ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the chemistry, structure and generic properties and the common and different polymers used in construction. Polymers are one of the most widely utilised materials in all industries, including aerospace, automobile, food and beverage and construction. The polymers used by the construction industry are generally low-density materials and they are used mainly in non-loadbearing applications. They are not subject to corrosion, but are rather degraded by the action of the ultraviolet radiation that comes with sunlight. Polymers perform badly in fire. They are made from hydrocarbons, therefore fuel for a fire. They soften and melt at low temperatures, and often give off noxious fumes when they burn. The most commonly used polymer is polyvinyl chloride (PVC). A linear polymer is a polymer molecule in which the atoms are more or less arranged in a long chain. Polymer crystallinity is one of the important properties of all polymers where a polymer exists both in crystalline and amorphous form.
