immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Carbonfaser

  • Winterthur’s Grüze innovation lab opens in May

    Winterthur’s Grüze innovation lab opens in May

    In May 2024, the Grüze Innovation Lab will open on St.Gallerstrasse in Winterthur. According to a press release, it is planned as a versatile meeting place where visitors can find out about the large-scale Grüze crossing construction site. In addition, the filigree building, which is open on all sides, will be a place for discussions on urban development issues, possible conflicting goals and the effects of climate change on the urban population.

    The approximately 120 square metre pavilion with exhibition space, stage and café has a modular design and can be extended in modules. The statics were designed for a two-storey, closed building. This takes into account the possibility that the innovation lab could grow into a neighbourhood centre with increased space requirements in the medium term. For the time being, it is planned for a useful life of ten years.

    The innovation lab was developed by the Winterthur Civil Engineering Office in collaboration with the Department of Architecture, Design and Civil Engineering at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and Holcim Switzerland. The extra-thin and recyclable concrete slabs made of carbon fibre-reinforced concrete (CPC) from CPC AG reportedly save up to 75 percent material compared to conventional concrete construction methods. CO2 emissions are to be reduced by a factor of two to four.

    The CPC concrete elements, which emerged from a long-term research project at the ZHAW, can be dismantled into their component parts with little effort and rebuilt elsewhere or reused for another structure. Holcim produces them and makes them available on loan. The prefabricated elements are assembled within a few days in the spring.

  • Empa researches the recycling of plastic slats

    Empa researches the recycling of plastic slats

    Carbon fibre reinforced plastic lamellae (CFRP lamellae) are among the building materials that have not yet been reintroduced into the material cycle, Empa explains in a press release. Its researchers from the Mechanical Systems Engineering department want to remedy this situation. A corresponding research project has already found a sponsor in a foundation not named in the press release.

    The process of reinforcing bridges, car parks, building walls and ceilings made of concrete or masonry using CFRP lamellas has already been developed at Empa by its former Dübendorf director Urs Meier, according to the press release. “By significantly extending the service life of buildings and infrastructure structures, CFRP lamellae make an important contribution to increasing sustainability in the construction sector,” Giovanni Terrasi, Head of Empa’s Mechanical Systems Engineering research department, is quoted as saying. “However, we now also need to find a way to continue using the CFRP louvres beyond the service life of these buildings.”

    The first step is to develop a mechanical process that allows the lamellae to be detached from the concrete without causing damage. The researchers then want to process the demolished CFRP into reinforcements for prefabricated components. The first object the group has in mind is reinforcements for railway sleepers made from recycled concrete. This means that the “supposed waste material could play a new role in Swiss infrastructure”, writes Empa.