A group of researchers from the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) and the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) – Sabine Kruschwitz, Christoph Völker, Benjamí Moreno Torres, Ghezal Ahmad Zia, and Timo Hartmann – have compiled the core aspects of Reincarnate in a new preprint entitled “Reincarnate: Shaping a Sustainable Future in Construction Through Digital Innovation.”
In the construction industry, buildings often become obsolete not because of structural issues, but due to functional reasons. This results in unnecessary waste, as the industry follows a linear approach that undervalues recycled materials and overlooks the benefits of sustainable material management. Therefore, the fresh preprint overviews how the Reincarnate project promotes circular practices in the construction and demolition sector, more precisely extending the durability of construction materials through digital methods.
Starting with detailed information on Reincarnate’s approach and its CP-IM platform, the preprint dives deep into the non-destructive testing techniques (NDT) and AI methods to recycle materials developed by BAM. This digital innovation called SLAMD will be demonstrated in 6 pilot projects across Europe.
Selected demonstration objects for the project innovations, first row left to right: Technical Museum Entrance, Berlin, Water Treatment Plant, Albacete, Dutch Demolition Company Amsterdam. Second row, left to right: Wooden Structure Renovation, Werdau, Public Real Estate Management, Berlin, Modular Housing Solution Project.
Extending construction material durability
The preprint describes Reincarnate focus on extending construction material durability assessment by merging non-destructive field data with advanced models from its CP-IM database. This allows for real-time evaluation and precise longevity predictions, enhancing sustainability in material management. By integrating non-destructive testing techniques into digital workflows, we bridge information gaps among stakeholders and optimize building inspections.
Our methodology involves compiling detailed inventories of deterioration phenomena for prevalent construction materials, advocating for the use of non-destructive testing to gather objective material condition information. We also introduce adaptive sampling approaches to reduce resource usage and enhance inspection efficiency.
Leveraging digital technologies to revolutionize recycled material evaluation
Conventional methods prioritize the purity of primary resources and often struggle to handle the complexities of secondary material flows. For that, the Reincarnate project aims to establish a data-driven methodology for designing waste-based materials that meet essential performance criteria.
Reincarnate streamlines the material design process by compiling a comprehensive dataset and implementing a robust benchmarking framework, facilitating precise specification and selection of eco-efficient compositions. This digital innovation called SLAMD is our user-friendly web application that empowers laboratory personnel to identify optimal material compositions.
Through this paper, the Reincarnate project’s circular material approach will be presented at the upcoming RILEM Spring convention and conference on advanced construction materials and processes for a carbon-neutral society in Milan from 10 to 12 April.
Read the full paper here!
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Read our previous articles on research works regarding materials:
- Software for the Inverse Design of Sustainable Cementious Materials
- Data-driven design
- Reinventing data driven materials design
- Green building materials: a new frontier in data-driven sustainable concrete design
- Innovative research by our Partner Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) revolutionises material design
- Reincarnate’s innovations journey to tech readiness: AI-driven materials design in a fresh Preprint