SUSTAINABLE, RAPID AND AFFORDABLE MASS HOUSING USING

‘GFRG’ PANELS
1
SHINTO PAUL, 2DEVDAS MENON, 3A. MEHER PRASAD, 4P. GOPINATHAN

PhD Scholar, Professor at IITM, Professor at IITM, Director of RBS India

Email: shintopaul@gmail.com, prasadam@iitm.ac.in, dmenon@iitm.ac.in, pgopinathan@rapidwall.com.au

Abstract— The construction of building systems using Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) panels is a very promising
and emerging building technology. Huge housing shortage in countries like India invites innovative solutions that are not only
sustainable, affordable and of good quality, but which also facilitate rapid construction. Based on extensive research carried
out at IIT Madras for more than a decade, this technology has been demonstrated by constructing around 300 buildings in
India. GFRG buildings can completely avoid cement plastering, and uses much less quantities of steel, cement sand and water
compared to conventional buildings. GFRG buildings consume much less embodied energy (less carbon footprint) and
recycles industrial waste gypsum, contributing to sustainable development. Design and construction aspects of GFRG
buildings are presented in this paper.

Index Terms—GFRG Panels, walls, GFRG-RC slabs, affordable mass housing, shear strength, P-M interaction curves.

I. INTRODUCTION cavities are formed between outer skins (flanges), 15

mm thick, and interconnecting ribs, 20 mm thick, at
Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) panels are 250 mm spacing. Each one metre length of GFRG
new building materials that are suitable for rapid panel has four such cavities of size 230 mm length and
mass-scale building construction. GFRG panels are 94 mm wide, as shown in Fig. 2.
made essentially of high quality gypsum plaster (beta
plaster), reinforced with glass fibre rovings and
special additives. This product was originally
developed and used since 1990 in Australia by
Rapidwall Building Systems [1]. Presently, these
panels are manufactured in a few Asian countries like
India, China, Saudi Arabia and Oman. In Australia,
several buildings had been built using the Rapidwall
technology, but the use of the panels were restricted to
walls, resisting gravity loads. The floors were made of
conventional reinforced concrete slabs.
Since 2003, the IITM research team has been engaged
in extensive research on extending the use of these
panels as structural members for all components of the
building, including floor slabs and staircases, thereby
it reduces the consumption of Reinforced Concrete
Fig. 1 Elevation and cross section of GFRG panel
(RC) significantly. Furthermore, a detailed design
methodology has been developed for the entire
building system, including earthquake and wind
resistant design. The design and construction of each
structural component of the GFRG building system is
briefly discussed in this paper.
GFRG panels are qualified for carbon credits by the
World Bank under Kyoto protocol [2] and certified as
green building material by The United Nations
Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) [3].

II. GFRG PANELS: DIMENSIONS AND

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES Fig. 2 Enlarged view of a typical cell

GFRG panel are manufactured to a standard size of The mechanical properties of GFRG panels, for both
12.0 m length, 3.0 m height and 124 mm thick, with empty panels and panels filled with M20 concrete in
modular cavities, as shown in Fig.1. These cellular all cavities are given in Table I, based on tests

