- For other kinds of building materials, see Hardware, Biology, Star formation. Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a Technology. Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Star Formation is the process by which dense parts of Molecular clouds collapse into a ball of plasma to form a Star.
Building material is any material which is used for a construction purpose. Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag A rebar, or reinforcing bar, is a common Steel bar and is commonly used in Reinforced concrete and reinforced Masonry structures Materials are physical Substances used as inputs to production or Manufacturing. In the fields of Architecture and Civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the Building or assembling of Infrastructure See this outside definition. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, sand, wood and rocks, even twigs and leaves have been used to construct buildings. Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-made products are in use, some more and some less synthetic. The manufacture of building materials is an established industry in many countries and the use of these materials is typically segmented into specific speciality trades, such as carpentry, plumbing, roofing and insulation work. A carpenter (builder is a skilled craftsman who performs carpentry - a wide range of Woodworking that includes constructing buildings, Plumbing, from the Latin plumbum for Lead, is the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and Plumbing fixtures for This reference deals with habitats and structures including homes. The term habitat comes from Ecology, and includes many interrelated features especially the immediate physical environment, the Urban environment or the The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation
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Natural materials
Mud, stone, and fiberous plants are the most basic building materials, aside from tents made of flexible materials such as cloth or skins. A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope Leather is a material created through the Tanning of hides and Skins of Animals primarily Cattlehide The Tanning process People all over the world have used these three materials together to create homes to suit their local weather conditions. The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. In general stone and/or brush are used as basic structural components in these buildings, while mud is used to fill in the space between, acting as a type of concrete and insulation. Structure is a fundamental and sometimes Intangible notion covering the Recognition, Observation, nature, and Stability of
Some examples are the wattle and daub mostly used as permanent housing in tropical countries or as summer structures by ancient northern peoples. Wattle and daub (or wattle-and-daub) is a Building material used for making walls in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed
Mud and clay
The amount of each material used leads to different styles of buildings. The deciding factor is usually connected with the quality of the soil being used. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Larger amounts of clay usually mean using the cob/adobe style, while low clay soil is usually associated with sod building. Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Cob is a Building material consisting of Clay, Sand, Straw, water and earth, similar to Adobe. Adobe bricks are a Natural building material made from Sand, Clay, water and some kind of fibrous or Organic material ( Sticks, Sod or turf is grass and the part of the Soil beneath it held together by the Roots or a piece of this material The other main ingredients include more or less sand/gravel and straw/grasses. Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles Gravel is rock that is of a specific Particle size range In Geology, gravel is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters (2mm Straw is an agricultural By-product, the dry stalk of a Cereal plant after the Grain or Seed has been removed Rammed earth is both an old and newer take on creating walls, once made by compacting clay soils between planks by hand, now forms and mechanical pneumatic compressors are used. Rammed earth, also known as cob, pisé de terre or simply pisé, is a type of construction material Plato 's Theory of Forms asserts that Forms (or Ideas) and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess A machine is any device that uses Energy to perform some activity Pneumatics, Pressurized gas to affect mechanical motion Pneumatic power is used in Industry, where it is common to have factory units plumbed for Compressed
Soil and especially clay is good thermal mass; it is very good at keeping temperatures at a constant level. Homes built with earth tend to be naturally cool in the summer heat and warm in cold weather. Clay holds heat or cold, releasing it over a period of time like stone. Earthen walls change temperature slowly, so artificially raising or lowering the temperature can use more resources then in say a wood built house, but the heat/coolness stays longer.
Peoples building with mostly dirt and clay, such as cob, sod, and adobe, resulted in homes that have been built for centuries in western and northern Europe as well as the rest of the world, and continue to be built, though on a smaller scale. Some of these buildings have remained habitable for hundreds of years.
