IM20185en

Volume 5 2018

From natural Forms to CNC Prototypes SUREbridge Polymer Coating Cools Down Buildings Wood-metal hybrid for lightweight construction ‘Where structure and ornamentation merge’ RE3 Glass

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

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CONTENT Innovatieve Materialen About is een vaktijdschrift gericht op de civieltechnische Innovatieve Materialen sector en bouw. Het bericht over ontwik(Innovative Materials) is a digital, kelingen op het gebied van duurzame, inindependent magazine novatieve materialen en/of deabout toepassing material innovation in the fields of daarvan in bijzondere constructies.

engineering, construction (buildings, infrastructure and industrial) and Innovatieve Materialen is een uitgave van industrial design.

Civiele Techniek, onafhankelijk vaktijdschrift voor civieltechnisch ingenieurs werkzaam in de grond-, weg- en waterA digital subscribtion in 2018 bouw en verkeerstechniek.

(6 editions) costs € 39,50 (excl. VAT) of KIVI-leden and DeMembers redactie staat open voor bijdragen students: van vakgenoten.

U kunt daartoe contact € 25,- (excl.

VAT) opnemen met de redactie.

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1 Dutch Solar Design façade Panel 2 ‘Coal: Post-Fuel’: From energy source to building material 3 National Steel Award 2018 4 Uzbekistan wants to replace iron with basalt in construction sphere 5 Test driveable solar panels now also on national road 6 From natural forms to CNC Prototypes 8 Turning century-old wood into new roof windows 10 Re3D-printing Palmyra 11 DutchFiets: a circular bicycle made of recyclable plastic 12 Polymer coating cools down buildings 14 Turning century-old wood into new roof windows 16 SUREbridge

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Drs. Petra Schoonebeek Hoofdredactie: Gerard van Nifterik

Innovative Materials platform: Advertenties Drs.Veer, Petraprof.

Schoonebeek Dr. ir. Fred Ir. Rob Nijsse (Glass & Transparency Research e-mail: Group, ps@innovatievematerialen.nl TU Delft), dr. Bert van Haastrecht (M2I), prof. Wim Poelman, dr. Ton Een digitaal abonnement in 2016 Hurkmans (MaterialDesign), (6 uitgaven) kost € 25,00 (excl. BTW) prof.dr.ir. Jos Brouwers, (Department of the Built Environment, Section Building Zie ook: www.innovatievematerialen.nl Physics and Services TU Eindhoven), prof.dr.ir. Jilt Sietsma, (4TU.HTM/ Niets uit deze uitgaveand magMaterials worden Mechanical, Maritime verveelvuldigd en of openbaar Engineering (3mE), worden door middel van herdruk, fotokopie, miprof.dr. Pim Groen, (SMART crofilm of op welke wijze dan ook, zonder Materials Aerospace Engineering voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming (AE) TU van Delft/Holst Centre, de uitgever.

TNO), Kris Binon (Flam3D), Guido Verhoeven (Bond voor Materialenkennis/SIM Flanders).

18 New wood-metal hybrid for lightweight construction

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI created a new material called ‘HoMe foam’ - with ‘HoMe’ being a German acronym for wood-metal. HoMe Foam is wood-metal hybrid: in fact a mixture of wood and metal foam. As a result, the innovative new material mix boasts excellent insulating properties and has a low bending strength.

20 ‘Where structure and ornamentation merge’

Researchers at ETH Zurich have fabricated an 80 m2 lightweight concrete slab at the DFAB House, making it the world’s first full-scale architectural project to use 3D sand printing for its formwork. The DFAB House will be built in the NEST building on the Empa and Eawag campus in Dübendorf.

25 New material makes traveling more comfortable than ever 26 Lignine based aerogels 27 Superstong and biobased 26 RE3 Glass: New, innovative and sustainable roads for building with glass

The applicability of glass in structures is continuously ascending, as the transparency and high compressive strength of the material render it the optimum choice for realizing diaphanous structural components that allow for light transmittance and space continuity. The fabrication boundaries of the material are constantly stretching: visible metal connections are minimized and glass surfaces are maximized, resulting to pure all-glass structures. Still, due to the prevalence of the float glass industry, all-glass structures are currently confined to the limited forms and shapes that can be generated by planar, 2D glass elements. Moreover, despite the fact that glass is fully recyclable, most of the glass currently employed in buildings is neither reused nor recycled due to its perplexed disassembly and its contamination from coatings and adhesives.

Within the 4TU-Bouw project RE3 Glass a new generation of Recycable, Reducible and Reusable cast glass components for structural and architectural applications was investigated.

Cover ‘Structure’ from product-design studio Anoma (India), pag 6

NEWS

Dutch Solar Design façade Panel

The need for a more sustainable built environment is urgent and requires cost-efficient, smart and integrated solutions. For instance, the built environment is an excellent opportunity for the generation of solar energy. The new Solar Design Photovoltaic (DSD-PV) module combines renewable energy with endless aesthetic possibilities. The technology was developed by Dutch consortium (TNO, UNStudio, TS Vituals, Design Innovation Group, ALDOA en the Hogeschool van Amsterdam). It was officially presented last year and could now be seen during the Innovation Expo, October 4, in Rotterdam.

The consortium developed a technique to integrate a full colour, durable print into a facade panel with integrated PVcells.

The Dutch Solar Design façade panel with integrated solar cells can be given any desired appearance, thanks to an algorithm-compliant print with special ink. With this, in the design of a building or infrastructure, the optimal balance can be found between energy generation and aesthetics.

Incorporating these new DSD-PV modules in any architectural design will add a novel functionality to facades, genera-

ting renewable energy without compromising creative freedom and artistic expression.

According to the developers the customized prints are engineered out of little dots which ‘blend’ together to the human eye, creating a subtle optical illusion - while plenty of the surface is actually bare. And depending on the specific colour and desired opacity, the

ink that is used, can permit a significant amount of sunlight to reach the PV-surface under the print, too.

Much more on the DSP website> Productpresentation online>

1 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

NEWS

Coal: Post-Fuel From energy source to building material Last October, Material District payed attention to the ‘Coal: Post-Fuel,’ a project by designer Jesper Eriksson. ‘Coal: Post-Fuel’ was present at the London Design Biennale from 4 - 23 September 2018.

Eriksson considers an alternative, future use of coal as a material, re-evaluating the material’s image as dirty fuel. In his opinion, coal is probably one of the most influential materials of the industrial age. Throughout the Industrial Revolution coal was regarded as the essential factor to innovation. Nowadays its seen as an climate threat, responsible for CO2 emissions and climate change. But that’s the result of burning it; and not the blame of the material itself. In fact, coal is a quite rare and extraordinary carbon preservative method, originally a way to store energy; not to release it. According to Eriksson it can also be taken as a magnificent material; rather than an energy source.

With his project, Eriksson aims to change the connotation that surrounds coal.

The project considers whether this so called ‘cheap and dirty’ fossil fuel has a

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more complex emotional significance and whether it has an alternative future as a desirable material.