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conducted at IIT Madras. IV. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF GFRG
Table I: GFRG Panels: Mechanical properties BUILDINGS
S.
Mechanical Property Characteristic Value
No. GFRG buildings are designed as load bearing systems.
i Unit weight 0.43 kN/m2 Hence, all the walls have to be started from the
Uni-axial compressive 160 kN/m (empty panel) foundation or plinth beam till the terrace. Ideally, the
ii
strength 1310 kN/m (filled panel) same floor plan has to be replicated for all floors in
21.6 kN/m (empty panel)
iii Ultimate shear strength multi-storey buildings. Buildings can be designed up
61.0 kN/m (filled panel)
to ten storeys in low seismic zones, using GFRG
1% in 1 hour, 3.85% in 24
iv Water absorption panels (and to lesser height in high seismic zones),
hours*
2.30 hour rating (empty panel) without conventional columns and beams. In this
v Fire resistance 4.0 hour rating (filled panel) building system, the foundation is conventional, while
- withstood 900-1000°C the entire structural elements in super structure is
Coefficient of thermal constructed using GFRG panels.
vi 12 x 10-6 mm/mm/°C
expansion Limit states design procedures are used for the design
* Current GFRG panel’s water absorption is less than 2 percentage with improved
formulation
of GFRG buildings, considering the ultimate limit
state for strength design, as well as serviceability
requirements. The partial safety factors for reinforcing
III. APPLICATIONS AND ADVANTAGES steel and the GFRG panel (with and without concrete
infill) is taken as γs = 1.15 and γm = 1.50 respectively,
GFRG building panels are generally used in the as recommended in IS 456: 2000 [4]. Earthquake
following ways: resistant design is carried out in compliance with the
a) As load bearing walls in buildings, to resist gravity requirements of international codes (in India IS 1893
load; (Part 1): 2002), where the response reduction factor
b) As partition or infill walls in multi-storeyed framed (R) is taken as 3.0 for seismic load calculations [1],[
RC structures; 5].
c) As compound walls in combination with minimum Proper preparation of ‘cutting drawings’ (in which the
quantity of concrete; window and door openings are marked) is equally
d) As shear walls, to resist both gravity load and lateral important in addition to structural drawings, for
load from earthquakes and wind; also as walls of proper construction of the GFRG building. The
lift-well and parapet walls; cutting drawings shall be prepared in such a way that
e) As floor slabs / roof slabs, pitched roof slabs and the number of joints and the wastage of cut panels are
also as staircase waist slabs and mid-landing minimum.
slabs; The construction of GFRG building is different from
GFRG building system has following advantages over the conventional method. It requires special type of
conventional building systems: equipment, tools and tackles such as appropriate crane
i) High speed of construction; for loading, unloading and erecting the panels, lifting
ii) More carpet area for the same built-up area: jaws and spreader bar for lifting the panels and
thickness of wall panels is only 124mm; adjustable later props for supporting wall panels after
iii) Less embodied energy and carbon footprint [2]: erection. The design and construction of important
significant reduction in use of steel, cement, sand structural elements are summarised in the following
and water; recycling of industrial waste gypsum; sections.
iv) Less cost of construction: savings in materials; no
cement plastering; V. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF
v) Less building weight (panels weigh only 44 kg/m2), FOUNDATION
thereby reduction in design for seismic forces and
savings in foundation, especially in The conventional type of foundations are used in
multi-storeyed buildings; GFRG building constructions. The foundation is
vi) 8 to 10 storeyed buildings can be designed using designed base on the safe bearing capacity of soil and
GFRG panels, without the need of conventional soil profile at the particular site and the number of
RC beams and columns; storeys of the structure. Generally, strip footing is
vii) Very good finishes of GFRG buildings: use of used, as the superstructure consists of load bearing
factory made panels for all the walls, floors and walls. Simple masonry spread footings are sufficient
staircases; for low rise GFRG building, with a network of
viii) Less CO2 emission compared to other reinforced concrete (RC) plinth beams on top, above
conventional building materials [2]; which the GFRG wall panels can be placed. ‘Starter
ix) Better thermal comfort inside GFRG building bars’ have to be inserted in the plinth beams, at the
compared to conventional buildings.
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locations (Fig.3), where the cavities of the panel are to panels with an intervals of 0.25m), reinforced with
be filled with RC, with appropriate lap length in M20 concrete and two reinforcement bars in each
accordance with national codes. This ensures cavity [5]. A typical design P-M interaction curve for
connection of the superstructure with the foundation, 2.0 m length panel is given in Fig. 4.
spread over the entire wall length over the network of
plinth beams. If the foundation is deep, properly
designed reinforced concrete pedestals can be used to
support RC plinth beams, with small isolated footings
(Fig. 3). For taller GFRG buildings, reinforced
concrete walls may be provided to support the plinth
beams, with appropriate strip or raft footing below.

Fig. 4 Design Pud-Mud plots for 2.0 m wide GFRG panel

Based on the structural requirements and the design

interaction curves, the interval of concrete infilling
and size of reinforcement to be provided in walls are
decided. The cavities in the GFRG wall panels shall be
filled, wherever structurally required, with concrete of
Fig. 3 Foundation, Plinth beam with starter bars grade not less than M20, using aggregate of size less
than 12mm. For low rise GFRG buildings (up to three
A network of RC plinth beams has to be constructed as storeys), no need structural requirement to infill all
per the structural design drawings and the top has to cavities with reinforced concrete, although it is
be at a perfectly horizontal level. A layer of damp desirable to fill all cavities with plain concrete or
proof course over the RC plinth beam is mandatory in quarry dust with cement, in view of public perception
order to avoid the possible absorption of water by glass of safety against intrusion, and also facilitate nailing,
fibres in the GFRG panels through capillary suction. drilling, fastening of non-structural components etc.
Reinforcing bars may be provided where required, but
VI. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF GFRG in no case, more than three adjoining cavities shall
WALLS remain unreinforced. Single bar reinforcement of
suitable diameter (not less than 8mm), may be used in
The GFRG walls are designed to resist axial force (P) such low-rise buildings.
from gravity loads, lateral in-plane shear force (V) and The GFRG panels can be installed quickly using
in-plane bending moment (M) from wind and seismic cranes (Fig. 5). Lifting jaws and spreader bar are to be
loads. The in-plane bending capacity of the walls used to lift the GFRG panel safely. It is advisable to
depends on its length, the reinforcement provided, as erect panel without removing door/ window cut pieces
well as the level of axial load and lateral shear. The from the panel. This will keep the panel in balance and
design in-plane bending capacity (Mud) and its help to locate the centre of gravity of wall panel. Once
relationship with the design axial load capacity (Pud) the panel is brought in position, the plumb and level
is usually described by means of a Pud - Mud interaction are to be checked. Adjustable lateral props are used to
diagram. The values of Mud and in-plane shear fix the GFRG wall panels as show in Fig. 5. These
strength increase with the length of the wall [6]. props can be removed once the panels are in-filled
However, experimental studies of GFRG panels with concrete and gain sufficient lateral stability.
subjected to lateral loading have shown that failure is The slump of concrete shall be 70mm + /- 20mm and
initiated by vertical cracking caused by shear failure of water cement ratio shall be 0.50 to 0.55 to in fill of
the GFRG [1],[6],[7]. For all practical purposes, the cavities of wall panel. First pour of concrete is to be of
in-plane bending capacity is limited by the maximum 300 mm high from base of cavities. After 2
corresponding shear capacity. Longer shear walls tend hrs for allowing initial set of 1st pour of concrete, 2nd
to attract larger lateral loads and will form vertical pour of concrete up to window sill level shall be done.
shear cracks in the middle region, causing a further Simultaneously, the cavities which are not structurally
redistribution of forces, and possible further vertical required to be in-fiIled with concrete shall be in-filled
shear cracking. with lean concrete or quarry dust mixed with cement
(dry) in stages. All the electrical conduits and
Design interaction curves are developed for various plumbing lines can be laid through cavities now. It is
length of GFRG panels (from1.0m to 3.5m wide mandatory to provide RC embedded lintels over

