Design of UHPC-AAC light-weight composite facade elements for refurbishment

The aim of this study was to develop a lightweight composite facade element for refurbishment of existing facades. It was crucial to minimize the thermal bridges and to undercut the thermal requirement of the system existing facade new element. The awareness of the environmental impact of the building sector is increasing. In this context, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) materials are shown to be promising alternatives with advantages such as lower embodied energy and reduced environmental impact. Predictions suggest that UHPC composite elements for building envelopes could have other benefits such as an increased service life, optimized use of building area due to thinner elements and minimized maintenance due to the absence of reinforcement or use of non-corrosive reinforcing materials such as carbon fibers. In this framework, composite elements have been developed combining an autoclaved aerated concrete insulation layer with an external UHPC supporting layer. The results show that the lightweight composite element has a good performance in term of thermal transmittance and minimization of thermal bridges.