The structural performance of reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, non-metallically reinforced structures and hybrid components as well as the development of efficient, mechanically based models to describe their structural performance form the core of research at the Institute of Structural Concrete (IMB). The focus of the experimental and theoretical work includes
- the use of new climate-compatible materials and construction materials (e.g. new concretes and binders, recycled aggregate concrete, non-metallic reinforcements made of fiber-reinforced plastics),
- the development and research of high-performance composites (e.g. textile reinforced concrete TRC or carbon reinforced concrete CRC) for use in lightweight structures,
- the investigation of high-performance steel-concrete or timber-concrete hybrid components as well as new connectors between composite partners (e.g. composite dowels),
- circular construction, including retrofitting and strengthening of existing structures (e.g. concrete bridges and infrastructure structures, strengthening through the use of carbon concrete layers, other composite materials or external prestressing),
- increasing productivity through modularization and prefabrication (e.g. development of modular precast systems, multifunctional floor slabs, prefabricated and semi-prefabricated elements for building and bridge construction),
- the development of new digital fabrication methods (e.g. 3DCP, integration of reinforcement, Oricrete, flow fabrication methods),
- the experimental characterization at material, component and structural level and the development of tailored testing methods,
- the numerical modeling and simulation of material, component and structural behavior, taking into account damage and nonlinear constitutive behavior (static, cyclic actions).
- the development of mechanical models for reinforced and prestressed concrete, carbon concrete and composite structures under static and cyclic loading,
- as well as the transfer of analytical models into reliable design approaches for engineering practice, the development of application-oriented design rules for structural design and the implementation of the approaches in standards and codes.
The findings are directly incorporated into current and new technologies for the construction industry through participation in technical-scientific committees and close cooperation with industry.
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