Sustainable, Rapid and Affordable Mass Housing Using ‘GFRG’ Panels
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.