According to Jesper Erikssons website the ‘Coal: Post-Fuel’ project presents a speculative future for coal as an organic material for architecture and interior design. In this way, its image should be transformed from a fuel that releases

carbon dioxide to a material that encloses it. The installation contains flooring, furniture and other objects in solid coal.

Some pieces are left in the material’s raw state, others are processed into a finish similar to black marble.

‘By changing the material’s aesthetic,’ Eriksson says on his website, ‘a debate opens up about our relationship to this

NEWS utilitarian substance: If the idea of coal as a building material is accepted, how and why does a coal mine differ from a marble quarry?’ More at http://jesper-eriksson.com/ coalpostfuel.html

Video

National Steel Award 2018 Photo: Rijkswaterstaat

The Zandhazenbrug, a railway bridge at Muiderberg, the Netherlands, has won the National Steel Award 2018, category Infrastructure. The National Steel Award, the biennial prize for inspiring steel applications in construction projects, was presented on October 3rd during the Steel Construction Day at Tata Steel in Velsen Noord.

The Zandhazenbrug is the largest railway arch bridge in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Moreover, the bridge is the largest and heaviest object ever moved in the Netherlands by road and the first railway bridge that was constructed in high-strength steel in S640.

The bridge spans the new A1 with 16 lanes at once without any intermediate support points. The design assignment was to realize a slender, airy-looking bridge, whose color and design would not require too much attention.

The Zandhazen Bridge has a length of 255 metres and a width of 55 metres, and contains the same amount of steel as the Eiffel Tower. It’s is 11 metres longer than London Bridge.

On August 26th 2016 the bridge was put into use by train traffic.

design: Iv-Infra; Main contractor: SAAone; Steel constructor: Victor Buyck

Client: Rijkswaterstaat; Architecture: ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects; Structural

www.nationalestaalprijs.nl/winnende-projecten

Other category winners: Industrial construction: Tata Steel CIV100-3 Characteristic steel components: Het Gelderse huis Non-residential building: British Airways i360 National sustainability award Steel: Tijdelijke rechtbank Amsterdam Housing construction: Het Kaaspakhuis

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NEWS

Uzbekistan wants to replace iron with basalt in construction sphere According to several media the Uzbek Government is planning to replace iron with basalt in new construction sphere soon. According to azernews.az, Jaloliddin Tohirov, expert of the Ministry of Construction of Uzbekistan, stated in August that basalt constructions would completely outplace the metal ones in the future. He did so during a press conference in Tashkent dedicated to use of modern alternative building materials.

Tohirov underlined that basalt materials offer multiple benefits over those made of iron: strength, light weight, resistance to abrasion, alkali and acids, excellent heat and sound insulation, fire resistance, durability and sustainability, and cost efficiency.

In Uzbekistan, basalt is mined in the Navoi and Jizzakh regions, as well as in the Fergana Valley. Basalt fiber-based building materials were first produced at a basalt plant commissioned by Mega

Basalt fiber The process of extracting basaltfibers from the lava was discovered by a Canadian in the beginning of the twentiest century. This was the changing of the solidify process of lava, which resulted into an amorphous material. The production of basalt fiber takes place by melting basalt stone at approximately 1,400 ° C. The molten rock is then extruded through small nozzles for the production of filaments of basalt fiber. The fibers have a fiber diameter ranging between 9 and 13 micrometers.

Because the fibers only melt at 1,400 ° C, the product has good fire-resistant properties. The high elasticity modulus of the product results in excellent tensile strength; more than twice that of steel.

Until recent the ‘West’ did not pay much attention to this discovery.

The ‘East’ particularly the former Soviet Union discovered the outstanding properties of the basaltfiber material and produced all kinds of military goods with basaltfiber. It was therefore qualified as military good and the knowledge about the fibers and its applications was very confidential, even a secret. It was until the late nineties that this status was lifted.

Nowadays also the ‘West’ is looking with a growing interest to this basaltfiber.

Especially Continious Basaltfiber (CBF) and Basalt Fiber reinforced composites are gaining more and more interest from the consumers of composite materials and parts in different industries.

Basalt fiber is fully recyclable, has a tensile strength of 2,800 - 3,215 MPa (2.5 times stronger than steel). With a density of 2.74 g/cm3 it is four times lighter than steel. The material is non-conductive and for that reason is used in, among other things, windmill blades and operating rooms. Basalt fiber has good resistance to chemical and corrosive influences such as acidic solutions and alkalis. According to figures from Imperial College London, the CO2 footprint of basalt fibers is 170 percent lower than that of steel. http://vulkan-europe.com/technische-specificaties/ Also see Innovative Materials edition 2 2017

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BERICHTEN NEWS Invest Industrial located in the city of Jizzakh in 2017.

The basalt reinforcement is a relatively new product, but is already actively used in innovative construction across the world. According to experts, the basalt reinforcement will find its niche in construction industry thanks its special characteristics. It is four times lighter and at the same time three times stronger than steel reinforcement. In addition, it does not absorb moisture, does not corrode, does not conduct an electric current and has a low thermal conductivity.

No welding work is required when using this building material. It can be knit with plastic clamps, as well as with conventional knitting wire, which is important for increasing seismic resistance. www.azernews.az>

Test driveable solar panels now also on national road The Dutch infrastructure management agency, Rijkswaterstaat is looking for ways to use national roads to generate solar energy. In cooperation with BAM Infra the possibilities for this are now being investigated. These solar panels (with housing) are produced by the French supplier Wattway and are thin and strong enough to be stuck on the road surface.

Since May of this year there is already a strip of passable solar panels on the provincial road N401 near Kockengen which will be tested for two years.

Now a second pilot begins, this time on a national road: the A2 motorway.

According to Rijkswaterstaat, the lanes of N-roads are suitable for solar panels, but in the case of motorways, this is different. For instance, driving at high speeds it produces noise,

compared to the zoab. In addition, the drainage of rainwater on multi-lane roads is unfavourable for the panels.

The potential road surface area in the Netherlands covers 20 million m2 and if that would be fully equipped with solar panels, 400,000 households could be supplied with electricity every year.

BAM (Dutch)>

Video

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NEWS

From natural forms to CNC Prototypes Last august, Archdaily.com payed attention to product design studio Anoma, headed Indian artist Ruchika Grover. The studio explores the potential of natural stone. Its surfaces, sculptures, and installations, are created through a process, which combines digital manufacturing and traditional hand craftsmanship.

Grover usually starts by illustrating rough concepts on paper.

Her ideas are inspired by natural forms and textures which manifest strongly in Anoma’s work. Once the two-dimensional drawing takes shape, the process moves to computer-aided modeling where precise measurements are determined and intricate details are added; lines are extruded and accorded heights and depths, while edges are beveled. Next, several prototypes are developed and a range of patterns materials (like limestone, granite and marble), and tools are employed.

This involves dimensions being translated into manufacturing directives and being fed into a Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) milling machine.

The cutting tool, diamond or carbide-tipped, can move along multiple axes, while the base stone can also be moved in different directions. The surfaces are finally finished by hand using a variety of techniques like chipping, sanding, and shot-blasting.

