Textile-Reinforced Concrete Facades

The characteristics of the new composite material textile reinforced concrete (TRC) are investigated at the Aachen University in the Collaborative Research Center 532 sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Based on the results of these investigations some first applications of TRC have been developed. In a pilot project exterior cladding panels made out of TRC have been used for the extension of the laboratory hall of the Institute of Structural Concrete, Aachen University. The manufacturing of facades out of TRC offers many advantages. The textile reinforcement is corrosion-resistant and only a thin concrete cover is required so that the construction of thin-walled elements is possible. In this paper the dimensioning, production and fixing of the facades made of TRC are described.