Textile-reinforced concrete roof shells with a component thickness of just 2 cm

Figure: Robert Mehl

The new protective roof made of fiber-reinforced concrete in front of the Institute of Textile Technology

Figure: Robert Mehl

Samples of the reinforcement scrim made of thin carbon fibers

Figure: Robert Mehl

Alexander Scholzen (with a plan) giving instructions to the steel workers

Figure: Robert Mehl

Steel workers when mounting the L-shaped points of support

Figure: Robert Mehl

Unloading the shells from the low-bed trailer with the aid of a fork-lift

Figure: Robert Mehl

Alexander Scholzen personally dismounting the wooden substructure before the shell is attached to the mobile crane

Figure: Robert Mehl

A mobile crane lifts the five shells carefully onto the substructure using a cross-like supporting structure made of steel

Figure: Robert Mehl

The workers allow the shell to slide gently along the sliding bearing, while still being attached to the crane

Figure: Robert Mehl

The shells are fixed to the L-shaped supports using stainless steel elevator bolts. Those rest on elastomer bearings transferring the compressive forces to the steel structure in an unstressed way

Figure: Robert Mehl

A demonstration building made of textile-reinforced concrete shells was built once again at RWTH Aachen University. Whereas last year the material thickness of the textile-reinforced concrete pavilion of the Faculty of Civil Engineering was 6 cm, it is just 2 cm now.

The textile-reinforced roof elements of the new bicycle parking area of the Institute of Textile Technology (ITA) have an extraordinary delicate appearance with dimensions of 4.40 m x 2.14 m and a component thickness of 2 cm. The innovative building material textile-reinforced concrete makes this possible, which is the material the scientists of the two university institutes, the Institute of Solid Building (IMB) and the Institute of Textile Technology (ITA), have been dealing with for quite some time. As part of a current research project at RWTH Aachen, they have now been developing in...