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NEWS Most of Anoma’s products can be used both indoors and outdoors to enhance the spatial atmosphere. Its surfaces are available in modular panels in three minimal material choices - Graphite Grey Granite, Crèma Limestone, and Pristine White Marble. The patterns, however, are customizable and can be interpreted to suit specific project requirements: the studio works with architects and designers to create customized installations across a variety of scales and typologies. http://anomastone.com/

Video

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NEWS

Turning century-old wood into new roof windows VELUX Group brings new life to old wood from buildings constructed in 1910 by making reclaimed timber roof windows for a project in The Netherlands. They represent a ‘VELUX experiment’ to meet a special request for the use of upcycled building materials. According to VELUX the main purpose of this experiment is to firstly prove it can be done and secondly to learn more about actual market needs for upcycled building materials.

A total of 93 windows were manufactured using reclaimed timber. The first windows have already been installed in the attics of a public housing complex in The Netherlands. The installation of all windows and the entire roof renovation is expected to be finalised by April 2019.

The timber used in the roof window frames and sashes is provided by Dutch urban mining company A. Van Liempd.

The timber, which is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, is carefully dismantled from old buildings and then culled and prepared to suit VELUX roof window manufacturing processes. This means that the timber has an extended life as it is first used for 60 - 100 years in a building and then used a further 30 - 40 years in a roof window. Each finished window is labelled to show its FSC and reclaimed timber origins.

8 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

There is no difference in the quality, performance or durability of a reclaimed timber roof window compared with a standard VELUX GGL roof window. The windows are of the type IGU-50 and are made only for a renovation project by the Woonbedrijf housing co-operation in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Woonbedrijf is environmentally-focused and therefore the use of ‘green’ buil-

ding materials in these specially-made roof windows fits nicely with its goals.

Furthermore, The Netherlands is often a first mover in terms of green building initiatives. www.velux.nl www.avanliempd.nl www.gebruiktebouwmaterialen.com

NEWS

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2017 volume 3

INNOVATIVE MATERIALS

International edition Innovative Materials, the international version of the Dutch magazine Innovatieve Materialen, is now available in English. Innovative Materials is a digital, independent magazine about material innovation in the fields of engineering, construction (buildings, infrastructure and industrial) and industrial design.

3D-printing cellulose World’s first 3D-printed reinforced concrete bridge Materials 2017 Composites improve earthquake resistance in buildings

www.innovatievematerialen.nl info@innovatievematerialen.nl

Glass bridge Lina: world’s first bio-based car

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Innovative Materials is published in a digital format, although there is a printed edition with a small circulation. Digital, because interactive information is attached in the form of articles, papers, videos and links to expand the information available.

E D I T I O N

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NEWS

Re3D-printing Palmyra

CONCR3DE has developed a 3D printer and printing material with which objects of stone-like material can be produced sustainably and with high precision.

Thanks to the used printing principle, maximum freedom of form can be achieved and architects, designers and producers are given countless new possibilities for their products. It was shown during the Innovation Expo, October 4th, in Rotterdam.

According to the CONCR3DE website the company is developing tools and materials to give architects, designers and manufacturers the freedom to create a new kind of architecture, a new kind of design and a new approach to manufacturing. They developed large scale inkjet 3D printers that use their patented

inorganic polymer material systems to create custom, highly precise stone parts that find their use in fields ranging from restoration to design and from architecture to heavy industry.

CONCR3DE states the ultimate goal is to create custom, high end, optimized and unique architecture. Like the so called ‘Arch’ case study: according to CONCR3DE an exploration in colour, material, shape, connection and detail. Each component is unique and fits exactly into each other. This model is made at a 1:10 scale to show the extreme precision the technique allows. And there’s more. Rebuilding the ancient city of Palmyra for instance. Palmyra in Syria was destroyed

by ISIS in 2015, but CONCR3DE thinks with the New Palmyra Project, they can rebuild it. In fact they 3D printed a piece of the Arch of Palmyra in our high end concrete. With a bigger machine, they could probably 3D print entire columns, arches and ornaments.

Much more at http://concr3de.com/

Video

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The New Palmyra project>

NEWS

DutchFiets: a circular bicycle made of recyclable plastic DutchFiets is a circular bicycle made of recyclable plastic, developed several years ago by Johannes Alderse Baas, a student mechanical engineering at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. The challenge was to make an affordable and reliable bike that does not end up as waste. The answer was plastic. Plastic (PE in this case) is through the freedom of shape, a beautiful material to work with and also to recycle, without consuming much energy. In addition, it is a very cheap and light material, and it doesn’t rust, unlike steel. The concept turned out to be a success and DutchFiets won the ‘Start-up of the year’ award in 2015.

Followed by a crowdfunding campaign at the end of 2016, more than 100 bicycles were delivered within six days. These ‘crowdfunding bicycles’ formed the basis of a greatly improved design, which has now been approved by the independent EFBe Prüftechnik GmbH - according to the international safety standard.

The bike, which is available in several colours, is rather sturdy as the frame has to be thick enough to hold a person’s

weight. The frame of the bike consists of one piece, which is poured into a mould.

Both the frame and the wheels are made of plastic, was extensively tested, even for colour changes because of the sun.

October 4th the Dutchfiets was exhibited during the Innovation Expo 2018 in Rotterdam. www.dutchfiets.nl

Video

11 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

NEWS

Polymer coating cools down buildings Video

With a changing climate and temperatures rising, cooling solutions are becoming ever more important. An interesting alternative to common, often energy-intensive cooling methods is passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC), a phenomenon where a surface spontaneously cools by reflecting sunlight and radiating heat to the colder atmosphere.

PDRC is most effective if a surface has a high solar reflectance (R) that mini­mizes solar heat gain, and a high, thermal emittance (Ɛ) that maximizes radiative heat loss to the sky. If R and Ɛ are sufficiently high, a net heat loss can occur, even under sunlight.

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have invented a high-performance exterior PDRC polymer coating with nano-to-microscale air voids that acts as a spontaneous air cooler and can be fabricated, dyed, and applied like paint

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The research team used a solution-based phase-inversion technique that gives the polymer a porous foam-like structure

NEWS on rooftops, buildings, water tanks, vehicles, even spacecraft, anything that can be painted. They used a solution-based phase-inversion technique that gives the polymer a porous foam-like structure. The air voids in the porous polymer scatter and reflect sunlight, due to the difference in the refractive index between the air voids and the surrounding polymer.

The team - Yuan Yang, assistant professor of materials science and engineering; Nanfang Yu, associate professor of applied physics; and Jyotirmoy Mandal, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in Yang’s group (all department of applied physics and applied mathematics) - built upon earlier work that demonstrated that simple plastics and polymers, including acrylic, silicone, and PET, are excellent heat radiators and could be used for PDRC. The challenges were how to get these normally transparent polymers to reflect sunlight without using silver mirrors as reflectors and how to make them easily deployable.

They decided to use phase-inversion* because it is a simple, solution-based method for making light-scattering airvoids in polymers.