Rock
Rock structures have existed for as long as history can recall. Mont Saint-Michel ( English: St Michael's Mount) is a rocky Tidal island in Normandy, France. It is the longest lasting building material available, and is usually readily available. There are many types of rock through out the world all with differing attributes that make them better or worse for particular uses. Rock is a very dense material so it gives a lot of protection too, its main draw-back as a material is its weight and awkwardness. Its energy density is also considered a big draw-back, as stone is hard to keep warm with out using large amounts of heating resources. Energy density is the amount of Energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit Volume, or per unit Mass, depending on the context although
Dry-stone walls have been built for as long as humans have put one stone on top of another. Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together Eventually different forms of mortar were used to hold the stones together, cement being the most commonplace now. Mortar is a workable paste formed by mixture of Cement, Water and fine aggregate Masonry to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between
The granite-strewn uplands of Dartmoor National Park, United Kingdom, for example, provided ample resources for early settlers. Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. Dartmoor is an area of Moorland in the centre of Devon, England. Circular huts were constructed from loose granite rocks throughout the Neolithic and early Bronze Age, and the remains of an estimated 5,000 can still be seen today. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for Granite continued to be used throughout the Medieval period (see Dartmoor longhouse) and into modern times. The Dartmoor Longhouse is a type of traditional home found on the high ground of Dartmoor, in the south west of the United Kingdom. Slate is another stone type, commonly used as roofing material in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world where it is found. Slate is a fine-grained foliated homogeneous, Metamorphic rock derived from an original Shale -type Sedimentary rock composed of Clay Vietnam roofjpg|thumb|The roofs of Vietnam.]] A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a Building. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Mostly stone buildings can be seen in most major cities, some civilisations built entirely with stone such as the Pyramids in Egypt, the Aztec pyramids and the remains of the Inca civilisation. In Geology, rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of Minerals and/or Mineraloids The Earth's outer solid layer the ‘ Lithosphere A pyramid is a Building where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political
Thatch
Thatch is one of the oldest of building materials known; grass is a good insulator and easily harvested. Many African tribes have lived in homes made completely of grasses year round. In Europe, thatch roofs on homes were once prevalent but the material fell out of favour as industrialisation and improved transport improved the availability of other materials. Today, though, the practice is undergoing a revival. In the Netherlands, for instance, many of new builds too have thatched roofs with special ridge tiles on top.
Brush
Brush structures are built entirely from plant parts and are generally found in tropical and sub-tropical areas, such as rainforests, where very large leaves can be used in the building. A branch ( American English ˈbræntʃ British English ˈbrɑːntʃ or tree branch (sometimes referred to in Botany as a ramus Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches Native Americans often built brush structures for resting and living in, too. These are built mostly with branches, twigs and leaves, and bark, similar to a beaver's lodge. Beavers are two primarily nocturnal semi-aquatic species of Rodent, one native to North America and one to Europe These were variously named wikiups, lean-tos, and so forth. WigWam is a duo comprising Alex James, the Bassist from Blur and vocalist Betty Boo.
Ice
Ice was used by the Inuit for igloos, but has also been used for ice hotels as a tourist attraction in northern areas that might not otherwise see many winter tourists. Inuit (plural the singular Inuk, means "man" or "person" is a general term for a group of culturally similar Indigenous peoples inhabiting An igloo ( Inuit language: iglu, Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗ "house" plural iglooit or igluit, but in English An ice hotel is a temporary Hotel made up entirely of Snow and sculpted blocks of Ice. A tourist attraction is a place of interest where Tourists visit typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value historical significance natural or built beauty or
Wood
Wood is a product of trees, and sometimes other fiberous plants, used for construction purposes when cut or pressed into lumber and timber, such as boards, planks and similar materials. A laminate is a material constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Fibers or fibres (see spelling differences) is a class of hair-like Materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces similar It is a generic building material and is used in building just about any type of structure in most climates. Wood can be very flexible under loads, keeping strength while bending, and is incredibly strong when compressed vertically. There are many differing qualities to the different types of wood, even among same tree species. This means specific species are better for various uses than others. And growing conditions are important for deciding quality.
Historically, wood for building large structures was used in its unprocessed form as logs. The trees were just cut to the needed length, sometimes stripped of bark, and then notched or lashed in to place. A lashing is an arrangement of Rope used to secure two or more items together in a somewhat rigid manner
In earlier times, and in some parts of the world, many country homes or communities had a personal wood-lot from which the family or community would grow and harvest trees to build with. These lots would be tended to like a garden.
