Protection systems and durability
Protection systems and durability
The protection of building materials and durability are central topics in restoration. Based on our many years of experience and the excellent equipment of our laboratory with testing and weathering facilities, both basic research and the application-oriented development of innovative materials and products are carried out with business partners.
Surface protection of concrete
The protection of concrete surfaces is a long-standing focus of our research. In addition to the performance of polymeric or cementitious protective systems, durability is an important criterion for the protection of concrete.
In recent years, the focus has been on the durability of polymer coatings and hydrophobic coatings as well as the development of new polymer and cementitious protective coatings for special stresses.
Mortar
Mortar is generally defined as a cement-bound material with an aggregate with a maximum grain size of up to 4 mm. At the Institute for Building Research, this term is defined more broadly, so that polymer-bound aggregates as well as fine concretes, such as those used in textile concrete, are also included here.
In current research projects, the seawater and media resistance of cementitious and polymer mortars are being investigated and improved. Other projects deal with the investigation and further development of low-creep gap filling compounds for steel and mechanical engineering.
Textile concrete
Through many years of collaboration in the DFG's Collaborative Research Centre 532 "Textile Reinforced Concrete - Foundations for the Development of a Novel Technology", this topic has developed into a further research focus in the working group. The SFB focused on the durability of textile reinforcement, the possibility of polymer modification of the concrete and the high-temperature behaviour of textile concrete. Within the framework of current projects, both the further development of textile concrete and the transfer of the findings from the research to concrete components and applications are taking place.
Cathodic corrosion protection CCP of reinforced concrete
Cathodic corrosion protection of reinforced concrete (CCP) has established itself in recent years as an innovative repair method for reinforced concrete components exposed to chloride. In this process, a protective current is induced in the component to be protected via additionally attached anodes, which forces the reinforcement to act cathodically within a control circuit and thus suppresses the anodic iron dissolution.
Research currently focuses on the applicability of CCP to complex reinforcement or component geometries, e.g. from the rear of the component, the quantification of secondary protection effects and the development of new CCP anode systems.