Building & Living
Application of technical fibres and textiles in building construction, underground construction and interior design
Conventional materials such as concrete and steel are increasingly being replaced by multifunctional materials in the construction industry. New materials must be able to fulfil social, ecological, political and technological challenges and requirements. The properties of technical textiles can be adjusted to meet specific applications and thus allow a wide range of applications for the construction industry. Our research topics are therefore oriented towards the pressing challenges of the construction industry, such as urbanization and resource efficiency.
Composite materials
- Textile reinforcement of concrete from carbon, AR-glass and basalt fibres
- Fibre-reinforced composites for the efficient restoration of infrastructure
Intelligent textiles and products
- 3D concrete printing: integration of a fibre reinforcement into the printing process for innovative production processes at the construction site of the future
- 4D textiles: Membrane textiles for façade construction that adapt themselves automatically to environmental influences such as sunlight.
- Sound insulating textiles in office and event rooms
Sustainability
- Use of recycled, recyclable or degradable materials, e.g. use of recycled short carbon fibres in concrete and mortar
- Recycling concepts for textile reinforced concrete
- Efficiency evaluation of composite production processes for the reduction of material and waste cuttings
Geotextiles
- Machine development for the production of cost-efficient geotextiles
- Textile-based warning and sensor systems for buildings and infrastructure for early detection of natural disasters or technical failure
Further information on the key focus area of Building and Living at the ITA can be found here.