FBF Betondienst

62nd BetonTage congress: The future of building

The construction industry is facing major challenges as there is a large gap to be closed in terms of new residential developments, infrastructure comprising bridges, roads, and sewers are in the need of rehabilitation, and public places, administration and commercial buildings need to comply with the requirements of sustainable construction. The precast industry manufactures products that provide solutions for these challenges. Thus, “Prefabrication – the future of building” is the motto under which the 62nd BetonTage congress will be held from February 20 to 22, 2018 in Neu-Ulm/Germany.

The efficiency and the potential for innovation of precast concrete construction will be demonstrated in panel 3 “Structural precast construction I” using selected building projects. One of the examples is the EASTSITE VIII office building in Mannheim, which is the first building in the world with a sandwich façade completely made of textile-reinforced concrete with facing layers just being 30 mm thin.

Concrete components for building construction

Furthermore, the “Small House IV” reference building on the campus of the University of Kaiserslautern will be referred to. Multifunctional precast concrete elements severing as thermal energy storage were used in this project.

Panel 6 “Structural precast construction II” will present innovative, technical solutions. As part of a research project, load-bearing systems made from UHPFRC are developed in precast construction for bridges and parking deck system and the design of possible joint system are investigated. Furthermore, examples will be provided for special requirements on concrete technology regarding tunnel segment construction as well as optimized reinforcement for partial area compression. The new test guideline for lattice girders is also part of the agenda.

Panel 4 “Lightweight concrete”, among others, will outline the different infra-lightweight concretes and express the potentials for the production of precast concrete elements. The construction of the lightweight concrete roof at the Berlin central station serves as a real-life example. In addition, a new suspension mixing method for the production of no-fines and impermeable lightweight concretes will be presented as well as a calculation method for the determination of realistic, uniaxial bearing capacities of unreinforced masonry walls.

BIM and underground construction

Plenum 2 held in the morning of the second congress day will focus on the digital design method BIM (Building Information Modeling). In this regard, the industrial prefabrication of structural components, in particular, opens up huge potentials.

Panel 2 is dedicated to the manufacturers of products in road, landscape and garden construction. The implications of the European standardization and the Construction Products Regulation on the product quality of concrete elements will be discussed here. Moreover, new research findings regarding the freeze-thaw resistance will be presented. In case of concrete paving blocks, the findings recommend to test the freeze-thaw resistance of the core concrete by means of the slab test, in addition to testing the face concrete. Furthermore, the speakers will report on the experience made with digital and visual quality control and robot-controlled exchange of defective blocks in concrete block manufacturing. Legal tips will be provided in respect of the new construction contract law. In addition to that, a new possibility will be presented for further training to become a specialist engineer in paving construction.

Panel 12 “Future of sewer construction” is addressed to the manufacturers of pipes and manholes as well as the public sector. The panel includes lectures on the latest standards, on the new DWA worksheet A 139 and DWA worksheet A 127 as well as the FGSV Code of Practice on liquid soils. Examples from practice, moreover, will show how the sustainable preservation of the value and substance of road, sewer, and engineering structures can be achieved successfully, and how maintenance of sewer systems with large cross-sections in ongoing operation is possible with success.

Panel 13 “Small wastewater treatment systems” is dedicated to local authorities and the experts of the lower water authorities or private experts involved in water management. Presentations of this panel will inform, among others, on current developments in the field of standardization, the implications of the waste water ordinance on this sector and the eco-efficiency certificate for small wastewater treatment plants.

Designing with concrete

The BetonTage congress not only is a continuing training platform for the industry, but has also established itself among market partners with panels especially conceived for architects, building contractors and structural engineers for many years now.

Reports of national and international projects will reveal the overall potential of the building material in panel 8 “Cast stone” and panel 9 “Concrete in architecture”. Renowned architectural offices will report on their experience and the technical challenges when building with concrete.

Lectures on all matters relating to the new WP Code of Practice of DAfStb will be a focus of panel 10 “Concrete in structural engineering”. Besides information will be provided on essential points and changes of the new DAfStb guideline volume 630 and 631 on the design of concrete and reinforced concrete components in compliance with EC2. Furthermore, new tools for the calculation and design of rectangular cross-sections made from reinforced concrete or steel fiber-reinforced concrete will be presented as well as building components exposed to biaxial eccentric load. Along with lectures on the constraint axial force in one-way reinforced-concrete floor slabs and the punching shear resistance of foundations with varying degree of punching shear reinforcement.

Latest news from research

Panel 1 “Application-oriented research for concrete” will give an overview on the latest developments in concrete technology. Carbon-reinforced concrete is one main topic here. A new high-temperature stable carbon reinforcement will be presented and information will be provided on the current situation of the preparations on technical rules and regulations for the construction with carbon-reinforced concrete. Along with current findings on the design and safety concepts for new building components and the use of carbon-reinforced concrete for structural strengthening as well as on textile reinforcement and concrete as basis materials, the lectures will also give insights in the structural implementation and in the standardized test concepts on carbon-reinforced concrete. Research reports on sustainable cements, R concrete and the CO2 absorption of concrete by carbonation will be items of the agenda, too. New methods for testing the durability of clinker-efficient cement are also examined carefully.

Panel 11 will deal with the potentials of concrete components of tomorrow. New sales markets arise for machine beds and footings of machine tools in the metal working industry, where high-performance and ultra-high performance concrete have been used successfully for many years instead of steel. The panel, in addition, includes reports on the latest developments regarding 3D printing and the activities of the new RILEM technical committee “digital fabrication with cement-based materials”. Fields of application for fiber-reinforced concrete in precast construction will be demonstrated by means of implemented examples such as fiber-reinforced, large-sized, solar-active façade elements and innovative cement-based composite materials, using aligned short carbon fibers. Interesting research findings are achieved in wood and textile-reinforced composite construction, allowing extremely slender and lightweight concrete façade elements by reducing the percentage of rebar steel in the concrete cover, and thus being cost-efficient, too. As part of the “WooCon” project, various mix designs were developed for floor and wall elements made from pourable lightweight wood concrete (LWC) and timber and were tested regarding the suitability as load-bearing material and further properties relevant in construction.

Personnel, law, innovations

Panel 8 “Economy and law” will be concerned with IT security in companies and explains the legal pitfalls of supplier consortia. The panel “Future of skilled manpower” will be held for the first time. Topics such as digitalization in vocational training, staff retention and the new qualification options offered in the concrete industry are just some of the subject matters which are dealt with.

The accompanying exhibition of the supplier, machinery, and software industry is an integral part of the BetonTage congress. The latest best product developments will be awarded with the 2018 Innovation Prize for Structural Concrete Products of the Supplier Industry. The comprehensive program is available at //www.betontage.de" target="_blank" >www.betontage.de:www.betontage.de.

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