Multifunctional Sandwiches for Sustainable Infrastructure
© 2012 EPFL
Today, civil infrastructure typically involves the use of structural materials such as concrete or steel applied in a multilayered and function-separated way, which is time-consuming, and a frequent cause of errors during construction.
New materials such as a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites assembled in large-scale sandwich structures avoid these problems because they enable the prefabrication of lightweight, single-layer and function-integrated components for rapid on-site installation. Structural functions, building physics functions (thermal insulation in particular), architectural functions (freeform shapes, transparency, color) and energy supply (encapsulated solar cells) are integrated into single components.
Low-energy standards are easily met while lightweight construction is maintained. In a multidisciplinary approach, one of the Composite Construction Laboratory's main lines of research focuses of the development of multifunctional FRP sandwiches for sustainable infrastructure.