Miscellaneous Building Materials
Glasses, plastics, bitumen, asbestos, paints, distempers, and varnishes are just a few of the various materials used in building. Their features and uses are briefly described in this article.GLASS
Silica is the central component of glass. But to bring down the melting point, it has to be incorporated with sodium-potassium carbonate. It is also incorporated into lead or lace oxide to make durable lime. Manganese oxide is added to eliminate the negative effects of undesirable iron in nazis silica. Raw materials are ground and sieve. They are mixed in a certain proportion and melted in the furnace. Then the glassware is made by blowing, flat drawing, rolling and pressing.
Properties of Glass
1. It absorbs light, repels or transmits light. It can be made transparent or translucent.
2. It can take the best polish.
3. It is an excellent electrical insulator.
4. It is strong and easy to break.
5. It can be blown, crafted or pressed.
6. It is not affected by the environment.
7. It has excellent resistance to chemicals.
8. It is available in various beautiful colors.
9. With the advancement in technology, it is possible to make glass lighter than cork or stronger than steel.
10. Glass panes can be easily cleaned.
Types of Glass
The glass have the following types.
1. Soda Lime Glass:
It is mainly a mixture of sodium silicate and calcium silicate. It is fusible at low temperatures. In the case of fusion, it can be easily blown or welded. It's colorless. It is used as a window pan and for laboratory taps and equipment.
2. Potash Lime Glass:
It is mainly a mixture of potassium silicate and calcium silicate. It is also known as hard glass. It fuses at high temperatures. It is used in the manufacture of glass articles that have high temperatures.
3. Potash Lead Glass:
It is mainly a mixture of potassium silicate and lead silicate. It has a bright glow and tremendous reflexes. It is used in the manufacture of synthetic gems, electric bulbs, lenses, elites and more.
4. Common Glass:
It is mainly a mixture of sodium silicate, calcium silicate, and iron silicate. It is brown, green or yellow. It is mainly used in the manufacture of drug bottles.
5. Special Glasses:
Properties of glasses can be suitably altered by changing
basic ingredients and adding a few more ingredients. It has now emerged as
versatile material to meet any special requirement in engineering.
PLASTICS
Plastic is an organic material made from resin. It may or may not include fillers, plasticizers and solvents. Plastics can be defined as natural or synthetic organic materials, which are characterized by being plastic at some stage of manufacture when they can be molded to the desired size and shape. Shell and bitumen are natural resin used as plastic for a long time. In 1907, Beckland produced artificial resin in reaction with phenol and formaldehyde. The resin was hardened in pressure and heat to produce useful plastic articles.
Types of Plastics
there are two types
of plastics:
1. Thermosetting Plastics:
It requires a lot of warmth and tremendous pressure momentarily while shaping it. When a warm cross-link between the molecules is formed and the chemical reaction takes place. During this phase, the shape can be changed with pressure. This change is not reversible. Such plastic scrap is not reusable. Baking is an example of such plastic.
2. Thermosetting Plastics:
In this case, the relationship between the molecules is very loose. They can be softened by repeated heating. This property facilitates the reuse of waste plastic. These plastics need time to cool and harden. Keep these plastics in the molds until the cooling process is complete. Bitumen, cellulose, and shellac are examples of such plastics.
Properties of Plastics
1. Color:
Some plastics are completely transparent. Plastic colored plastics can be used for any color.
2. Dimensional stability:
It is largely dimensionally stable.
3. Durability:
Plastic offers strong resistance to moisture and chemicals and is, therefore, more durable.
4. Electrical insulation
Plastics have the best electrical insulation properties.
5. Fire resistance:
Phenol formaldehyde and urea-formaldehyde plastics are highly resistant to fire and hence they are used as fireproofing material.
6. Strength:
Plastics are reasonably strong. The strengths of different fibers can be enhanced by strengthening them. Efforts are being made to produce sound plastics.
7. Specific gravity:
The specific gravity of the plastic is very low and therefore easy to handle.
8. Softness:
Plastics are not soft so they fail without warning.
9. Fixing:
Plastic can be bolted, drilled, glided, clamped or fitted in bus position.
10. Maintenance:
Plastic articles do not cost maintenance, meaning they do not need to be painted and polished.
Uses of Plastics
There are different types of plastic to suit different uses. Common uses of plastics in buildings are listed below.
1. Corrugated and plain sheets for roofing.
2. To make the joint lower floor.
3. Floor tiles
4. Water tanks
5. Bath and sink unit.
6. Swimming Cistern Hall
7. Decorative pieces and molding.
8. Window and door frames and shutters for bathroom doors.
9. Lighting fixtures
10. Electricity money.
11. Electrical insulators.
12. For carrying cold water. Pipe.
BITUMEN
Asphalt, bitumen, and tar are called bituminous materials, which are mainly hydrocarbon substances. Asphalt is a mixture of non-mineralized lime alumina, lime, silica, and a hydrocarbon known as asphaltic bitumen. In some places, such as Trinidad and Bermudez, asphalt is available in nature from 3 to 60 meters deep.
