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Research of Wood Plastic Composite in the Design and Application of Emergency Houses

Minglang Yang, Xiao Huang, Peng Wu Art and Design College Nanchang University Nanchang, China e-mail: [email protected]@[email protected]

Abstract- Under the background of frequent earthquake

II.

disasters, taking advantage of good earthquake resistance and other

excellent

characteristics

of

wood

plastic

composite

Temporary houses in disaster areas include tents, movable assembly houses, etc. The tent is of small storage size and low cost, easy to delivery and install, also can be reused, but it is poor in resisting bad weather. The functional space is single, and the living condition is poor, so it is n�t suitable for long-term use. The movable assembly house IS usually assembled by steel, foam and plastic. Although this kind of houses can be assembled very fast with complete functional space, it gets high material costs and low utilization value after recovery, can not be reused at all, so it needs huge investment one time and is easy to form new construction waste after the transition period [2]. For the residents, with time passing by, living space lack of recognition and privacy will inevitably produce a psychological rejection of the residents. If they live there for a long time, it will finally lead to disputes between them [3].

(WPC), systematically research it in the design and application of emergency houses. Meanwhile, the appearance, function and cultural connotation of the house are analyzed by modular design in combination of Chinese traditional culture, to solve the existing problems like single functional space, poor living condition, hard recycling

process, lack of recognition and

privacy, etc. It is also environment friendly, low carbon and sustainable, and will get some practical significance.

Keywords-wood plastic composite; earthquake resistance; emergency house; modular design

I.

PROMBLEMS OF THE CURRENT EMERGENCY HOUSES

INTRODUCTION

Since an earthquake of magnitude 8 hit Wenchuan in 2008, more earthquakes of magnitude above 7 have taken place in Haiti and Yushu of Qinghai province in succession. Global seismic activities are so heavy that the earthquake seems to have entered a peak period. During the disaster, casualties numbered in the thousands because of housing collapse or wall and floor collapse, and a large number of people became homeless. In this case, new fast-assembled emergency houses with good resistance to shock and low cost should be developed urgently to resettle disaster victims. Wood plastic composite (WPC) is a new eco-friendly material with good earthquake resistance. It takes waste plastic, waste wood, sawdust and plant fiber as its raw materials so it both has the water resistance property of plastic a�d the texture of wood. WPC has many advantages, such as corrosion prevention, moisture proof, insect resistance, high dimensional stability and so on. It can be cut, bonded, painted, fixedly joined by nails and bolts [1], and can replace wood, plastic, plastic steel, aluminum alloy and other similar composites as well. Besides, it is durable with a long service life, and has a light weight and an appearance of natural wood texture and varieties of color types. Under the background of global energy and resource shortages, WPC fully meets the requirements of low-carbon economy and society. Therefore, using such a material to build emergency houses will receive some practical significance and broad prospects for development.

III.

ANALYSIS OF WPC IN THE DESIGN AND APPLlCA TION OF EMERGENCY HOUSES

WPC emergency houses are able to be taken into modular design and production. They are pre-produced at the factory, and then assembled rapidly at the construction site, which can be modularized in accordance with the basic housing function. In addition, the houses are nice in earthquake resistance, thermal insulation and sound insulation, can be recycled and reused.

A.

Analysis of WPC

The source of WPC raw materials is very wide, mainly including a variety of waste plastics in industry and life, and low-quality wood or straws. They are made into particles, and then produce WPC by extrusion. When connecting WPC components, the tenon-and­ mortises, and the bolt-and-screws can be both adopted. And the same type of WPC profile can be used as columns, beams and floor slots of the emergency house, which will achieve modular assembly and can save materials. After WPC profiles are recycled, they can be put into use again in two ways. One is changing the color, grain and shape by re-filming or re-stamping, and the other is producing new profiles by crushing the old ones into particles, and then going through the extrusion, which can ensure zero wastes.

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As the production technology of WPC is limited, the material has some limitations as well, which includes few surface profiles, hard production process and high manufacturing costs. Based on such negative factors, the shape of WPC pieces must contain certain regularity, can not achieve streamline or other complex surface modeling as plastics. B.

Design of the WPC Emergency House

Figure 3.

Figure I.

2) Analysis of Interior Function Design: A standard single room module covers an area of 18 square meters. Three such modules make up a set of basic emergency house, with the bedroom, bathroom, shower room, kitchen, living room and other basic functional spaces, as shown in Fig. 4. These spaces are furnished with bunk beds, desks and chairs, storage cabinets, kitchen cupboards, sanitary ware and so on, which have been processed into standard modules before put in.