With the invention of mechanizing saws came the mass production of dimensional lumber. A saw is a Tool that uses a hard blade or wire with an abrasive edge to cut through softer materials Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or This made buildings quicker to put up and more uniform. Thus the modern western style home was made. Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin
Brick and Block
A brick is a block made of kiln-fired material, usually clay or shale, but also may be of lower quality mud, etc. A brick is a block of Ceramic material used in Masonry construction laid using mortar. Kilns are thermally insulated chambers or Ovens in which controlled temperature regimes are produced Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Shale (also called mudstone) is a fine-grained Sedimentary rock whose original constituents were Clay minerals or Muds It is characterized by Clay bricks are formed in a moulding (the soft mud method), or in commercial manufacture more frequently by extruding clay through a die and then wire-cutting them to the proper size (the stiff mud process).
Bricks were very popular as a building material in the 1700, 1800 and 1900s. This was probably due to the fact that it was much more flame retardant than wood in the ever crowding cities, and fairly cheap to produce.
Another type of block replaced clay bricks in the late 20th century. It was the Cinder block. A concrete masonry unit (CMU, concrete block, cement block or foundation block is a large rectangular Brick used in Construction Made mostly with concrete.
An important low-cost building material in developing countries is the Sandcrete block, which is weaker but cheaper than fired clay bricks. Sandcrete is a building material It is made of Portland cement and Sand in a ratio of circa 18 so it is similar but weaker than mortar, for which
Concrete
Concrete is a composite building material made from the combination of aggregate (composite) and a binder such as cement. The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating Boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag Composite materials (or composites for short are engineered Materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical Aggregate is the component of a Composite material used to resist compressive stress In the most general sense of the word a cement is a binder a substance which sets and hardens independently and can bind other materials together The most common form of concrete is Portland cement concrete, which consists of mineral aggregate (generally gravel and sand), portland cement and water. Gravel is rock that is of a specific Particle size range In Geology, gravel is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters (2mm Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles Portland cement is the most common type of Cement in general usage in many parts of the world as it is a basic ingredient of Concrete, mortar, Stucco Water ( H2[[oxygen O]] H OH) is the most abundant Molecule on Earth 's surface composing of about 70% of the Earth's surface as After mixing, the cement hydrates and eventually hardens into a stone-like material. When used in the generic sense, this is the material referred to by the term concrete.
For a concrete construction of any size, as concrete has a rather low tensile strength, it is generally strengthened using steel rods or bars (known as rebars). Tensile strength \sigma_{UTS} or S_U is the Stress at which a material breaks or permanently deforms A rebar, or reinforcing bar, is a common Steel bar and is commonly used in Reinforced concrete and reinforced Masonry structures This strengthened concrete is then referred to as reinforced concrete. Reinforced concrete is Concrete in which reinforcement bars (" Rebars quot or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be In order to minimise any air bubbles, that would weaken the structure, a vibrator is used to eliminate any air that has been entrained when the liquid concrete mix is poured around the ironwork. Concrete has been the predominant building material in this modern age.
Concrete comes cheap and will support structures(e. g. bridges)for a long amount of time
Metal
Metal is used as structural framework for larger buildings such as skyscrapers, or as an external surface covering. The Ray and Maria Stata Center is a 720000-ft² academic complex designed by Pritzker Prize -winning architect Frank Gehry for the Massachusetts Institute of The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable Building. There is no official definition or a precise cutoff height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper There are many types of metals used for building. Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, and is the usual choice for metal structural building materials. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 An alloy is a Solid solution or Homogeneous mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a Metal, which itself has Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 It is strong, flexible, and if refined well and/or treated lasts a long time. Corrosion means the breaking down of essential properties in a material due to Chemical reactions with its surroundings Corrosion is metal's prime enemy when it comes to longevity. Corrosion means the breaking down of essential properties in a material due to Chemical reactions with its surroundings
The lower density and better corrosion resistance of aluminium alloys and tin sometimes overcome their greater cost. The density of a material is defined as its Mass per unit Volume: \rho = \frac{m}{V} Different materials usually have different Corrosion means the breaking down of essential properties in a material due to Chemical reactions with its surroundings WikipediaNaming Tin is a Chemical element with the symbol Sn (stannum and Atomic number 50 Brass was more common in the past, but is usually restricted to specific uses or specialty items today. Brass is any Alloy of Copper and Zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties
Metal figures quite prominently in prefabricated structures such as the Quonset hut, and can be seen used in most cosmopolitan cities. Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a Structure in a Factory or other Manufacturing site and Transporting complete It requires a great deal of human labor to produce metal, especially in the large amounts needed for the building industries.
