Ferro Cement
Ferrocement is a thin composite made with a cement-based mortar matrix reinforced with closely spaced layers of small diameter wire mesh. The mesh may be made of metallic or other suitable materials.
Ferrocement was first discovered in 1848 in France by Joseph Lambot and patented by him in 1852. In other words, this predates reinforced concrete by 25-30 years.
FerroCement Uses
Ferrocement’s features make it useful in a wide range of applications :
- Aqueducts,
- Boats
- Buildings
- Bus shelters
- Bridge decks
- Concrete road repair
- Factory-built homes
- Food and water storage containers
- Irrigation structures
- Retaining walls
- Sculptures
- Traffic-caution signboards
Ferro cement can be used in such compound-curved structures as domes, roofs, and ship hulls. Round or conical tanks, silos, and pontoons can also be constructed very satisfactorily with thin-walled Ferro cement.
FerroCement Construction
Ferrocement construction can be divided into four phases:
- Fabricating the skeletal framing system
- Applying rods and mesh
- Plastering
- Curing
FerroCement Dome
Gurudwara Brahm Bunga, Doraha near Ludhiana
www.crt-smart.com/fc-dome.html
The 22 ft dia dome is only 30 mm thick and is perched at a height of 90 feet on top of the temple building.
Trusses were prefabricated on simple jigs on floor.
Hoop Steel being tied around trusses.
GI Meshes over the armature
Plastering with High Performance mix
After plastering it is immediately wrapped in an impermeable HDPE sheet and put on drip-curing under intensive care for a month.
FerroCement Javier Senosiain’s The shark
The artistic spontaneity of Javier Senosiain’s bioarchitecture illustrates a type of design freedom and zest for life which only ferrocement can provide. Here is his design known as “Tiburón” (shark).
The Organic House was designed with one bedroom, a growing family was the need to expand, and this expansion was connected to the middle part of the original tunnel.
The monolithic structure is of ferrocement, the half-buried bedrooms work as foundation avoiding the reversing of the study that was built in the upper part facing Los Remedios National Park.
FerroCement Javier Senosiain’s AMOEBA HOUSE
AMOEBA HOUSE is in Itú, Brazil, within a private dwelling complex provided with a golf course surrounded by the lush vegetation of the area and located at just 120 kilometers away from the city of San Paulo.
FerroCement Javier Senosiain’s THE NAUTILUS
In this work the floor is the logarithmic spiral, adapting itself to the land. Work on the scale model generated many changes to find the volume which required the building.
FerroCement Advantage
- Greater Tensile strength
- Provide better resistance to fire, earthquake, and corrosion than traditional materials, such as wood, adobe and stone masonry in residential construction
- The materials are relatively inexpensive, and can usually be obtained locally
- Only a few simple hand tools are needed to build uncomplicated structures
- Repairs are usually easy and inexpensive
- Structure can take any shape & size
FerroCement Disadvantage
- Its poor impact resistance
- Structures made of it can be punctured by forceful collision with pointed objects.
- It is not possible to nail, screw, or weld to Ferrocement
- Meticulous building precision is crucial in ferrocement construction especially with respect to the cement composition and the way in which it is applied in and on the framework.
References
www.crt-smart.com/fc-dome.html
Forum Threads
Study Notes PDF
Study notes of Construction Material FERROCEMENT useful for students of architecture
construction materials-ferrocement.pdf
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