Visual effect of wood and linen thanks to textured formliners and pigments
At the beginning of the year, Prof. Hans Paschmann, professor of building materials research at the faculty of civil engineering, gave the starting signal for the project. Seven future civil engineers met the challenge under the guidance of Franz-Josef Basner, member of the technical staff of the building materials laboratory, to build the best concrete canoe of the regatta held on the Baldeneysee.
The 4.50 m long canoe named "Timberjack" consisting of four segments has been made of lightweight concrete having a wall thickness of 8 mm. Using porous grains of so-called foam glass this lightweight concrete is just weighing half as much as common concrete. Inserted reinforcing meshes made of fiber glass are taking up the tensile forces.
"We have attached special importance to the construction and design of the canoe," explains Markus Schössow, one of the constructing engineers. "By using the NEOplast textured formliners as well as color pigments, we managed to simulate a surprisingly real wood texture for the body and a linen texture for the top cover." For this purpose, the students decided to use products of NOE-Schaltechnik of Süssen (Germany). They are distinguished by their filigree surface design. For achieving the linen texture NOEplast liquid was applied. This is a two-component system which is used for the production of PU, the basic material of formliners. Beside a wide range of standard textures, the company offers the possibility to realize individually designed formliners. For this purpose, the company also provides expert knowledge and helpful information whenever needed.
