Principal Investigator
BIOCOMPOSITE FAÇADES AND EXTENSION SYSTEMS
This project is part of a wider research effort to investigate annually renewable Natural Fibres (NF) and their potential applications in the construction industry, as alternative material systems to those based on non-renewable (glass fibre) and long-term renewable resources (timber). In the previous Research Project (RP 6-1), biocomposite façade sunshade panels and sandwich panels based on Natural Fibre Reinforced Polymers (NFRP) from Tailored Fibre Placement (TFP) preforms were successfully developed for applications in multi-storey buildings (Research Network 1-1). This project will continue the development by complementing the panels with additional NFRP support elements, profiles and fixtures, which together will form a complete façade system. The façade will be applicable to both multi-storey buildings (Research Network 1-2) and extensions to existing buildings (Research Network 3-1).
This goal will be realised by expanding the range of fabrication techniques used to Automated Preforming (AP) and Profile Winding (PW) for the production of panel support profiles and full-width façade profiles. The development will undergo technical, ecological and social quality assessment at several stages. Ultimately, this continuous process will lead to a thorough comparison of the three different fabrication methods (TFP, AP and PW) in terms of their suitability to deliver NFRP building components with specific requirements in automated construction processes, and consequently to the informed fabrication-related decisions in future building projects. Furthermore, a comparison with a fourth fabrication technique (3D printing of biocomposites with NF) will be investigated in the Associated Project 3DNaturDruck, which deals with this topic.
Particular emphasis is put on moving towards new green biocomposite materials based on biomass binders as an alternative to the previously used petro-based epoxy resin matrices. Their development will focus on achieving the targeted mechanical properties, flame retardancy and UV resistance depending on the application. The results will be compared with those of biocomposites developed with petro-based binders achieved in the previous project.
Finally, the information gathered will be used in fabrication of façade elements for the proof-of-concept Demonstrator for Research Network 3-1.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Associate Prof. Hanaa Dahy
Bio-based Materials and Materials Cycles in Architecture (BioMat) Research Group at Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE), University of Stuttgart
TEAM
Dr.-Ing. Jan Petrs (Biomat at ITKE)
Piotr Baszynski (Biomat at ITKE)
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
2021
- Lehrecke, A., Tucker, C., Yang, X., Baszynski, P., & Dahy, H. (2021). Tailored Lace : Moldless Fabrication of 3D Bio-Composite Structures through an Integrative Design and Fabrication Process. Applied Sciences, 11(22), Article 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/app112210989
2020
- Costalonga Martins, V., Cutajar, S., van der Hoven, C., Baszynski, P., & Dahy, H. (2020). FlexFlax Stool: Validation of Moldless Fabrication of Complex Spatial Forms of Natural Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (NFRP) Structures through an Integrative Approach of Tailored Fiber Placement and Coreless Filament Winding Techniques. Applied Sciences, 10(9), Article 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10093278
- Cutajar, S., Costalonga Martins, V., van der Hoven, C., Baszynski, P., & Dahy, H. (2020). Towards Modular Natural Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Architecture. Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of the Association of Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), 1, 564–573. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2020.1.564
- Rihaczek, G., Klammer, M., Basnak, O., Petrs, J., Grisin, B., Dahy, H., Carosella, S., & Middendorf, P. (2020). Curved Foldable Tailored Fiber Reinforcements for Moldless Customized Bio-Composite Structures. Proof of Concept: Biomimetic NFRP Stools. Polymers, 12(9), Article 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10093278