wide roof structure. It is even used in window and doors allowing exterior to be viewed in the interior itself.
There are various types of glass, i.e; glass wool, laminated glass, tinted glass, frosted glass, tempered glass, float glass, etched glass, inlay glass, toughened glass, double glaze glass, glass wool etc.
Float glass is used in railings, blocks, shop front etc. Double glazed glass is used for insulation purposes. Glass wool is used as an insulator in the building, laminated glasses are used in bridges, building facades, floor slabs, walkways etc.
Gypcrete
Gypcrete is used in concrete construction and wooden materials as it is fire rated, reduces sound and helps in the leveling off the floor. It is nowadays commonly used in flooring as it has many favorable properties. Gypcrete is affordable compared to other materials, it is easy to install and as mentioned above it has good properties. Apart from flooring it is used in ceiling as well.
Steel
Steel is a material that is frequently utilized in the construction industry. Steel serves as the principal structural component of a building or other structure, serving as the portion that holds everything up and together. Steel-like malleability, ductility, elasticity, hardness, brittleness, and conductivity have several benefits. It gives the component tensile strength. Steel reinforcement is employed because the tensile strength of concrete is inadequate.
Construction of steel structures like skyscrapers, industrial buildings, cold storage, etc. typically uses structural steel.
A bar made of HYSD steel is typically used to create structural elements like beams, columns, footings, etc.
Steel is used in kitchens, columns, beams, floors, bridges, piloties, etc.
Plastic
Plastic is used a lot these days when compared to the usage of other building materials. It is easily available in the market with affordable prices, easy to maintain.
Plastic has good properties, i.e; it is durable, ductile, has thermal properties, fire resistance, melting point, easy maintenance, good finishing, strong, etc.
Conclusion
Building materials over the years have evolved enormously and each evolution gave birth to a new design element through its building materials. Every material has its own pros and cons. Usage of the materials considering their physical and socio-economic impact on the people and its environment affects the overall space and its development.
New building materials and technologies should be developed like pre-fabricated structures, precast slabs, etc., hence reducing the time and labor cost in construction.