This is called natural asphalt. The most commonly used varieties throughout the world are residual asphalt, obtained from the excavation of crude petroleum oil. Bitumen is a binding material contained in asphalt. It is a hydrocarbon. This is achieved by the partial tension of crude oil. It contains 87 percent carbon, 11 percent hydrogen, and 2 percent oxygen.
Tar is obtained in the destructive distillation of coal, wood or other organic materials. When coal or wood is heated to redness in a closed chamber, it produces volatile produce and the rest of the coke. After separating and cooling the solid product, the tar is found.
A comparison between asphalt, remnant, and tar is presented in the table
.
ASBESTOS
Asbestos is a common name for many types of fibrous minerals that are available in nature. But at present, most commercial assets are produced by chriotile' [Mg6SiO11 (OH) 6.H2O].
Properties of Asbestos
1. It is flexible, soft and non-porous.
2. It is fireproof and acid-proof material.
3. It is a good insulator of heat and electricity.
When. When mixed with cement and water, it retains its shape firmly.
Its- Its color is brown or gray.
6. It can be cut into pieces or drilled.
7. It has a high tensile strength in the direction of its fibers.
8. Its specific gravity is 3.10.
Uses of Asbestos
1. Asbestos cement sheets are the cheapest roofing materials.
2. Asbestos cement pipes are used to bring down rainwater pipes from the roof.
3. With bitumen, it forms a good moist proof layer.
4. It is used to manufacture fireproof ropes and fabrics.
5. It is used as the covering material for fuses and electric switch boxes.
6. It is useful for insulation of boilers, furnaces, etc.
PAINTS
Paints are painted on the surfaces of wood, metal and plastered surfaces as a protective layer and at the same time for a pleasant display. The paint is applied in a liquid form and after a while, the volatile component and hard coating act as a protective layer.
Properties of an Ideal Paint
1. It should be possible to apply freely and freely.
2. It should be dry at the appropriate time. 3. It should form a hard and durable surface.
4. It should not be harmful to workers' health.
5. It should not be easily influenced by the environment.
6. It should own an attractive and pleasant appearance.
7. It should be made of a thin film of the same type ie it should not crack.
8. It should possess the power of spreading well.
9. It should be cheap.
Types of Paints
Depending on their component, different types of paint. A brief description of some of these commonly used is given below.
1. Oil Paint:
These paints are applied in three coats of primer, undercoat and finishing coat. The presence of moisture when applying a primer adversely affects the oil color life. This paint is cheap and easy to use.
2. Enamel paint:
It contains white lead, oil, petroleum spirit, and resin material. Its surface provides excellent resistance to acids, alkalies, and water. Before applying the enamel coat, a titanium white coat is required. It can be used for both exterior and interior walls.
3. Emulsion Paint:
It contains binding material such as polyvinyl acetate, synthetic resin, etc. It dries in 1 1/2 to 2 hours and is easy to apply. It is more durable and can be cleaned with water. For plastered surfaces, a cement paint coat should be applied first and then the emulsion point. Emulsion paints require a level of sound.
4. Cement Paint:
It is available in powder form. These include white cement, pigments, and others. It is durable and exhibits excellent decorative appearance. It should be applied on rough surfaces rather than smooth surfaces. It is applied in two coats. The first coat is applied on a wet surface but is more water-free and allowed to dry for up to 24 hours. This is followed by a second coat that offers good shape.
5. Bituminous paints:
This type of paint is made by dissolving the residues of asphalt or vegetable in oil or petroleum. It's black. It is used for painting underground ironworks.
6. Synthetic Rubber Paint:
This paint is made from resin. It dries quickly and is rarely affected by the weather and sunlight. It is well resistant to chemical attack. This paint can also be applied to fresh concrete. Its cost is moderate and can be easily applied.
7. Aluminum paint:
It contains fine ground aluminum in the spirit or oil varnish. It also appears in the dark. The iron and steel surfaces are well protected with this paint. It is widely used for painting gas tanks, water pipes and oil tanks. 8. Anti-Corrosion Paint: It mainly consists of oil, a strong dew, leads or zinc chrome and finely ground sand. It is inexpensive and well resistant to corrosion. It's black.
DISTEMPERS
Distempers are an inexpensive variety of colors in which chalk is used as a base and water is used as a carrier. The emulsifying agent most commonly used is glue or casein. Distempers are available in powder form or paste form. They should be mixed with warm water before use.
The surface should be thoroughly rubbed and cleaned. Draw, if anyone wants to fill with lime putty. The surface should be kept dry for about two to two months before applying the distemper. This is how the primary coat is applied and allowed to dry. Distemper is usually applied in two coats
Properties of Distemper
1. They are usually light in color.
2. Coatings are generally thick.
3. They provide a reflective coating.
They. They are less durable than oil paints but less expensive.
VARNISHES
The varnish is solved like resins or resinous substances such as amber, copper, shellac, gum resin, etc. in solvents such as oil, turpentine, alcohol. Depending on the solvent used, it is said that,
Oil varnishes, turpentine varnishes, spirits varnishes, and water varnishes. The required characteristics of an ideal varnish are
1. It should give a shiny surface.
2. It must be durable.
3. It should dry quickly after application.
4. It should not produce cracks after drying. It is commonly used on wood surfaces