The researchers found their polymer coating’s high solar reflectance (R > 96%) and high thermal emittance (Ɛ ~ 97%) kept it significantly cooler than its environment under widely different skies, e.g. by 6˚C in the warm, arid desert in Arizona and 3˚C in the foggy, tropical en-

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) involves simultaneously reflecting sunlight and radiating heat into the cold sky to achieve a net heat loss. The process, which is spontaneous, can cool down structures to sub-ambient temperatures

vironment of Bangladesh. The team also created coloured polymer coatings with cooling capabilities by adding dyes.

The group took environmental and operational issues, such as recyclability and bio-compatibility, into consideration, and showed that their technique can be generalized to a range of polymers to achieve these functionalities.

porous polymer coatings for highly efficient passive daytime radiative cooling’.

Last September, the study was published online in Science; titled ‘Hierarchically

The article ‘Hierarchically porous polymer coatings for highly efficient passive daytime radiative cooling’ is online>

* Phase-inversion is a chemical process performed by removing the solvent from a liquid-polymer solution, leaving a porous, solid polymer material. More> https://engineering.columbia.edu>

Illustration showing how passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) involves simultaneously reflecting sunlight and radiating heat into the cold sky to achieve a net heat loss

13 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

NEWS

SUREbridge During the Innovation Expo, October 4th, at the RDM Submarine Wharf in Rotterdam FiberCore Europe presented the SUREbridge project. SUREbridge is a concept, developed by FiberCore Europe in cooperation with Rijkswaterstaat and the Swedish Chalmers University of Technology, that can significantly increase the capacity and functionality of existing concrete bridges.

In the sixties and seventies of the last century thousands of concrete bridges were built in Europe, but many have suffered concrete damage due to concrete rot, heavy loads and the penetration of de-icing salts. Moreover, their capacity has become inadequate due to in­ creased and heavier traffic. Approximately ten percent of all concrete constructions must be dealt with thoroughly in the next few years. Instead of demolishing these bridges and building a new one, SUREbridge provides a sustainable solution. The service life is considerably longer, while hardly any maintenance is required. Old concrete constructions do not have to be demolished, there is less nuisance for local residents and important environmental benefits can be achieved in addition to the financial effects. The technology is also used in the

14 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

composite bridge decks that FiberCore Europe has been producing for a number of years.

The SUREbridge system combines an InfraCore road deck by FiberCore Europe with an existing concrete bridge. The bottom of the concrete beams is reinforced with prestressed carbon reinforce-

ment, a finding of Chalmers University from Gothenburg, Sweden. The InfraCore deck, the concrete and the carbon reinforcement are connected to each other. This was demonstrated during the tests at Chalmers.

Moreover, the system has demonstrated to possess a high degree of ductility. The system is therefore a complete hybrid.

NEWS and guidance, and the project partners deliver the project, engineering and implementation. www.fibercore-europe.com More about InfraCore-technology> SUREbridge is one of the initiatives within Infravation; a partnership of ten European countries, the United States and the European Commission stimulates innovations to improve the infrastructure. The participants focus on developing new materials and techniques to modernize the highly outdated road infrastructure on both continents.

Rijkswaterstaat, FiberCore Europe, Chalmers University of Technology (Malmö-Sweden), AICE Consulting S.R.L. and University of Pisa have worked closely together in this project.

The publication ‘Application of fibre reinforced polymer materials in road bridges - General requirements and design considerations’, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, 2014 online> Thanks to this collaboration, the reinforced beam was a factor of 2.5 stronger than the concrete beam alone, which was tested as well. In addition to FiberCore Europe and Chalmers, the third project partner is the Italian engineering firm AICE. This international concrete specialist, together with the University of Pisa, has developed a design mo-

del to parametrically determine what strengthening is achievable.

Now that SUREbridge technology has been proven, the consortium is looking for a pilot project to implement SUREbridge in a real project. This could be a single span road bridge with multiple lanes. SUREbridge delivers the know-how

Video: A brief introduction of InfraCore Inside

Full-scale tests

15 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

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INNOVATIVE RESEARCHMATERIALS 5 2018

New wood-metal hybrid for lightweight construction Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI created a new material called ‘HoMe foam’ - with ‘HoMe’ being a German acronym for wood-metal. HoMe Foam is wood-metal hybrid: in fact a mixture of wood and metal foam.

As a result, the innovative new material mix boasts excellent insulating properties and has a low bending strength.

Nowadays, sustainability is a key aspect when developing new materials, where the main focus is on ensuring the input materials used come from renewable sources and that the product is recyclable at the end of its service life.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, WKI are developing

18 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

wood foams made entirely of wood. According to Fraunhofer these wood foams are ideal for a whole range of applications, for example as a core material for lightweight construction and sandwich panels, as packaging material, or for thermal insulation or soundproofing.

In order to extend the application range of wood foam, a group of Fraunhofer Institute researchers led by Dr. Frauke Bunzel from Fraunhofer WKI developed a wood-metal foam hybrid that unites the properties of both wood foam and metal sponge.

RESEARCH open-cell metal structure with many tiny cavities. At present, this metal sponge is manufactured in plates measuring 250 mm x 250 mm x 30 mm. The next step was to insert the wood foam, which has a firm consistency similar to that of beaten egg whites.

Originally, the team tried using pressure to force the wood foam into the metal sponge plate, but the wood fibres stuck to the surface, infiltrating only the cavities at the margins of the sponge. The solution was a tapping technique, which enabled the researchers to fill the entire metal sponge with wood foam.

The working group is currently looking at ways to streamline the process chain for producing the wood foam and to simplify and accelerate the process for inserting the wood foam into the metal sponge. The goal is to get HoMe foam into industrial-scale production soon.

The development of HoMe foam took place in cooperation with scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM.

Strengthening the wood foam with a metal skeleton, for example, can substantially enhance its characteristically low bending strength. In the case of HoMe foam, the bending strength of the hybrid is even greater than that of its two components. That makes it an ideal core material for sandwich panels or as a self-supporting lightweight semi-finished material.

mats in engine compartments or as floor plates. Other applications are conceivable too. The Fraunhofer IWU researchers manufacture the metal foam in a casting process. The result is a sponge-like,

Fraunhofer> Photos: Fraunhofer

Lightweight hybrid

Another advantage is that, unlike wood foam, metal sponge can conduct electricity. Furthermore, the outstanding properties of wood foam are its high levels of sound absorption and low thermal conductivity, making it an excellent insulation material. Combining metal sponge and wood foam creates a lightweight hybrid material with a higher functionality, one that can be used for components that provide reinforcement and absorb sound. The material is thus suitable for use in the automotive industry, for example, as reinforcing acoustic

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RESEARCH

The Smart Slab, resting on the Mesh Mould wall during the installation of the services for the Spatial Timber Assemblies above (Image: NCCR Digital Fabrication/Michael Lyrenmann)

Where structure and ornamentation merge Researchers at ETH Zurich have fabricated an 80 m2 lightweight concrete slab at the DFAB House, making it the world’s first full-scale architectural project to use 3D sand printing for its formwork. The DFAB House will be built in the NEST building on the Empa and Eawag campus in Dübendorf.

