Styrofoam Housing System (SHS) – Prefabricated modular unit made of polystyrene and laminate of glass fibres embedded in epoxy resin used as a building material in temporary shelter. Preliminary evaluation of mechanical properties

In response to global crises, wars and natural disasters, the idea of a transitional house ‘SHS’ (Styrofoam Housing System) was born. The project is based on the creation of a modular unit, cheap, easy and quick to manufacture and assemble due to the use of lightweight composite panels. SHS uses interconnected prefabricated modular panels made of a polystyrene core covered with a laminate layer: glass fiber cloth and epoxy resin.The article presents the results of preliminary tests of the basic mechanical properties of the composite, performed aimed to evaluate the possibility of using it as building partitions. Axial compression and four-point bending tests were conducted on small samples as well as bending tests on full-scale models, constituting modular elements of the transitional house. The influence of the number and location of laminate layers on its static work was analyzed. In the tests on small samples, the digital image correlation method was additionally used. Tests on large models allowed for estimating the load-bearing capacity and stiffness of modular elements.The obtained results seem to be promising and may constitute a basis for design decisions and finally application in the construction of temporary buildings in the Styrofoam Housing System.