INTERNSHIP REPORT 2019-20

LOW COST HOUSING

Name: Madhav Tiwari (17110079), Mukesh Kumar (16110098), Rishabh Jain (16110138) &
Ishank Singh (16110064)
Discipline: Civil Engineering
Organization: Udaipur Cement Work Limited, Udaipur
Guide Name: Mr. Deepak Chauhan & Mr. Prabhu lal

Project Abstract:
The use of GFRG panels for construction of residential buildings results in significant
increase in the construction speed, reduction in the labour requirement and construction
cost, reduction in the use of energy intensive construction materials and promotion of reuse
of industrial by-product waste generated by fertilizer industries in large magnitudes.
Moreover, the use of light weight GFRG panels minimizes the building self-weight
significantly, which makes the GFRG building technology appropriate for use in higher
seismic zones. The whole building, made out of concrete in filled GFRG panels, avoids the
use of bricks (with multiple joints and weak locations) and reduces the use of concrete
significantly. The excellent surface finish of GFRG panels eliminates the need for plastering.
At least one-fifth of the construction cost can be saved due to the use of this technology.
From the durability point of view, the life of GFRG buildings can be expected to be not less
than that of similar conventional building. There is great potential to utilize these
technologies for affordable mass housing projects in India. Housing using GFRG is an ideal
solution for mass housing which can be rapidly built which addresses sustainability and
delivers quality houses.
Project Details:
By doing this project we have expanded our knowledge base and which lead us to
think in a much broader way to analyse and solve problems related to civil engineering. As
our main objectives of this project were to construct a house which should have the
following properties:

 Low cost

 Precast elements

 Light weight

 Durable
 In order to achieve these objectives, we divided the project into three sections which
include design of house, selection of material and construction of elements of house.
Design of house
We explored many designs of exhibition halls present all over the world and finally
we thought four different design of the exhibition hall. This was the first time that we were
designing an exhibition hall using our theoretical knowledge. During this process we learnt
that there are many factors like comfort ability, cost, and location of a house affect its
design. This was the first time we learned few new softwares like “Revit Architecture” and
“Autodesk 3ds Max” which was very much useful in basic design of the house. Also, we
learned many new commands in softwares like “Autocad” and “SAP 2000” which we used in
this project. We read many new clauses of IS codes like IS 456, IS 1893 part 1 and SP 16 for
design of beam, column, slab and foundation of the house.
Selection of material
Keeping in mind that we had to construct a low cost house, during the literature
review we came through many building materials like conventional red bricks, AAC blocks,
GFRG panels and Ferro cement which might be used for our purpose. We did a detailed
research on these materials with respect to their cost, manufacturing process and durability.
Depending on these factors we decided to use GFRG panels for our purpose.
We found three different types of Gypsum (Chemical, Phospho and Mineral) which
was present in UCWL plant. We read many articles and IS codes like IS 2547 part 1, IS 2095
part 1 and IS 2542 part 1 and learned how to make Plaster of Paris from Gypsum. Based on
our theoretical learning, we calcined all three types of Gypsum to make Plaster of Paris. We
did the chemical testing and cube testing of all three kinds of Plaster of Paris and verified
the results with IS standards. During the process we learned cube casting and testing
procedures and the properties of different Fibres that might be used as a binder in GFRG
panels. Based on testing results we selected Plaster of Paris made of Phospho Gypsum and
“Roasted Glass Fibre” as our final material for the construction of GFRG panels
Construction and assembly of different elements of model House
For casting different elements of house, we explored different kind of moulds (Steel
mould, Wood mould etc.) that might be used in our project and based on their feasibility we
made wood mould for casting the elements. Based on our study we used oven available in
UCWL chemical lab for drying purpose of casted panels.
We learned from our instructors about how to assemble and join different elements
of the model house and based on their instruction we assembled the model house using
Plaster of Paris and completed our project.
Apart from the above-mentioned work there is a lot of work still need to be done.
One major limitation we faced was large scale calcination of the phospho gypsum, we still
need to solve this problem. Apart from this we could have also studied the effect of
different fibres present in the UCWL lab. Effect of cellulose as binding agent can also be
studied. Apart from these the POP developed is alpha crystallised POP however we can try
to form beta POP which is developed by calcining the phospho gypsum under steam
pressure which according to the literature have more strength.
Overall Experience:
Apart from our project we also took part in other activities like Plant visit, mines visit
and kiln visit. During the limestone mines visit we learned how the crushing, blasting of
limestone was done and also other mines related process at the site and during the planned
plant shutdown we visited the kiln maintenance site and analysed the opportunity areas for
speedy maintenance and how to prevent scaling in the kiln.
It was a surprise for us to see that even though UCWL is a technical industry;
employees here celebrated environment day, yoga day and also actively participated in
campaign like blood donation camp. During our intern period we also enthusiastically
participated in these activities which ranged from making a short video for the environment
day program, participating in debate, poetry recitation and other competitions to doing
yoga early in the morning with other employees. Apart from these some of the interns also
donated blood in the blood donation camp. And it was very good to see all the employees
so active and also encouraging us to do the same throughout our stay at UCWL.
Any Recommendations:
Though we were able to learn and interact well with the civil department present at
the UCWL plant, but we find that compared to civil there were more learning opportunities
for the students in chemical, mechanical, and electrical discipline. It would have been a
more enriching technical experience for us if the internship at UCWL had some construction
site visits, but since it was a cement production plant therefore availability of the
construction site was not much as the civil department there mainly dealt with the
maintenance of the plant.