Investigations on the bearing behaviour and application potential of textile reinforced concrete

At present there is a rising interest of architects and engineers in the application of Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) as a construction material. Filigree, self-supporting and ventilated facade systems are state-of-the-art in the application of TRC. In current investigations potentials for light-weight structural members are developed. The required models for a secure design of structural members are deduced within the framework of the research activities in the collaborative research centre 532 at RWTH Aachen University [Collaborative Research Centre 532: Textile Reinforced Concrete - Development of a new technology. RWTH Aachen University, Germany. http://sfb532.rwth-aachen.de]. The article outlines fundamental research results as well as their realisation in first applications. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.