The mass production of cement as a key component of concrete in construction industry results in the consumption of natural resources as well as environmental pollution. The significant improvement in material efficiency during the design and engineering process of structural reinforced concrete components reducing the resource consumption marks a substantial strategy to fight these anthropogenic challenges. Innovative concepts within the Collaborative Research Center Transregio 280 (CRC/TRR280) are supposed to foster the future-oriented building strategy regarding the design, modelling, construction, production und application of sustainable and resource-efficient concrete-based construction components. The objective of the research project is to utilize the full potential of the high performance textile reinforced concrete by means of novel and improved material compositions using biologically inspired design principles.
Therefore, targeted investigations of plant structures with specific fibre orientations serve as inspirations for load adapted reinforcement structures. Especially the transition zone from petiole to lamina in plant leaves draws our attention. In peltate-leaved plant species, meaning leaves in which the petiole merges centrally and perpendicularly into the lamina, the transition represents a considerable change in geometry from a beam to a plate in a very short distance. Detailed investigation revealed several principles of how the transition from petiole to lamina is organised. The application-oriented 3D yarn placement tool is developed concerning specific impregnation of fibers with the appropriate impregnation agents. The developed 3D roving placement rack ensures the fixation of spatial and highly branched textile reinforcement topologies in accordance to the load transfer orientation by means of individually controllable supporting bars and attached 3D winding bodies.
With the aid of the CAE-supported design process and the robot-supported manufacturing technology, the realisation of spatially branched, biomimetic textile reinforcement topologies will pave the way towards a sustainable and efficient value-added chain in the construction sector.