Development of an adaptable manufacturing process for modular lightweight concrete components using fully recyclable formwork systems

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Werner Sobek; Professor Dr.-Ing. Alexander Verl
• Subject Area: Structural Engineering, Building Informatics and Construction Operation ; Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology ; Production Automation and Assembly Technology
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 423987937

Due to the population growth and increasing scarcity of natural resources, the construction industry is faced with the task of building more with less material. In this context, the contribution of DFG Priority Programme 2187 is of a great social relevance. By accelerating production processes, more can be built in less time. The required high precision also allows design and implementation of components that can fulfill their tasks with a minimum use of material. The declared goal of the planned SPP 2187 "Adaptive modular construction methods with flow manufacturing methods" is interactive, industrialized construction on the basis of modular structures. Modular structures should secure properties such as adaptability, changeability and sensory intelligence for the parts as well for the whole system through the production based on a new line assembly methodology. In industrial manufacturing technology, additive manufacturing is regarded as a key technology for achieving these goals. If one wants to compete with industrial manufacturing technology, so it is advisable to make such processes available for the construction industry, even if line assembly itself is not yet the widespread practice in that field. It has now been recognized that the manufacture of individual, scalable products, based on modules with equal individual properties and using additive manufacturing processes, can be successful. The definition of unit boundaries and the connecting interfaces are relevant factors for the production of modules within this manufacturing approach. Those factors fundamentally determine the quality of the modules, incl. achievable assembly accuracy, application of reinforcing materials, quality of the information about components, formability, etc. The participating research institutes see themselves in this new research approach as a key link in reforming the concrete construction in accordance with the information flow within the line assembly processes. The basis for that is the newly developed hydroplotting method, which makes it possible to produce spatial, fully recyclable formwork by selectively injecting water into a mixture of sand and organic binder along a specified path. Further subsequent processes produce stable formwork, which can be dissolved by the adding the water inside it and repeatedly used afterwards. By coupling this process of the formwork production with an additive production in such a way that these two methods can be combined as one layered process, it becomes possible to produce individual, structurally adaptable and fibre-reinforced modular components.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2187: Adaptive modularized constructions made in a flux: precise and rapid building
• Co-Investigators: Dr.-Ing. Walter Haase; Dr.-Ing. Armin Lechler