Smart Slab is an innovative lightweight concrete slab just 20 mm thick at its thinnest point, decoratively ribbed and not even half as heavy as a conventional concrete ceiling. According to ETHZ it combines the structural strength of concrete with the design freedom of 3D printing. Developed by the re­search group of Benjamin Dillenburger, Assistant Professor for Digital Building Technologies at ETH Zurich, Smart Slab is one of the core elements of the residential unit DFAB House (see box) at Empa’s and Eawag’s research and innovation platform NEST in Dübendorf. The 80 m2, 15 tonne ceiling consists of eleven concrete segments and connects the lower

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floor with the two-storey timber volume above.

Only as much concrete as needed 3D concrete printing is currently experiencing a boom in architecture, and entire houses have already been printed layer by layer. However, for the Smart Slab project, the researchers did not produce the building components themselves with 3D printing but rather the formwork - i.e. the mould. To achieve this, they used a large-scale 3D sand printer, which means the resulting moulds consist of a kind of artificial sandstone. One of the advantages over the layered concrete printing process is

that high performant fibre-reinforced concrete can be used and the structure can be fabricated in the precision of millimetres.

Formwork production is the most labour-intensive step in concrete construction, particularly for non-standardised components. Since concrete is relatively cheap and readily abundant, the temptation is for the construction industry to produce the same solid ceilings over and over again, but the disadvantage is excessive material consumption and implicitly, a big carbon footprint. Digital fabrication methods can make a key contribution here: components can be

RESEARCH

The concrete elements were lifted onto the load-bearing wall with a crane

optimised, enabling the necessary stability with far less material. The geometric complexity of a component does not matter in 3D printing, nor does it cause any additional costs - the printer simply prints what it is told to.

Dillenburger’s research group developed a new software to fabricate the formwork elements, which is able to record and coordinate all parameters relevant

to production. In addition to basic data such as room dimensions, the researchers also entered a scan of the curved wall, accurate down to the last millimetre, which acts as the main support for the concrete ceiling.

If you look at the ceiling from below, you see an organic ornamental structure with different hierarchies. The main ribs

carry the loads, while the smaller filigree ribs are mainly used for architectural expression and acoustics. The lighting and sprinkler systems are also integrated into the slab structure.

After planning on the computer is completed, the fabrication data can then be exported to the machines at the push of a button. This is where several industry partners came into play for Smart Slab:

Smart Slab partners Professor for Digital Building Technologies, Benjamin Dillenburger (Lead) Professor for Building Materials, Robert Flatt Professor for Structural Design, Joseph Schwartz

Industry partners BĂźrgin Creations Frutiger AG voxeljet AG Georg Ackermann GmbH Stahlton AG Christenguss AG Fischer Rista AG Rudolf Glauser AG Gom International AG

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RESEARCH one produced the high-resolution, 3D printed sand formworks, which were divided into pallet-sized sections for printing and transport reasons, while another fabricated the timber formwork by means of CNC laser cutting. The latter gives shape to the upper part of the Smart Slab and leaves hollow areas that reduce material and weight and at the same time create space for electrical cables.

After a two-week hardening process, the individual concrete segments were ready for transport to the construction site at NEST. Thanks to the precise planning

INNOVATIEVE MATERIALEN 4 2017

INNOVATIEVE MATERIALEN 4 2017 gint met het inzetten van de zogenaamde Mesh Mold-technologie, een techniek waarvan de ontwikkelaars denken dat ze in de toekomst het construeren met beton fundamenteel kan veranderen.

Mesh Mould werd ontwikkeld door een interdisciplinair team van de ETH Zürich.

De techniek kreeg die eind 2016 de Zwitserse Technology Award.

DFAB HOUSE

Centrale rol bij de constructie is weggelegd voor een twee meter hoge bouwrobot: de In situ Fabricator. Ze opereert autonoom op rupsbanden, zelfs in een voortdurend veranderende omgeving.

De robot bouwt wanden van staalgaas die als bekisting dienen en een rol als wapening spelen. Dankzij de fijnmazige structuur van het stalen gaas en de speciale compositie van de betonmix, blijft het beton binnen het stalen raster zonder uit te lopen. Het resultaat is een dubbelgekromde, dragende muur op de begane grond.

Een andere nieuwe techniek, Smart Dynamic Casting, wordt gebruikt voor de gevel op de begane grond. Het gaat om een geautomatiseerd robot slip-vormingsproces waarmee op maat betonge-

14 | INNOVATIEVE MATERIALEN 4 2017

de en innovatieve bouwtechnologieën in het hart van de Empa-Eawag campus in Dübendorf. (Empa is een gezaghebbend Zwitsers instituut voor materiaalwetenschappen en technologie.) NEST werd in 2016 opgericht om het innovatieproces in de bouwsector te versnellen.

DFAB HOUSE

Het DFAB HOUSE is bijzonder omdat het niet alleen digitaal is ontworpen, maar ook wordt gebouwd met overwegend digitale processen. Met het proefproject wil ETH onderzoeken hoe digitale technologie de constructie duurzamer

www.empa.ch>

INNOVATIEVE MATERIALEN 4 2017 samenwerkingsverbanden tussen onderzoeksinstellingen en de industrie.

Digitale technologieën zullen volgens EMPA ook worden gebruikt nadat het DFAB HOUSE vanaf de zomer 2018 is opgeleverd. Onder leiding van DigitalSTROM AG en in samenwerking met diverse andere Zwitserse bedrijven zullen nieuwe slimme ‘thuisoplossingen’

INNOVATIEVE MATERIALEN 4 2017

en Internet of things-technologieën worden getest. Daarbij moet worden gedacht aan apparaten en systemen die intelligent met elkaar communiceren en kunnen leren en die daarmee zowel energie-efficiëntie als comfort van het gebouw verbeteren.

Smart Dynamic Casting Video

EMPA>

Mesh Mould velposten kunnen worden gemaakt.

De prefab-constructie elementen van de twee bovenste verdiepingen, met verschillende ruimten, zijn van hout en worden door robots samengesteld in de fabriek van ETH Zürich.

Alle bouwmethoden die in het DFAB HOUSE worde toegepast, zijn in de afge-

lopen jaren ontwikkeld door de onderzoekers van de ETH die betrokken zijn bij het NCCR Digital Fabrication. Dat die nieuwe technieken nu zo snel hun weg naar de bouwplaats hebben gevonden, is volgens de betrokken partijen het gevolg van zowel intensieve samenwerking tussen de verschillende wetenschappelijke disciplines als van succesvolle

Elk betonnen gebouw wordt eigenlijk twee keer gebouwd: als bekisting dat het vloeibare beton bij elkaar moet houden en uiteindelijk als de uitgeharde constructie zelf. Vooral bij afzonderlijke gebouwen kan de bekisting vaak maar één keer worden gebruikt. Daarna wordt het als afval afgevoerd. Dit zorgt voor materiaalafval en kosten. Norman Hack, projectleider van ‘Mesh Mold’ en zijn vijfpersoons team van het ETH Zürich hebben de afgelopen jaren aan een oplossing voor dit probleem gewerkt. Dat gebeurde in het kader van het Zwitserse National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication. In nauwe interdisciplinaire samenwerking ontwikkelde hij volgens eigen zeggen ‘s werelds eerste technologie die de twee functies van bekisting en wapening combineert binnen een digitaal fabricageproces.

