The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar at the Hannover Messe 2014
Innovative building components made of polymer concrete, alternative structural monitoring methods and optimised joining technologies. From 7 to 11 April 2014, three teams from the Faculty of Civil Engineering will present innovations in sustainable and efficient construction and maintenance at the joint exhibition stand »Forschung für die Zukunft«.
Producing building components with desert sand
The Department of Polymer Materials will present a new building material which can be used, among other things, to construct emergency housing in crisis areas. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andrea Dimmig-Osburg, researchers are working on optimising a process to produce polymer concrete building components on site. These components consist of approximately 90 percent filler material and just 10 percent polymer bonding agents and other additives. Current research activities are focussed on assessing the suitability of locally available filler material, particularly desert sand, which has long been considered unusable by the construction industry due to its specific characteristics. The project partner, Polycare Research Technology GmbH, provided the technology for these manageable and durable building components which can be quickly produced and assembled into structurally sound, non-permanent dwellings. The goal of the cooperative project is to optimise the production process to such an extent that even untrained personnel could manufacture these building components in a mobile production facility on location.
Structural monitoring – Alternative technologies for the future
The Department of Modelling and Simulation – Construction chaired by Prof. Dr. Guido Morgenthal will present the latest advances in the area of structural monitoring. By applying innovative technologies and methods, the researchers aim to simplify the continual monitoring of permanent structures and significantly increase their efficiency. In the past, structural monitoring was extremely complex, both technically and logistically, and required large-scale equipment, sophisticated measuring technology and specially trained personnel. The featured research projects at the trade fair will present concepts for implementing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and structural monitoring approaches using microcontroller- and smartphone-based sensor technology.
Optimised joining technologies
The Department of Simulations and Experiments under junior chair Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Hildebrand will present strategies for optimising joining technologies to facilitate hybrid construction. These technologies are analysed in terms of the processes, geometrics and characteristics of building components, while taking production-based technical and functional constraints into account. The objective is to produce frictional, positive and material-adapted joints that can bind various materials permanently and sustainably. Welding, in particular, is one of the many joining techniques studied by the research team. Welded joints are assessed using methods of numerical analysis which help predict the influence of input parameter, e.g. energy, welding speed, mounts on joints, tensions and deformations, and ultimately the character and quality of the building component before it is used. The results of the analysis are then verified experimentally in the lab.
Hannover Messe 2014
7 – 11 April 2014
Joint stand »Forschung für die Zukunft« Hall 002, A38