CARBON CONCRETE COMPOSITE – C³: Proofs and testing concepts for standards and technical approvals

The largest construction research project in Germany, C³-Carbon Concrete Composite, won the German Sustainability Award 2015 in the category research. In the ambitious project, over 130 partners from science, associations and industry were working on the research and establishment of the new building material carbon concrete. The VDZ was also a partner in the C³ project.

C³ has been able to assert itself among 87 research projects from all major German research centres. The research award, one of the most prestigious awards of its kind in Europe, was initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMFB) and awarded for the eighth time. The award-winning C³ project developed a new material composite of carbon fibres and high-performance concrete. With its flexibility and long-life cycle, carbon concrete is a resource-saving alternative to reinforced concrete. The interdisciplinary project C³ was funded by the BMBF. The management of the consortium was the responsibility of the Dresden University of Technology.

VDZ was not only a partner in the C³ consortium but also actively participates in research projects. The aim of the current research phase was the elimination of market barriers through clear regulation. Together with the German Committee for Reinforced Concrete, the German Concrete and Construction Technology Association, renowned universities and other industrial partners, VDZ has created the foundations for regulations. These are aimed at the use of carbon concrete for reinforcement measures as well as for new buildings. Regulations that can be drawn up in the course of the research project should make it possible to establish carbon concrete in practice.

In the course of the project, VDZ planed, inter alia, to work together with the ibac, Aachen, to develop a data base for the environmental compatibility of the new composite construction carbon concrete, by leaching and irrigation trials.

The results and experience gained in the previous C³ projects has been collected and evaluated. Gaps in the data were closed as far as possible by student project and diploma theses. Further data will be developed by subsequent C³ research projects (e.g. V2.2) as well as gap closure projects.The findings have been used to develop the "working document concrete". This is based on the DIN Technical Report 100, the merging of the standards DIN 1045-2 and DIN EN 206. The working document describes definition, properties, production and conformity of C³ concrete as changes to the DIN Technical Report 100 and additionally provides background information and research results.