Durability of glass fibre reinforced gypsum buildings

GFRG (Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum) panels are energy efficient, eco-friendly, water and fire resistant, large load bearing building panels, found to be most ideal for affordable mass housing in India. An entire building can be constructed rapidly with this technology, using GFRG panels alone, through minimal use of steel and concrete. All the structural members of a building viz. walls, slabs, staircase, lintels, etc., can be constructed using this. The acceptability of any emerging building technology depends on many factors, especially the service life it guarantees, which is in turn the durability performance. The building should be able to withstand instances of water ingress, abrasion, fire and extreme weather conditions. This paper illustrates the assessment of performance of GFRG buildings based on these parameters and the methodology that one needs to follow in order to give fool proof protection to such buildings.