Het proces begint met een lasactuator die op een mobiele robot is gemonteerd. Daarmee wordt op basis van een computermodel een fijnmazige stalen gaaswand gemaakt. Zo ontstaat een soort bekisting in de vorm van een stalen kooi.

In de volgende stap wordt beton in de kooi gegoten. Door de dichte maasstructuur en het specifieke betonmengsel loopt het beton niet weg. Terwijl andere digitale bouwtechnologieen, zoals 3D-printen van beton, nog steeds moeite hebben om een oplossing te vinden voor wapening, kunnen de stalen mazen die met Mesh Moulding zijn gemaakt de functies van zowel bekisting als wapening vervullen. Volgens ETH Zürich heeft deze technologie grote voordelen voor zowel op maat gemaakte als gestandaardiseerde betonconstructies.

Het voordeel voor maatwerkconstructies zit vooral in het feit dat er geen dure, eenmalig te gebruiken hulpmaterialen als bekistingen nodig zijn.

Voordeel voor gestandaardiseerde betonconstructies is dat ze structureel kunnen worden geoptimaliseerd. Terwijl wanden nu nog met een gelijke dikte over hun gehele lengte moeten worden gebouwd, kan met ‘Mesh Mould’ de wanddikte variëren, afhankelijk van de vereiste draagkracht van de specifieke delen. Daardoor kan niet alleen op bekisting worden bespaard, maar ook op beton.

De Mesh Mould technologie heeft kreeg in 2016 de Zwitserse Technology Award.

In de Empa/Eawag NEST-testlocatie in Dübendorf, Zwitserland, werken acht professoren van de ETH Zürich samen met het bedrijfsleven aan de bouw van het zogenaamde DFAB HOUSE. Het gaat om een testlocatie van drie verdiepingen en is volgens de betrokken partijen het eerste gebouw in de wereld dat wordt ontworpen, gepland en gebouwd met overwegend digitale processen.

Digitale fabricage heeft zich in de afgelopen jaren snel ontwikkeld binnen de bouw en architectuur. Als onderdeel van het Nationale Centrum voor Competentie in Onderzoek (NCCR) Digital Fabrication werken architecten, robotica-specialisten, materiaalwetenschappers, constructeurs en duurzaamheidsdeskundigen van ETH Zürich samen met de industrie om verschillende nieuwe digitale bouwtechnologieën in de praktijk te testen. Dat gebeurt met de bouw van het DFAB HOUSE van NEST. NEST is modulair opgezette onderzoeks- en demonstratieplatform voor geavanceer-

and prefabrication, the installation time at the construction site was according to ETHZ reduced to a minimum: a crane hoisted the concrete elements onto the load-bearing wall, where the prestressing took place. Workers pulled steel cables lengthwise and crosswise through the concrete support and into the channels already inserted in the formwork.

Tensioning the cables massively increases the system’s load capacity.

en efficiënter kan maken en of het de ontwerpmogelijkheden vergroot. De afzonderlijke componenten worden rechtstreeks uit digitale gegevens vervaardigd, waardoor de conventionele planningsfase niet meer nodig is. Vanaf de zomer 2018 zal het drie verdiepingen tellende gebouw, met een vloeroppervlakte van 200 m2, klaar zijn. Het wordt een gastenverblijf.

Vier nieuwe methoden

Met de constructie van het DFAB HOUSE worden vier bouwmethoden voor het eerst in de praktijk getest. De bouw be-

Gramazio Kohler Research ETHZ>

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16 | INNOVATIEVE MATERIALEN 4 2017

Smart Dynamic Casting (SDC) is een nieuw gerobotiseerd glijbekistingsproces, van ETH Zürich. Het werd ontwikkeld als efficiënte prefabtechniek ten behoeve van standaard en niet-standaard betonconstructies. En dat zonderzonder gebruik te maken van een grote bekisting.

Gedurende de twintigste eeuw heeft construeren met betonconstructies veel vernieuwingen ondergaan zowel met betrekking tot het materiaal, als de techniek en het ontwerp. Al die ontwikkelingen hebben de manier waarop gebouwen worden ontworpen nogal veranderd. Deze innovaties vergrootten de mogelijkheden voor architecten en constructeurs om meer complexe

bouwconstructies te bedenken. Vooral de komst van nieuwe Computer-Aided-Design en Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technieken hebben de mogelijkheden tot het ontwerpen van complexe vormen enorm vergroot. De ontwerpen worden echter vaak beperkt door de beschikbare productiemethoden. Complexe betonstructuren vragen om op maat gemaakte bekistingen voor ieder individueel onderdeel. Dat is vaak duur en niet duurzaam.

Smart Dynamic Casting is bedoeld om individueel vervaardigde bekisting voor complexe betonconstructies overbodig te maken.

EHT>

Video Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, in samenwerking met: prof dr. Robert J. Flatt (PI), Amir R. Shahab (PhD), prof. Hans Hermann; Linus Mettler (PhD), Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (D-BAUG), Institute for Building Materials (IfB) ETH Zurich; prof. Peter Fischer, Department of Health Sciences and Technology (D-HEST) Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH), ETH Zurich.

Onderzoekers: Ena Lloret Kristensen (projectleider), Andreas Thoma, Ralph Bärtschi, Thomas Cadalbert, Beat Lüdi, Orkun Kasap, Maryam Tayebani

DFAB HOUSE Digitally designed, planned and built Eight professors from ETH Zurich have come together as part of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication to build the DFAB House together with industry partners. The threestorey residential unit is located in NEST, Empa and Eawag’s research and innovation platform in Dübendorf. The fabrication of the Mesh Mould wall in May 2017 was the starting point for the world’s first building to combine several innovative digital construction processes under one roof. Completion is scheduled for early 2019, after which the DFAB House will serve as temporary accommodation for visiting researchers.

Video Het project werd uitgevoerd in het kader van het National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication Projectleider: Norman Hack Team: Kathrin Dörfler, Dr. Jaime Mata Falcón, Dr. Nitish Kumar, Alexander Nikolas Walzer, Dr. Tim Wangler In samenwerking met: Gramazio Kohler Research, Institute for Technology in Architecture, ETH Zurich; Agile & Dexterous Robotics Lab, Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich; Physical Chemistry of Building Materials Group, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich; Concrete Structures and Bridge Design, Institute of Structural Engineering, ETH Zurich Industry partners: Sika Technology AG, Noe Schaltechnik GmbH

17 | INNOVATIEVE MATERIALEN 4 2017

Click here for an article about DFAB HOUSE, mesh molding and more at Innovative Materials number 4 2017 (pdf)

http://dfabhouse.ch>

The 3D sand printer used for the fabrication of the formwork. The printer has a build volume of 8 cubic meters and a resolution of a fraction of a millimeter (Image: ETH Zürich/Tom Mundy)

22 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

RESEARCH

New material makes traveling more comfortable than ever

(a) 3D woven (3DW) lattice material is composed of Z- (green), warp (red) and fill (blue) wires (b) Yellow color indicates the brazing locations (at the top and bottom) (c) Cross-section of 3D woven lattice with the stiff skeleton (the brazed portion on the top and bottom) and free lattice members in the core of the structure (d) SEM image of the brazed top face, which confirmed metallurgical bonding of the metallic lattices

A new material that is as stiff as metal but flexible enough to withstand strong vibrations could transform the car manufacturing industry, say experts from the University of Surrey.

