JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #67 - August/September 2011 - 17

along with coastal zone regulations and local laws regarding such constructions. The project aimed at developing habitable living rooms within the shacks to cater to tourist accommodation needs with appropriate amenities. The research conducted helped to develop appropriate, functional, economical and highly aesthetic concepts. The design was developed as a “mass customized system” that could be rearranged, mounted and dismantled easily.
Fig.5: Single-bed beach cabin (a) Finite-element analysis of the beach hut to check for wind load stability (b)

Development of frangible cabins for the Bangalore Airport
In collaboration with VS Composites and CTech Labs (IIT Bombay), work was carried out to develop an FRP frangible cabin for the Bangalore Airport. The cabin, intended to house an instrument landing system, was built near the runway. The special aspect of this cabin was that the structure would collapse on accidental impact from an aircraft so as not to damage the aircraft, while providing security to the instrumentation housed inside during normal times.

can be connected to the sewage or into a separate container from where it can be pumped a out. The toilet unit comprises a floor toilet module, a roof module, a side panel, a back panel and a door c b module. The roof module has a built-in Fig.6: Computer model of frangible cabin and prototype (a) Exploded view of frangible 70-litre water storage cabin modules (b) FEM analysis of the tank. The floor module frangible cabin (c) has an integrated WC FEM analysis was done to pan (Indian or Western style). validate the concept. A patent An urination panel has been application has been filed for the incorporated in the back panel. joinery concept of the frangible There is also a possibility of cabin. putting these up as clusters with additional facilities for wash Outdoor modular toilet basins. The outdoor modular toilet (temporary, portable and reOther projects deployable) was one of the Other already-deployed projects products that found strong developed using FRP modular favour in the review meetings construction include: held throughout the project. In - Modular toilet for rail coaches the interest of hygiene, it is - Luxury houseboat for Kerala necessary to install this utility Tourism where large public gatherings, - Drivers’ cabin for diesel like festivals or Melas (religious locomotives or social public gatherings), take - Interior of 3-tier sleeper coach place and in seasonal tourist for Indian railways – prototype resorts, etc. Infrastructure and under development ergonomic requirements were studied and the “modular toilet” concept for outdoor use was developed based on this data. The discharge from the toilet
Fig.7: Single-unit assembly with module (a) Assembly for squattype toilet cluster (b) Ten-unit toilet cluster (c) Fig.8: Houseboat – modular construction (a) 3-tier sleeper coach interior – modular construction(b)

funding and supporting all the above projects and for the continuing interest shown throughout and making sure that we succeed. Thanks are due to the project advisory committee chairman and members for facilitating and contributing to the thought process. We also wish to thank all the industry partners who have implemented the above projects and bore with our creative idiosyncrasies and also helped us to get better insights in the use of FRP – Hindustan Fibreglass Works, Baroda, for the modular toilet for rail coach; Blackburn & Co., Kolkata for the diesel locomotive drivers’ cabin; Samudra Shipyard, Kochi, for the luxury houseboat for Kerala Tourism; and Century Polymers, Baroda, for the interior of the 3-tier sleeper coach. n
More information: munshi@iitb.ac.in

No67 August - September 2011 / jec composites magazine

Acknowledgements

We thank TIFAC and DST for

References 1. Understanding Structures – Derek Seward, Macmillan Publications 2. The Production of Houses – Christopher Alexander, Oxford University Press: New York 3. Composites: The Future Building Material – SoumitraBiswas, AtulMittal& G Srikanth, www.tifac.org.in/news/news. htm 4. Article by G.W. Ewald, Modern Plastics Encyclopedia, 1984-85 5. Case studies on shelters: http://courses.washington.ed u/larescue/precedents/built. html

Applications

http://www.tifac.org.in/news/news.htm http://courses.washington.edu/larescue/precedents/built.html

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #67 - August/September 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #67 - August/September 2011