Functionalisation of smart materials under multi-field requirements for transport infrastructure

An efficient transport infrastructure forms the fundament for mobility and thus the economic success and prosperity of a society. The previous material concepts for the transport infrastructure based on conventional concretes are in many cases very traditional. Already today, this leads to severe limitations, especially with regard to the availability of the transport infrastructure. It is therefore urgently necessary to research new material concepts that meet the increasing requirements.
The aim of the project is to develop a concrete 2.0 as a high-performance material for the 21st century that is adaptive and multifunctional. To this end, a new, modern sensor/actuator system is to be developed that can record the condition of the concrete in a spatially resolved manner and send signals when certain limit values are reached. These signals are used to release encapsulated repair agents as needed, so that the concrete is autonomously able to return to a non-critical initial state. In addition to the classic task of load-bearing capacity, the concrete is to take on further functions such as air pollution control and noise protection.