Building construction plastics applications

Selection of fans and ducting for local extract must be more rigorous than for other systems. The fan must be capable of withstanding abrasion or corrosion from the contaminants, and if they are flammable must have a flameproof or out-of-air stream motor. The ducting also must be able to withstand abrasion or corrosion and must be fully sealed to prevent escape of contaminants within the building. For specialist applications such as fume cupboard extract, ducting and fans are often of plastic construction. 

The building and construction plastics account only for 3% of overall collectable plastic waste in Western Europe in 2002, of which about 8% is mechanically recycled within Europe on a regular basis. However, the building and construction sector is an important end market for recycled plastics from many sectors. Some 30% of overall recycled plastics are used in applications such as insulation, fences and flooring. 

Miscellaneous Applications. There are many such uses, some of which will be questioned as engineering. Some of these applications include building construction, luggage, safety-helmets, seating, kitchen utensils, rope and strapping, shoe parts, rollers, furniture, and even dentures. This list can go on almost indefinitely and the plastics used, reflecting desired properties, will vary widely. 

Each building code has a list of specific conditions and requirements for the use of foamed plastics. Typically, these cover trim, masonry construction, cold storage buildings, metal faced building units, roofing applications, doors and exterior sheating. 

BS 476. Part lO [7] is a guide to principles and applications of fire testing as applied to materials, composite.s, and products used in building construction. The BS 476 scries of tests arc not dealt with in detail here, as they are not primarily intended for building products, which will include plastics and textile products. 

The normal method of surface-based fire protection involves the application of a protective dye or coating on textiles, woods, or even metals and building construction materials. This technique is rather exceptional for plastics, but it is worth discussing. 

Thermoplastic rubber is a relatively new class of polymer. It has the solubility and thermoplasticity of polystyrene, while at ambient temperatures it has the toughness and resilience of vulcanized natural rubber or polybutadiene. These rubbers are actually block copolymers. The simplest form consists of a rubbery mid-block with two plastic end blocks (A-B-A), as shown in Figure 5.7. Examples of commercial products are Kraton and Solprene . These materials are often compounded with plasticizers to decrease hardness and modulus, eliminate drawing, enhance pressure-sensitive tack, improve low-temperature flexibility, reduce melt and solution viscosity, decrease cohesive strength or increase plasticity if desired, and substantially lower material costs. Low levels of thermoplastic rubbers are sometimes added to other rubber adhesives. These materials are used as components in the following applications PSAs, hot-melt adhesives, heat-activated-assembly adhesives, contact adhesives, reactive contact adhesives, building construction adhesives, sealants, and binders. Two common varieties of thermoplastic rubber adhesives are styrene-butadiene-styrene (S-B-S) and styrene-isoprene-styrene (S-I-S). ... 

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) provide Standards UL 94 Tests for Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances. The standard is important for classifying polymeric materials (including polymer blends and alloys) for the use in electrical applications. It is widely used and the results are reported in the literature and in company catalogues. However, the requirements are not applicable to polymeric materials used in building construction or finishing. The tests conducted under this standard are summarized below. 

The use of plastics specifically in building construction is discussed in five sections in Chapter 3, by considering their structural, secondary structural and non-structural applications and also their use in polymeric coatings and EPDM membranes. Systems for condensation control is the theme of Chapter 4. 

Epoxy resin, as an adhesive, is nsed for many applications in building/construction, (i.e., it is possible to bond a new rebar to existing steel in concrete instead of welding it, by use of special epoxy adhesives). Epoxy can bond to almost any material (for strnctural or non-structural bonding) with high adhesive strength in various environments and temperatures. In civil engineering applications, epoxy adhesives are used to bond concrete in a number of different ways. Epoxy can be used to bond plastic concrete (or wet concrete) to cured concrete, it can be used to bond cured concrete to cured concrete, or cured concrete to cracked concrete, as well as to bond cured concrete to other materials with similar or dissimilar thermal expansion coefficients and elastic moduli. 

Plastics materials will not reduce the demand for bricks, mortar and concrete but it is clear that as the construction industry gains confidence in using new materials, their influence is likely to spread. The main uses of plastics materials and their applications in building construction can be summarised as in Table 6.6. 

Engineering applications for plastics include mechanical units imder stress, low friction components, heat and chemical resistant units, electrical parts, housings, high Hght transmission applications, building construction functions, and many miscellaneous uses. 

Due to its versatile chemical and physical properties PVC is used for a wide range of applications. Applications include piping, building construction, clothing, wire insulation, molded automobile bodies, and toys. Addition of plasticizer to PVC improves its flexibility, toughness, and impact resistance, making it suitable for a variety of packaging applications (Chanda and Roy, 2009). 

For the development and application of plastic materials, proof of sufficient resistance to media load represents an important goal and a decisive parameter. In various branches of industry, such as chemical equipment construction, the packaging industry, building construction, medical technology, and microelectronics, medial behavior alone is often in fact decisive for the actual use of plastic articles. The physical and/or chemical interactions initiated by media contact generally lead to less serviceability and often premature failure of components and protective coatings [162],... 

The fifth and final section opens with a chapter on design of plastic parts then presents applications plastics in buildings and construction, infrastructure applications of fiber-reinforced polymer composites, the plastic piping industry in North America, and PET use in blow-molded rigid packaging. 

Fiberglass-based roofing shingles are similar to reinforced plastics applications and require durable organic polymers to resist the sun and other degradative effects. Vinylbenzylaminosilane has been used in formulations to allow the products to meet the requirements of building codes and construction standards. 

A modern automobile contains over 300 lb (150 kg) of plastics, and this does not include paints, the rubber in tires, or the fibers in tires and upholstery. Newer aircraft incorporate increasing amounts of polymers and polymer-based composites. With the need to save fuel and therefore weight, polymers will continue to replace traditional materials in the automotive and aircraft industries. Similarly, the applications of polymers in the building construction industry (piping, resilient flooring, siding, thermal and electrical insulation, paints, decorative laminates) are already impressive and will become even more so in the... 

The improved physical and mechanical properties of the wood-plastic composites lead to a diversity of applications, e.g., automotive parts, furniture, construction (e.g., building panel, flooring veneers), toys, cutlery handles, industrial pattern, sports equipment, musical... 

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