New products for urban structures
Seven partners from research, industry and standardization have joined forces to accelerate the transfer of innovative materials from the laboratory to construction practice. The WiTraBau project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) intends to support the commercialization of outcomes achieved under three BMBF research grants aiming to develop innovative materials for urban structures.
In the WiTraBau project, research reports and other accessible resources related to the individual collaborative projects were utilized to derive a commercialization strategy and to document results in a database. Data analyses make it possible to determine specific options and activities for commercialization purposes, thus providing targeted support to the individual consortia as they continue to develop and improve their product ideas and concepts to market maturity.
The “HighTechMatbau” and “KMU-innovativ” funding programs launched by the BMBF provide the framework for WiTraBau to support a total of 20 collaborative research projects in three clusters, namely resource efficiency/recycling, energy efficiency/environmental protection, and sustainable construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure. Developed products representative of these three clusters include:
R-Beton (“R concrete”): Resource-saving concrete using fine recycled aggregates in the cement or concrete, increased ratio of coarse recycled aggregates
Multi-LC: Multifunctional lightweight concrete walls (architectural concrete surface, thermal activation of the wall, reduction in airborne nitrogen concentrations, and self-cleaning)
PureBau: Photocatalytic products for a variety of construction materials (cements, paving blocks, roof tiles, paints and varnishes) to reduce nitrogen oxide concentrations
CFC-SYS: Prestressed carbon-reinforced concrete footbridge
SMART-DECK: Textile-reinforced concrete topping fulfilling three functions in bridge construction (moisture monitoring, cathodic corrosion protection, strengthening of existing structures)
WiTraBau is being funded by the BMBF under grants 13N13540 to 13N13546.