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openings for doors and windows, exceeding 1.2 m in
width. 3rd pour of concrete shall be done up to window/
door top (2.1m high) and 4th pour up to bottom of
horizontal tie beam. This tie beam shall be done on top
of walls, all around just below roof slabs.

Fig. 7 Typical cross-section of GFRG-RC slab (with concealed

RC beams)
For installation of slab panels, provide a suitable
support system (acrospans) with adjustable vertical
props. The acrospans are aligned perpendicular to the
ribs direction. The panels are then lifted horizontally
means of by means of spreader bars attached with soft
Fig. 5 Wall panel being installed using crane, wall panels slings. Place the floor slab panels in position over the
supported by lateral props support system, with a minimum of 40 mm bearing on
all supporting walls.

Fig. 8 Placing of roof panels over support system

Fig. 6 Insertion of reinforcement and concreting of lintel cum

sunshade (cast-in-situ), concreting of wall panels

VII. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF GFRG

– RC FLOOR/ ROOF SLAB

GFRG panels, with ribs aligned in the direction of

bending, can be designed as a one-way slab system,
with the cavities suitably reinforced, as shown in
Fig.7. GFRG-RC slab systems can be used efficiently
in floor slabs and roof slabs. The ribs should be
oriented along the shorter span, supported on GFRG
wall panels. RC concealed beams, provided by filling
cavities at regular intervals (typically, every third
cavity or every alternate cavity, if required) and
suitably reinforced, combined with a screed concrete
of thickness not less than 50 mm, as shown in Fig.7, Fig. 9 Concreting of roof slab panels
provide a flanged-beam action. For roof slab,
minimum thickness of screed to be 60mm. One way The top skin/ flange of the panel shall be cut open,
slab action is assumed for deflection and strength typically at every third cavity (as per the drawing), by
check, considering T beam action of the embedded leaving minimum 25 mm flange on either side
beams.The screed concrete shall be reinforced with protruded to serve as the key to concealed RC “T“
suitable welded wire fabric (of required gauge and beam. The reinforcement cage of concealed reinforced
spacing), to avoid thermal and shrinkage cracks. concrete beams, tied and prepared in advance, are
Suitable cover blocks at 750mm spacing on both placed inside the open cavities. Simultaneously,
directions to be provided to keep weld mesh service cables and pipes are also laid. Side shuttering
reinforcement in correct level. The design of are provided throughout the perimeter of the floor slab
reinforcement in the concealed beams shall conform before concreting. Roll a welded mesh (Fe 250) of 10
to the requirements of national codes. gauges at a spacing of 100 mm x 100 mm over the
entire slab and with 25 mm effective cover from the
slab top. After this, concreting can be done with
minimum grade of M25 and maximum size of
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aggregate is 12 mm. Fig. 11 Two storeyed GFRG demo Building at IITM
VIII. STAIRCASE

GFRG panels can be used for the construction of

staircase waist slabs. All the top flanges of panels shall
be cut open and reinforcement cage is to be inserted.
This can be concreted after providing appropriate
support. The steps can be constructed with either
concrete or bricks as shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 GFRG buildings in Asian countries

SUMMARY

GFRG panels can be effectively used for the entire

Fig.10 GFRG panels used for staircase superstructure of a buildings, including all walls,
slabs, staircases, parapets, etc. This building system
IX. GFRG BUILDINGS IN ASIAN COUNTRIES has many advantages over conventional buildings.
GFRG buildings have the potential to meet the
A 2-storeyed GFRG building was constructed inside challenge of providing rapid affordable mass housing.
IIT Madras campus to demonstrate GFRG technology This is an eco-friendly and sustainable building
developed. The total built-up area of this building is system, making use of recycled industrial waste
1981 sq.ft, shown Fig. 11. This model house gypsum or natural gypsum and minimising the use of
apartment, houses four flats (two for the Economically cement, steel, sand, water and labour input. This
Weaker Section of carpet area of 269 sqft each and technology is now gaining acceptance in India and
two for the Lower Income Group of carpet area of 497 other Asian countries.
sqft each), which can be replicated for mass housing,
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