Objective
The construction sector employs directly 11.8 million people and is EU's largest industrial employer accounting for 7% of total employment in EU. About 910 billion Euro was invested in construction in 2003, representing 10% of the GDP. The construction sector is characterised by a large number of small enterprises, and relatively few large ones, with most enterprises serving a relatively small geographical market. When constructing blocks of flats the framework consist of a concrete skeleton making up the floors, ceilings, and transversal interior walls of the building. It is important to cover the facades as soon as possible so the building can dry properly and protect the interior from rain. Façade covers are traditionally temporary structures such as e.g. plastic covers supported by light wood or steel beams or permanent structures of wooden beams and gypsum. The temporary structures create a considerable amount of waste whilst the plaster and wood beams soak water that may give grounds for fungus and mould. Our idea is to develop a custom size, prefabricated façade wallboard to form part of the permanent construction based on water repellent closed cell polyurethane foam and construction waste as reinforcement. The wallboard will be up to 3 by 7.5 meter so no joints will be needed and light enough to be easily mounted using a lift and no scaffolds. The polyurethane foam has good insulation capabilities and combined with construction waste granulates as well as a geodesic net for reinforcement will provide the sufficient mechanical strength. Using waste as filler helps the construction industry to reduce the waste that normally would go to landfill. The product must be easy cut on the site to facilitate door and window assembly that often change from initial plans. The façade of each flat is typically 7.2 by 2.5 meter front and back. Assuming a retail price for our wallboard of €30 per m2 we get a European market value of €1.4 Bn and a global value of €3.2 Bn.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologymycology
- natural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciencespolyurethane
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementemployment
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste managementwaste treatment processes
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestry
Keywords
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
FP7-SME-2008-1
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
BSG-SME - Research for SMEsCoordinator
0570 OSOLO
Norway