Other metals used include titanium, chrome, gold, silver. Titanium (taɪˈteɪniəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Ti and Atomic number 22 Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of Electroplating a thin layer of Chromium onto a Metal object Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Titanium can be used for structural purposes, but it is much more expensive than steel. Chrome, gold, and silver are used as decoration, because these materials are expensive and lack structural qualities such as tensile strength or hardness.
Glass
Clear windows have been used since the invention of glass to cover small openings in a building. They provided humans with the ability to both let light into rooms while at the same time keeping inclement weather outside. Glass is generally made from mixtures of sand and silicates, and is very brittle.
Modern glass "curtain walls" can be used to cover the entire facade of a building. Curtain wall is a term used to describe a building Façade which does not carry any dead load from the building other than its own dead load Glass can also be used to span over a wide roof structure in a "space frame". A space frame or space structure is a Truss -like lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric Pattern.
Ceramics
Ceramics are such things as tiles, fixtures, etc. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as Ceramic, stone, metal or even Glass. Ceramics are mostly used as fixtures or coverings in buildings. Ceramic floors, walls, counter-tops, even ceilings. Many countries use ceramic roofing tiles to cover many buildings.
Ceramics used to be just a specialized form of clay-pottery firing in kilns, but it has evolved into more technical areas.
Plastic
The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Organic chemistry is a discipline within Chemistry which involves the scientific study of the structure properties composition reactions, and preparation A condensation reaction is a Chemical reaction in which two Molecules or moieties ( Functional groups) combine to form one single molecule together with In Polymer chemistry, polymerization is a process of reacting Monomer Molecules together in a Chemical reaction to form three-dimensional networks Synthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by Scientists to improve upon naturally occurring Animal and plant Their name is derived from the fact that in their semi-liquid state they are malleable, or have the property of plasticity. Plastics vary immensely in heat tolerance, hardness, and resiliency. Combined with this adaptability, the general uniformity of composition and lightness of plastics ensures their use in almost all industrial applications today.
Fabric
The tent used to be the home of choice among nomadic groups. Two well known types include the conical teepee and the circular yurt. A tipi' (also teepee, tepee) is a conical Tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans A yurt is a portable Felt -covered wood lattice -framed dwelling structure used by Nomads in the Steppes of Central Asia. It has been revived as a major construction technique with the development of tensile architecture. A tensile structure is a Construction of elements carrying only Tension and no Compression or Bending. Modern buildings can be made of flexible material such as fabric membranes, and supported by a system of steel cables or internal air pressure. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn.
Foam
More recently synthetic polystyrene or polyurethane foam has been used on a limited scale. Polystyrene ˌpɒliˈstaɪriːn ( IUPAC Polyphenylethene is an aromatic Polymer made from the aromatic Monomer Styrene A polyurethane, commonly abbreviated PU, is any Polymer consisting of a chain of organic units joined by urethane links It is light weight, easily shaped and an excellent insulator. It is usually used as part of a structural insulated panel where the foam is sandwiched between wood or cement. Structural insulated panels (or structural insulating panels) SIPs are a composite Building material.
