Dr Sue Halliwell, Technology Transfer Manager, NetComposites UK, Coordinator, NGCC 

Dr Halliwell has been Technology Transfer Manager at NetComposites for 4 years, where she is responsible for dissemination activities in the company as well as technology transfer initiatives for several European and UK-government funded projects. Her work sees her working closely with the UKs National Composites Network (NCN) and Knowledge Transfer Networks for the modern built environment, and materials.

Sue has been involved in the polymer industry for over 20 years, focusing on FRPs (fibre reinforced polymers) for the last 9. Her previous role was as a principal consultant at BRE where her special interests lay in the use of FRPs in construction applications. In 2000 she established the Network Group for Composites in Construction (NGCC) and, after a short break following her move to NetComposites, is once again coordinator of the group. NGCC is an industry group that aims to develop and promote best practice in the use of fibre reinforced polymers in construction applications. The group has a comprehensive website and runs a series of technology transfer activities for the industry including conferences and the production of independent technical reports. Sue also runs the secretariat for Composites UK, the UK trade association, having taken on the role in October 2008.

Housing in the UK has been constructed from the same small selection of materials for the last several hundred years – generally masonry, timber, steel and concrete. Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been used in the construction industry for over 50 years and offer considerable potential for greater use in the construction of buildings. Initial applications have been with small components, such as dormer windows, canopies, doors and other decorative features, but more recently FRP modular pods and complete buildings are being designed. 

FRP technology offers many advantages over traditional materials and lends itself to prefabricated off-site construction. This methodology has great potential for the housing market where there is an acute shortage of affordable dwellings and increased pressure to develop sites for residential purposes.  Such projects often look to low cost building programmes and therefore to off-site solutions, which may in turn mean greater use of modular schemes and or the use of prefabricated FRP components.   

This presentation investigates the current state of the UK housing market and highlights some of the challenges it faces. A review of the current application of FRP composites in housing discussed. Developments overseas, particularly in the US, are illustrated and the potential impact these could have on the UK industry.