Paper Title
The Structural Composure and Water Absorption Properties of Expanded Polystyrene

Abstract
Lack of adequate housing is the main cause for the general degeneracy exhibited by many communities around the world. Government housing allocations alone are not enough to curb the growing housing crisis. It is necessary to look upon innovative materials such as EPS as an answer. However, before a financial viability model can be investigated for different potential materials which can play a pivotal role in providing housing, this paper makes an assessment of the structural viability of one type of material which may be a possible solution. Material behaviour can often better be understood under a microscope. The benefits of microscopic material study are limitless. Some of the major benefits are that of satisfactorily improving the materials strength to achieve greater material performance. The construction industry is broad and has a broad array of materials that make the visible high-rise structures that we see. All these materials can be broken down into smaller components in order to allow them to be studied in greater detail. With the urgency of finding building materials which can contribute to ‘green-building’ initiatives, the frequency of using Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) has increased in efforts to supplement or to substitute conventional materials. If the values of water absorption for EPS can be shown through laboratory analysis to be comparable to that of conventional materials such as clay bricks; then EPS is worth considering as an alternative to independently form the whole superstructure of a low-cost housing unit. To be able to conclude on whether EPS is structurally sound and for this research to further support existing test results that have been done on EPS; varying EPS density samples were magnified up to hundred times. This was done in order to understand the morphology of EPS in its composed state better. Water is one of nature’s greatest weapons against various forms of infrastructure and it is therefore pertinent that any research into possible low-cost housing material alternatives first be cleared of the threat of water penetration. A study of the interaction of the polystyrene beads through morphological analysis revealed that in higher EPS densities, beads can rupture, leading to a compromise in both structural integrity and form. A water absorption test on EPS revealed that the percentage of water absorbed by EPS is similar to that absorbed by clay bricks over a 24-hour period; and this makes the materials comparable in this regard. The forces of nature come in numerous other ways apart from the single form of water expressed in this paper. When nature wreaks havoc on a structure, it is both lateral and horizontal forces simultaneously subjecting the structure to stress. It is therefore necessary in future to consider compressive and flexural strength tests on a live EPS miniature test case model. Key Words- Expanded Polystyrene, Low-cost housing, Polymers, Water absorption