Design of the WPC emergency house

1) Analysis of Exterior Appearance Design: The whole emergency house is almost constructed by WPC, and the structure is considered to satisfy the needs of ventilation and lighting, water resistance and heat insulation, rain proofing and damp proofing. A WPC emergency house consists of three standard single room modules, as shown in Fig. 2 below. Both ends are living rooms, and the center is the shared kitchen and bathroom. The three are connected by WPC aisles. The single room is looked like a trapezoid with the size of 4.5 meters long and 4 meters wide. The sloping roof is to the advantage of drainage, the highest point of which is 2.8 meters in height and the lowest is 2.6 meters in height. The emergency house can accommodate two families, at least 8 people, up to 12, available to adjust with the situation. Doors are assembled at both sides of the house, so the two families can get in and out individually. The overall space and the function ensure long-term living and activities for human.

Figure 2.

The layout plans of emergency houses

living room Figure 4.

kitchen and bathroom

living

room

The planning of a basic emergency house

In the living room, one side is for rest and the other is for living and working. There are bunk beds, desks and chairs, wardrobes, bookshelves and large storage space, satisfying the needs of work, study, leisure and daily lives of the residents, as shown in Fig. 5 below.

Standard room modules of a WPC emergency house

When planning emergency houses, row conjunction layout is decided to be adopted, and the line spacing is not less than 4 meters [4] as the fire protection request, as shown in Fig. 3. Windows of the houses between the conjunction row open in the relative direction, thus the lighting will not be affected and water will be gathered to the drainage system in the middle between.

Figure 5.

Interior design of the living room

Walk through the aisle, then entering the kitchen and bathroom. The bathroom is in the comer, with an area of about 2.25 square meters, containing washing, showers, toilets and other sanitary equipments, as shown in Fig.6. A high-strength toilet box is laid under the floor, used before the repairs of the urban water supply and sewage system

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Meanwhile, because there is a strong kinship basis existing in the traditional social structure in China, roles that families, relatives and neighbors play in the life of residents should be taken into account in the design of WPC emergency houses, Then some adjustments and treatments of the houses can be made flexibly in accordance with some certain requirements [3], which is very variable and practical.

completed. After then, the toilet outfall can be directly connected with the system [2].

C.

Figure 6.

After WPC profiles are produced in the workshop, they have to be sent to the construction site to assemble. When the WPC emergency house is in need of moves, it can be disassembled or move as a whole. When it is in need of renovation or replacement of some parts, it can be exchanged with corresponding profiles in the factory. When the house is scrapped, the profiles can be used for the assembly of other houses, or crushed and recycled for re-production.

Interior design of the bathroon

Kitchen and dinning room are integrated into a wide open style dining space, including a set of whole cupboard and two dining tables and chairs for two families sharing, as shown in Fig. 7 below.

Figure 7.

Recycling and Application Process of the WPC Emergency House

IV.

CONCLUSIONS

China is a country prone to natural disasters, so it is particularly important for post-disaster emergency placement. WPC emergency houses can quickly and properly resettle the victims with good shockproof performance, and are environment friendly, low carbon and sustainable, which will bring certain economical and social significance. It is very necessary to do research about design and application of them, which should be paid attention to. As a pilot design program of WPC emergency houses, the design mentioned above needs to be further explored and deepened and continuously improved. The modular design method applied in this program provides favorable conditions for the production, transportation, assembly, reserves, recovery and reuse of the emergency house. And the applications of WPC will be expanded by further improvement of the profiles and connecting structures, in order to achieve vigorous promotion and use.

Interior design of the dining space

Each access of the aisles is equipped with a door, which is convenient to protect the privacy and interference from each other. The kitchen and bathroom is also a hub for the water and electric circuit of the whole house. Each living room has got a port attached to it through the aisle, and each kitchen and bathroom has got ports attached to the water and electricity supply directly or to each other indirectly, and a port to the outdoor drainage system as well. When planning an area of emergency houses, the external will unified the water and electricity supply and centralized sewage and waste disposal. 3) Analysis of Cultural Cconnotation Design: Chinese have been favoring wood structure buildings since ancient times, because they have an inherent sense of intimacy to wood, finally forming a kind of architectural tradition and humanistic spirit through a long history. The relaxation, liveliness, lightweight and commodiousness of wood are adapted to Chinese people's attitude for pursuing natural and harmonious life [5]. As WPC gets the characteristics of wood, when used to construct emergency houses, it will continue China's traditional culture, meet the requirements of people's spiritual concepts and aesthetics, make it easy for residents to accept in a short time after the disaster, and give people a certain sense of belonging and spiritual comfort.

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[4]

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[5]

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