Cement composites
Cement bonded composites are an important class of building materials. These products are made of hydrated cement paste that binds wood or alike particles or fibres to make pre-cast building components. Various fiberous materials including paper and fiberglass have been used as binders. Papercrete is a recently developed construction material which consists of re-pulped paper fiber with Portland cement or Clay and/or other soil added
Wood and natural fibres are composed of various soluble organic compounds like carbohydrates, glycosides and phenolics. These compounds are known to retard cement setting. Therefore, before using a wood in making cement boned composites, its compatibility with cement is assessed.
Wood-cement compatibility is the ratio of a parameter related to the value of property of a wood-cement composite to that of a neat cement paste. The compatibility is often expressed as a percentage value. To determine wood-cement compatibility, methods based on different properties are used, such as, hydration characteristics, strength, interfacial bond and morphology. Various methods are used by researchers such as the measurement of hydration characteristics of a cement-aggregate mix [1-3]; the comparison of the mechanical properties of cement-aggregate mixes [4-5] and the visual assessment of microstructural properties of the wood-cement mixes [6]. It has been found that the hydration test by measuring the change in hydration temperature with time is the most convenient method. Recently, Karade et al. [7] have reviewed these methods of compatibility assessment and suggested a method based on the ‘maturity concept’ i. e. taking in consideration both time and temperature of cement hydration reaction.
References
1. Sandermann, W. and Kohler, R. (1964) Studies on mineral-bonded wood materials. IV. A short test of the aptitudes of woods for cement-bonded materials. Holzforschung 18, 53:59.
2. Weatherwax, R. C. and Tarkow, H. (1964) Effect of wood on setting of Portland cement. For. Prod. J. 14(12), 567-570.
3. Hachmi, M. , Moslemi, A. A. and Campbell, A. G. (1990) A new technique to classify the compatibility of wood with cement. Wood Sci. Technol. 24(4), 345-354.
4. Hong, Z. and Lee, A. W. C. (1986) Compressive strength of cylindrical samples as an indicator of wood- cement compatibility. For. Prod. J. 36(11/12), 87-90.
5. Demirbas, A. and Aslan, A. (1998) Effects of ground hazelnut shell, wood and tea waste on the mechanical properties of cement. Cement Concrete Res. 28(8), 1101-1104.
6. Ahn, W. Y. and Moslemi, A. A. (1980) SEM examination of wood-Portland cement bonds. Wood Sci . 13(2), 77-82.
7. Karade SR, Irle M, Maher K (2003) Assessment of wood-cement compatibility: A new approach. Holzforschung, 57: 672-680.
Modern Industry
Modern building is a multibillion dollar industry, and the production and harvesting of raw materials for building purposes is on a world wide scale. Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand" is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale Often being a primary governmental and trade keypoint between nations. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce. Environmental concerns are also becoming a major world topic concerning the availability and sustainability of certain materials, and the extraction of such large quantities needed for the human habitat. Industrial Ecology (IE is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the sustainable combination of environment, Economy and Technology. Sustainability, in a general sense is the capacity to maintain a certain process or state indefinitely A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits" is an Ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular Species.
Virtual materials
Certain materials like photographs, images, text may be considered virtual. Materiality in Architecture is the concept of or applied use of various materials or substances in the medium of building A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic An image (from Latin imago) or picture is an artifact usually two-dimensional that has a similar appearance to some subject &mdashusually TEXT is the band founded by Kristofer Steen David Sandström Fredrik Bäckström and Jon F Brännström While, they usually exist on a substrate of natural material themselves, they acquire a different quality of salience to natural materials through the process of representation.
See also
- Materiality (architecture)
- List of building materials
- Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
- Architectural engineering
- Architecture
- Building diagnostics
- Underwriters Laboratories
- Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik
External links
- Building Materials Directory from Underwriters Laboratories
- Sustainable/Alternative Building Materials Directory
- Environmental Building Materials Directory
- Wood/Cement Product Treatise
- Society of the Plastics Industry Homepage
- Ceramics Industry Treatise on Construction Applications
- Glass Industry Website
- American Institute of Steel Construction Homepage
- American Concrete Institute Homepage
- Concrete Block Association
- The Cement Association of Canada
- Canadian Wood Council Homepage
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