This document summarizes a student project to study the material properties of paper-crete. Paper-crete is made from repulped paper fiber, Portland cement, and clay, and is considered an environmentally friendly building material. The objective of the project was to test different mixtures of paper-crete and curing methods. Test results showed that cubes cured in an oven had higher compressive strength than those cured in air. The mixture with the highest cement content achieved the greatest strength. In conclusion, paper-crete has potential for use in inner walls and as a lightweight building material.

1. Prepared by:-
P. Prathyusha
lekhana

2. Introduction to Paper-Crete:-
 This is a recently developed material . It is made
with re-pulped paper-fiber with a combination of
Portland cement and or clay.
 This type of material is considered environmental
friendly material.
 Paper-Crete is essentially a type of industrial
strength paper Mache made with paper and
cardboard, sand and Portland cement.
 It was discovered by Eric Patterson and Mike
McCain.

3. Our Objective:-
 The objective of this project is to design and build
a rigid, cost effective and economical inner wall
of the structure or building.
 As builders and building owners are pressurized
to use sustainable construction materials, a
previously tassel building material known as
paper-Crete has gained a lot of popularity amidst
the recent greening up efforts.
 Paper-Crete is a recent technology and its use is
limited to experimental and recreation use.

4. Relevance:-
 Paper-Crete is suitable for making low cost
homes with limited longevity and durability.
 It is also suitable for making community rooms,
sale booths, storage rooms and dwellings for
livestock. Paper-Crete can also be used as a
plaster.
 It can be sprayed on walls to give them good
sound and heat insulating properties.

5. Pros of Paper-Crete:-
 Raw materials are very inexpensive and freely
available.
 Equipment used is relatively low-tech and
inexpensive.
 Compressive strength of 0.99-1.12 mpa.
 It has excellent heat and sound insulating properties.
 Paper-Crete is light weight and can be used to make
inexpensive roofing alternatives.
 Paper-Crete is very workable and can be formed into
different shapes such as blocks, panels and sheets
with ease.
 It does not catch fire easily but smolders for hours.

6. Continued:-
 It is dimensionally very stable.
 The more cement and mineral material is used
the more fire proof it becomes.
 Resist rodent and insect infestation.
 R-value is about 2.0 and 3.0 per inch.

7. Methodology we are Adopting:-
 Literature review.
 Casting of cubes with different material and with
different ratio.
 Curing of cubes. {air dry curing}
 Testing of the compressive strength.
 Permeability test.
 Flame test.
 Conclusion.

8. PAPER-CRETE RATIO :-
 FOLLOWING ARE THE DESIGN TRAILS:-
 45:35:20 { CEMENT: PULP: SAND }
 35:25:20:20 { CEMENT: SAND: PULP: M1 }
 35:25:20:20 { CEMENT: SAND: PULP: M2 }

9. COMPRESSION TEST RESULTS:-
 TEST RESULTS FOR 45:35:20 :-
 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH FOR 7 DAYS
CUBE NO. STRENGT
H
WEIGHT AVG.
STRENGT
H
1 18.63 KN 4.780
0.980 MPA
2 21.57 KN 4.902
3 25.98 KN 4.930
4* 30.4 KN 3.276 1.35 MPA

10. COMPRESSION TEST RESULTS:-
 TEST RESULTS FOR 35:25:20:20 (METAL 1) :-
 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH FOR 7 DAYS
CUBE NO. STRENGT
H
WEIGHT
KG
AVG.
STRENGT
H
1 57.3 KN 4.660
1.704 MPA
2 37.56 KN 5.471
3 34.13-
39.13 KN
5.470
4* (28 DAYS) 79.18 KN 5.275 3.52 MPA

11. COMPRESSION TEST RESULT:-
 TEST RESULTS FOR 35:25:20:20 (METAL 2) :-
 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH FOR 28 DAYS :-
CUBE NO STRENGT
H
WEIGHT
KG
AVG.
STRENGT
H
1 116.4 KN 5.310
4.85 MPA2 110.3 KN 5.220
3 100.3 KN 5.065
4* 105.5 KN 5.120 4.688 MPA

12. TEST ON CUBES AND FAILURE:-

13. FAILURE PATTERN :-

15. SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT:-
 During this project we had casted total 12 cubes,
i.e. 3 sets. Out of each set 1 cube is kept for oven
drying and remaining cubes for air drying.
 After casting the cubes we had observed that
compressive strength of the oven dried cubes is
greater than air dried cubes.
 We had also observed that this cube’s fail in
shear only.

16. CONCLUSION:-
 From the above results we conclude that density
of the paper-crete is less than the ordinary bricks
density.
 Thus we can use the paper-crete for inner wall
construction in place of bricks which has high
density, thereby they increase the dead weight of
the structure which is reduced by using paper-
crete.

17. References:-
 http://www.papercrete.com/
 http://papercretenm.com/
 http://www.papercrete.info/home/papercret
e-pros-and-cons/
 http://livinginpaper.com/
 http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/papercr
ete.htm