Fire Resistance of lightweight constructions made of Carbon Concrete Composites

• Applicant: Richard Fürst, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Structural Engineering, Building Informatics and Construction Operation ; Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology ; Construction Material Sciences, Chemistry, Building Physics ; Lightweight Construction, Textile Technology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 560249689

The proposed project will be conducted by two research institutes, i.e. BAM from Germany and CTU UCEEB from Czech Republic. The investigation focusses on lightweight constructions made of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC). In particular, the mechanical material properties of TRC with carbon reinforcement at ambient and elevated temperature is analysed, as well as a proposal for structural fire design and the assessment of the fire resistance will be developed. TRC, which is a relatively new construction method, combines the advantages of a high performance concrete (HPC) with the high performance and non-corrosive tensile carbon material. This allows to minimise the cross-sectional area and thus significantly reduce the required amount of concrete and the associated CO2 consumption. The saving of resources and the climate protection are the main challenges for the future in building construction. The joint project combines the expertise and knowledge regarding the manufacturing and structural design at ambient temperature by CTU UCEEB, and the fire resistance testing and elevated temperature material behaviour of concrete by BAM. Currently, the use of TRC is limited to applications at ambient temperature because several questions concerning the fire resistance of structural TRC elements need to be answered: e.g. faster heating of the cross section, spalling of HPC, temperature related degradation of the textile reinforcement and the bonding behaviour of reinforcement with the surrounding concrete. To address these issues and to improve the fire resistance of structural TRC elements, a comprehensive research project consisting of a multi-scale level approach from microscopy to real-scale testing at ambient temperature as well as under fire exposure is proposed. The research project addresses four main topics: Part A) A comprehensive study of the materials used for TRC will be carried out to determine the influence of elevated temperatures on the mechanical properties. Part B) Lightweight TRC beam specimens with hollow section will be designed, manufactured, tested and assessed at ambient temperature as well as under fire exposure. Part C) A numerical model will be created and validated based on the experimental data of Part A and B. The numerical simulation will be used to propose an analytical fire design approach for TRC elements in bending. Part D) A Life cycle assessment is carried out to analyse the sustainability an environmental impact of TRC. The research project will create new experimental data regarding the material properties and structural performance of TRC elements. This knowledge can be used by industry and the scientific community as a solid background to extend the scope of application for TRC with regards to fire resistance.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Czech Republic
• Partner Organisation: Czech Science Foundation
• Cooperation Partner: Tomas Vlach, Ph.D.