Iranian Knowledge-Based Company Produces Pre-Cast Lightweight Walls
Speaking to ANA correspondent, Reza Mirkamal, who is a member of the research and development department of the Iranian knowledge-based company said, “As the low weight of this product will end in lowers weight of the whole structure, it increases the speed of construction and reduces the overall costs relating to accessories and hardware [to move them such as cranes], which makes it cost-effective.”
According to the researcher, the concrete produced in their company cost an average of 20% to 30% higher than the concrete made of traditional materials that have prevriously been used, but, he said that the company's product costs 30-40% lower than its counterparts which are made of modern materials.
“Improved sound and moisture insulation with a much lower thickness than other concretes are additional advantages of our walls,” he added
“The most important feature of these walls is their high resistance against earthquakes, which is known as a rubble-free wall. This wall is placed on the seismic table in the lab, and it is pressed from three tenths to seven tenths of G in the V and X axes,” Mirkamal said, adding, “Fourteen famous earthquakes in the world were simulated on it, and no signs of instability or cracks were seen in them.”
“To keep these walls attached to each other, special adhesives, which are completely dry, are used while no mortar is there. …,” the researcher added.
Saying that the concrete panels made in their company are very light and float in water, he added, “Traditional concrete walls used to break easily due to the bubbles and holes in them; but this product has no bubbles or holes and is strengthened because it is pressed into the mold.”
The advantage of this company's product in comparison with the locally-made counterparts is that it is 30 to 40% lower-priced and its foreign-made counterparts are completely made of concrete, stiff and heavy, which requires using a crane to move them between the higher floors,” Mirkamal said.
“This product has been exported to Erbil in Iraq and Turkey, and it has gone under fire resistant test in Turkey, which proved to be resistant after being exposed to fire for four hours,” he added.
He said that the small contractors do not use their panels as the big ones do because they have no knowledge of their advantages. He suggested that their products be displayed in exhibitions to get them to wider markets.
He stated that the idea of building lightweight prefabricated concrete panels was presented in 2010 by the students at Tehran-based Amirkabir University, adding that it was patented and unveiled at a student festival later.
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