SBO Project: A new generation of high-performance building materials and elements integrating aerogels and textile reinforced cement composites

Nowadays’ regulations are pushing the construction industry to meet
the ambitious global goals of a sustainable society such as energysaving,
reduced CO2‐emission and use of resources, and efficient
construction. High-performance construction materials and systems
combining mechanical and thermal properties can answer this call. At a
mechanical level, Textile Reinforced Cements (TRCs) have shown their
high competitiveness compared to traditional building materials such as
steel reinforced concrete by reducing material use and weight. To
comply with the thermal requirements, a promising insulation material
is aerogel; compared to traditional insulation materials (such as PUR/PIR
or EPS), it is an incombustible, ultra-insulating and ultra-lightweight
material, which can strongly improve the thermal insulation and
slenderness of construction elements. While aerogels have proven their
high potential in a plethora of applications (battery packs, acoustic
insulation, air filtration systems), their potential in structural elements
has not yet been exploited. The aim of this research is to investigate a
multi-scale integration of aerogel in construction elements, envisaging
applications with high thermal, mechanical and fire safety requirements.
The multi-scale integration will happen at three levels; at the microscale,
aerogel particles will be added to cement mixtures to yield
thermally insulating aerocements with desired mechanical capacity. At
the meso-scale, aerocements and aerogel sheets will be combined with
textile reinforcement to achieve the desired flexural performance. Lastly,
at the macro-scale, multi-layer structural elements combining aerogels
and TRCs will be developed. To ensure the structural integrity at
elevated temperatures, basalt fibres (as an alternative to glass fibres)
will be investigated, woven in novel and highly efficient 3D textiles. All
investigated developments will be benchmarked against existing
materials and elements..