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GYPSUM PLASTERBOARDS PARTITION WALLS BEHAVIOR, REGARDING THE FIRE REZISTANCE

Carmen Dico

Abstract

The construction sector is one of the largest consumers of energy and non-renewable natural resources, but also an important increasing factor of global warming by producing greenhouse gases, especially CO2. In Europe, about 30% of CO2 emissions and 36% of all greenhouse gases emissions are a direct or indirect environmental consequences of the construction sector. In the sustainable development contex, the possibility of recycling, reuse and reintegration in nature, environmental protection and efficient management of natural resources are significant indicators. Realizing partition walls from common building materials involves the use of specific materials and, indirectly, greenhouse gas emissions as a result of their production. Also, robust walls bring additional loading and therefore oversize the resist structure is needed, and costs and runtime are increased. This situation can be improved by using gypsum boards to create lightweight partition walls that reduce load on the structure, have reduced execution time and dismantling and, implicitly, lower costs for execution. The partition walls made of gypsum plasterboards are an efficient, fast, economical and aesthetic solution for dividing the living space or technical spaces. Indirectly, this method of partitioning takes part in environmental protection: fewer building materials, less cement, low greenhouse gas emissions, less waste on construction and demolition, low dust emissions. This paper presents some efficient ways in order to achieve different partition panels systems, analyzing these variants in relation to their fire resistance. Based on the experimental data, it can be said that it is possible to obtain different fire resistances classes, from EI 30 up to EI 180 (30 minutes / 180 minutes), depending on partition walls structure. The metal structure, the type and number of gypsum plasterboards, the existence or not of thermal insulation of mineral wool inside the walls, all influence the fire resistance of the walls.

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