In a paper published in Scientific Reports

by Nature, scientists from Surrey joined forces with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the University of California to develop a material that has high stiffness and damping.

The idea was to develop a novel damping mechanism exhibited by 3D woven lattice materials (3DW), with emphasis on response to high-frequency excitations. Conventional bulk damping

materials, such as rubber, exhibit relatively low stiffness, while stiff metals and ceramics typically have negligible damping. The team demonstrated that high damping and structural stiffness can be simultaneously achieved in 3D woven lattice materials by brazing only select lattice joints, resulting in a load-bearing lattice frame intertwined with free, ‘floating’ lattice members to generate damping.

Researchers believe their new material could usher in a new wave of trains, cars, and aircrafts, allowing customers to experience little to no vibration during their travels.

According to dr. Stefan Szyniszewski, lead author of the study and Assistant Professor of Materials and Structures at the University of Surrey, this new revolutionary material could make the vehicles of the near future more comfortable than ever before.

University of Surrey> The original article online>

23 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

RESEARCH

Photo: Joana Gil, TUHH

Lignin-based aerogels According to the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe, Germany, re­searchers from the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg (TU HH) have successfully produced and processed lignin-based aerogels for insulation panels. Lignin is an interesting biobased raw material that is becoming increasingly popular. Aerogels are solid, highly porous materials with low density and low thermal conductivity. Still, the production of pure lignin aerogels was not possible.

A team led by the Professor Irina Smirnova, has made some progress towards this goal. Conventional lignin is usually sulphurous or contaminated, therefore the use of lignin as a base or additive for many new applications is limited or impossible. How the reaserchers managed to solve these problems is described in the report ‘Stoffliche Nutzung von Lignin: Nanoporöse Materialien’. They used the lignin from residual beech wood and

24 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

wheat straw, which was obtained using two environmentally-friendly processes, the so-called Organosolv and Aquasolv processes. In the Organosolv process, lignin is separated using organic solvents. The Aquasolv process is based on high-pressure hot-water hydrolysis.

Through different gelling techniques, the lignins were subsequently cross-linked, gelled, dried and thus converted into aerogels.

market introduction of the material after the end of the project. BioMP (www.thebiomp.de) brings together expertise in the field of hot water hydrolysis and production of lignin to the sampling and processing. Aerogelex (www.aerogelex.com) manufactures various types of organic aerogels and offers lignin PU Aero gel plates for industrial testing.

One of the most successful approaches led to hybrid lignin polyurethane aerogels with density adjustable between 50 and 250 kg/m3. The mass-related content of lignin is 78 percent, the procedure has been scaled up in the pilot. Insulation boards from this aero gel type reach a thermal conductivity of 24 mW/mK and significantly exceeded the insulating properties of polystyrene or rockwool.

Two spin-offs of the TU HH promote the

Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe> The rapport ‘Stoffliche Nutzung von Lignin: Nanoporöse Materialien’ is on line (pdf)>

RESEARCH

Superstrong and biobased products. Published in the journal of American Chemical Society (ACS Nano), the study describes a new method that mimics nature’s ability to arrange cellulose nanofibres into almost perfect macroscale arrangements.

According to author Daniel SĂśderberg, researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

SEM image of the cross-section of the fibre, showing the aligned nanofibrils

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) have produced a biobased material that is reported to surpass the strength of all known biobased materials whether fabricated or natural, including wood and spider silk.

Working with cellulose nanofibre (CNF),

the essential building block of wood and other plant life, the researchers report that they have overcome the difficulty in translating the incredible mechanical properties of these nanofibres into larger, lightweight materials for use in airplanes, cars, furniture and other

The biobased nanocellulose fibres are eight times stiffer and have strengths higher than natural dragline spider silk fibres, generally considered to be the strongest biobased material. The specific strength is exceeding that of metals, alloys, ceramics and glass fibres.

This development was made possible by understanding and controlling the key fundamental parameters essential for perfect nanostructuring, such as particle size, interactions, alignment, diffusion, network formation and assembly. The study opens the way for developing nanofibre material that can be used for larger structures while retaining the nanofibres’ tensile strength and ability to withstand mechanical load.

More at www.kth.se>

Civiele Techniek Civiele Techniek is an independent, authoritative magazine for the civil engineer.

It provides thematic information on innovations, infrastructural projects, watermanagement, structural engineering,hydraulic & coastal engineering, tunnel engineering, traffic management, traffic technology, mobility, geotechnical engineering, highway engineering and engineering materials. www.civieletechniek.net (Dutch)>

Click for the content>

25 | INNOVATIVE MATERIALS 5 2018

RESEARCH

RE Glass 3

New, innovative and sustainable roads for building with glass The applicability of glass in structures is continuously ascending, as the transparency and high compressive strength of the material render it the optimum choice for realizing diaphanous structural components that allow for light transmittance and space continuity.

The fabrication boundaries of the material are constantly stretching: visible metal connections are minimized and glass surfaces are maximized, resulting to pure all-glass structures. Still, due to the prevalence of the float glass industry, all-glass structures are currently confined to the limited forms and shapes that can be generated by planar, 2D glass elements. Moreover, despite the fact that glass is fully recyclable, most of the glass currently employed in buildings is neither reused nor recycled due to its perplexed disassembly and its contamination from coatings and adhesives.

Within the 4TU-Bouw project RE3 Glass a new generation of Recycable, Reducible and Reusable cast glass components for structural and architectural applications was investigated.

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RESEARCH

Photo: Faidra Oikonomopoulou, TU Delft

A solution for both the limitations of float glass and the reuse of contaminated waste glass could be found in cast glass. Cast glass can escape the design limitations generated from the 2-dimensional nature of float glass. By pouring molten glass into moulds, solid 3-dimensional glass components can be attained

of considerably larger cross sections and of virtually any shape. These monolithic glass objects can form repetitive units for large all glass-structures that do not buckle due to slender proportions and thus can take full advantage of the stated compressive strength of glass. Such components can be accordingly shaped

to interlock towards easily assembled structures that do not require the use of adhesives for further bonding. In addition, cast glass units - due to their increased cross section - can tolerate a higher degree of impurities and thus can be produced by using waste glass as a raw source. Grasping this potential, the ‘RE3 Glass’ project aims to develop a methodology and guideline for the sustainable application of structural glass in buildings in respect to the waste hierarchy of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

In specific, a threefold RE3 approach is suggested:

Step 1. REcycle by employing waste glass

Although in theory glass can be endlessly remelted without loss in quality, in practice only a small percentage gets recycled, mainly by the float and packaging industry. Most of the discarded glass fails to pass the high quality standards of the prevailing glass industry - due to coatings, adhesives, other contaminants or incompatibility of the recipe- and ends up in the landfill. However, employing discarded glass in cast components for building applications can be a way to

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RESEARCH reintroduce this waste to the supply chain. This is because such components can tolerate a higher percentage of inclusions, without necessarily compromising their mechanical or aesthetical properties.

