The proposed project „Building construction with composite elements of wood-concrete compounds and timber“ aims at developing a multi-layer wall and floor system composed of cement bonded wood particles and full size timber elements in composite action. The load bearing composite elements can transmit bending (e.g. floors), compression and shear (in the case of walls).
The project requires investigations on the composition of wood-concrete compounds, on the interfaces, the compatibility, and the composite action between the different components and materials of the multi-layer system. Manufacturing methods has to be analyzed, in order to optimize a composite system by using the best characteristics of each material and component. For the construction technology to be acceptable in future practical application, engineering know-how (i.e. structural behavior and appropriate design approaches and values, structural reliability) is to be amended and verified by scientifically robust background data. At the other hand the economic competitiveness and ecological aspects of the primarily wood-based multi-layer structural elements are investigated and compared to current technologies. The outcome of the project has to be communicated to the target audience in order to create attention for possibly future applications of the new construction technology.
The results of the proposed research should primarily prove the practical applicability of the new structural elements, i.e. proof of readiness for first use of a new construction technology:
- Composition recipes for wood-concrete compounds as structural material are developed, of which the mechanical short- and long-term properties, workability characteristic and appropriate pre-treatment methods for the wood particles have been preliminarily investigated.
- Structural composite elements, made of wood-concrete compound layers and beam or slab-type timber components, are conceptually designed for floors and walls and their structural performance is analyzed theoretically and experimentally in limited test series.
- Basic proposals for structural design approaches, structural modelling and structural details of the new building construction technology are developed and experimentally verified.
- First appraisals of the new multi-layer composite elements with regard to building physics, fire safety, as well as economic and ecological feasibility are available.
The proposed technology combines concrete construction tradition with organic renewable resources as an alternative to conventional concrete or masonry, also opening opportunities to reduce carbon emissions through the increased use of wood for construction (since the carbon dioxide stocked in the wood is preserved for several decades instead of burning it). This opens new application fields for a smarter wood-based construction, with an increased volume and use of locally available wood from renewable resources. The partial substitution of energy consuming industrialized construction materials may lead to a more ecological, economic and sustainable building technology.
