PPF-reinforced, ESP-lightened gypsum plaster

A new construction material has been obtained by adding aggregate to gypsum plaster which, without reducing the bending strength of plain gypsum plaster without aggregates, lowers its density, and consequently the weight of the construction elements made from the agglomerated material, by half.The aggregates used were expanded polystyrene beads and short polypropylene fibre.The new material addresses one of the issues of cardinal interest in construction materials and construction element research, namely the need to lighten materials so as to ease the burden on buildings’ bearing structures while facilitating assembly of construction units, by a single worker wherever possible.With a water / binder ratio of 0.7 and 2% (by weight of plaster) of expanded polystyrene and 2% of polypropylene fibre aggregates, the decline in density achieved was 50,88% over plain gypsum plaster and 32.88% over plasterboard.