Step 2. REduce by implementing smart geometry The use of cast glass is proposed instead of the commonly applied laminated float glass, to achieve solid monomaterial components of the desired cross section and form. Owing to their large cross-sectional area and monolithic nature, cast glass components besides having an unlimited freedom in shapes, can form repetitive units for the generation of 3-dimensional, selfsupporting glass facades and walls, sparing the necessity of an additional supporting structure. Smart geometry implemented in the form of cavities and notches leads to lightweight yet strong components, reducing not only the required raw material but also the overall embodied energy.

Step 3. REuse by designing interlocking components

Currently, the few realized structures using cast glass components employ either a steel substructure or an adhesive of high bonding strength, typically less than 2 mm thick, to ensure the rigidity and lateral stability of the construction.

Whereas the first solution compromises the overall level of transparency, the second results to a permanent construction of intensive and meticulous labour and extreme accuracy requirements.

In the RE3 Glass research project the potential of a novel, reversible glass system comprising dry-assembly, interlocking cast glass components is explored.

Owing to its interlocking geometry, the proposed system can attain the desired stiffness and stability with the aid of minimal metal framing. Furthermore, the suggested system circumvents the use of adhesives by using a dry, colourless interlayer as an intermediate between the glass units. Besides preventing stress concentrations due to glass to glass contact, the dry interlayer can also accommodate the inevitable dimensional tolerances in the cast units’ size. Most important, the dry-assembly design allows for the circular use of the glass components, as they can be eventually retrieved intact and reused.

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RESEARCH system. Simultaneously, the potential but also the limitations of recycling glass in order to obtain load-bearing components are assessed. In this direction, an overview is provided regarding the types of glass that reach the recycling plants and the types that do not, arguing on the reasons behind this selection.

Foto: Faidra Oikonomopoulou, TU Delft

Proof of concept

To validate the concept, different component geometries are developed and assessed in terms of mechanical interlocking capacity, mass distribution and ease of fabrication. Numerical models are made to predict the most sensitive areas in the brick designs. In parallel, research

is conducted on different materials and production methods for the dry, transparent interlayer. As a proof of concept, the most promising interlocking forms are kilncast in 1:2 scale. The components are then dry-assembled in series of three and structurally tested under shear, to demonstrate the feasibility of the

A series of experiments questions the possibility of recycling everyday glass waste, from beer bottles and Pyrex trays to mobile phone screens. Each type of glass waste is initially cast separately to define the flow capability at a temperature range between 900 °C - 1100 °C, the risk of crystallisation, and the alterations in colour due to oxidation and reduction. Flux agents are added to samples of high viscosity at the aforementioned temperature range to facilitate the flow and reduce the required energy for recycling. Then, the possibility to mix different glass recipes at temperatures between 900 °C -1450 °C without crack­ ing during the cooling and annealing cycle is evaluated. Aim of this research step is to achieve homogeneity in the glass components and good physical and mechanical properties despite the initial incompatibility of the mixed glass types.

Outcome of the ‘RE3 Glass’ project is the new generation of REcyclable, REducible and REusable cast glass components, which suggests an innovative and sustainable way of building with glass.

This text is based on a TU4-Bouw article ‘RE3 Glass: a Reduce/Reuse/Recycle Strategy’ Credits: Delft University of Technology: ir. Telesilla Bristogianni, ir. Faidra Oikonomopoulou, ir. Lida Barou, dr.ir. Fred Veer, prof.ir. Rob Nijsse, ir. Erwin Jacobs, Giulia Frigo University of Twente: dr. Elma Durmisevic, ir. Pieter Beurskens Southern Illinois University, School of Art and Design: prof. Jiyong Lee, Katherine Rutecki RU3 bij de TU Delft>

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AGENDA 79th Conference on Glass Problems 2018 5 - 8 November 2018, Columbus, Ohio, VS

All4Pack Paris 2018 26 - 29 November 2018, Parijs www.all4pack.com/

Composites Europe 6 - 8 November 2018, Stuttgart

European Bioplastics Conference 4 - 5 December 2018, Berlijn

Architect@work Germany 7 - 8 November 2018, Berlijn

Meeting Materials 2018 11 December 2018, Noordwijkerhout

Urban mining kongress 2018 7 - 8 November 2018, Dortmund

BAU München 2019 14 - 19 January 2019, München

Surface 2018 13 - 15 November 2018, Den Bosch

43rd (ICACC19) 27 January - 1 February 2019, Daytona Beach, Fla. USA

Precisiebeurs 2018 14 - 15 November 2018, Veldhoven

Bouwbeurs 2019 4 - 8 Febrary 2019, Utrecht

De Betondag 2018 15 November 2018, Rotterdam

Ulmer Betontage 19 - 21 Febrary 2019, Ulm, Duitsland

Clay Tech UK 15 November 2018, Newark, UK

Maintenance Dortmund 2019 20 Febrary 2019, Dortmund

Houtdag 2018 15 November 2018, Amsterdam

AM Expo 2019 12 - 13 March 2019, Luzern, Zwitserland

Landelijk Architectuur Congres 15 - 16 November 2018, ’s Hertogenbosch

MaterialDistict 12 - 14 March 2019, Rotterdam

Formnext 2018 16 November 2018, Frankfurt a.M., Duitsland

JEC World 2019 12 - 14 March 2019, Paris

Recycling 2018 20 - 22 November 2018, Gorinchem

CCE International 2019 12 - 14 March 2019, München

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INNOVATIEVE MATERIALEN 5 2018

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INNOVATIVE MATERIALS Innovative Materials Innovative Materials provides information on material innovations, or innovative use of materials. The idea is that the ever increasing demands lead to a constant search for better and safer products as well as material and energy savings. Enabling these innovations is crucial, not only to be competitive but also to meet the challenges of enhancing and protecting the environment, like durability, C2C and carbon footprint.

By opting for smart, sustainable and innovative materials constructors, engineers and designers obtain more opportunities to distinguish themselves.

As a platform Innovative Materials wants to help to achieve this by connecting supply and demand. info@innovatievematerialen.nl

E V I T A V INNOERIALS MAT me 3

2017 volu

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ing cellul

3D-print World’s

Materials

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crete bri

rced con

nfo inted rei

first 3D-pr

2017

nce in

resista thquake rove ear buildings

ites imp

Compos

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Glass bri

sed car

t bio-ba

rld’s firs

Lina: wo

L O N A A T I E R N I N T

N T I O E D I

SJP Uitgevers, Postbus 861, 4200 AW Gorinchem tel. (0183) 66 08 08

e-mail: info@innovatievematerialen.nl