BFH researchers develop more sustainable concrete for civil engineering

Piles, pile walls or diaphragm walls are used in special civil engineering to secure excavation pits or deep foundations to improve the load-bearing capacity of the subsoil. This prevents a foundation from sinking or ground subsidence and movements on surrounding plots. Underpinning can also be used to strenghten the foundations of existing buildings. These underground structures use large quantities of concrete and steel. Current state of the art concretes that meet the high requirements of special civil engineering are linked with a high carbon footprint. In collaboration with Marti Bern Group, scientists from the Geotechnics and Natural Phenomena research group at Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH want to change this in the future. In a new Innosuisse project, they are developing and testing new concrete formulas that should have a significantly better environmental balance with the same performance. The aim of the team is to have developed by the end of the three-year project a finished product that meets all design requirements and can be used in special civil engineering.