COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 Blog

One of the most established uses for composites is in the building industry. It has made use of fibre-reinforced structures for over 30 years now. The reason is that these fibre composite materials are suitable for use in countless building and construction applications. Pipes, sleepers, boards, blocks, linings, mats, cladding, posts, foundations, tanks, housings, containers, doors, coatings, shafts, adhesives, coverings, banks, bricks, boxes, walls, basins, frames, steps, gutters – the possibilities are virtually endless.

Composites are now firmly integrated materials in civil engineering and structural building work. Designers and architects use composites as fully-fledged materials alongside traditional materials such as concrete, marble, granite, steel and wood. In combination with conventional building materials, honeycomb structures in particular offer a wide range of benefits in comparison to using the standard material alone.  An example: Offering the same mechanical resistance and rigidity as natural stone, the weight of a sandwich structure consisting of a 28 millimetre honeycomb layer and a five millimetre thick layer of marble is a third of that of a layer of conventional natural stone.

In the drive to conserve resources and ensure sustainability, renewable raw materials are increasingly being used for fibre-reinforced and matrix resins. There is also growing interest in recycling and in reusing the materials for similar applications.  Experts believe that a new trend is emerging in the increasing use of thermoplastic composite reinforced plastics. Numerous exhibitors at the international Composites Europe (CE) trade fair, to be held in Essen in September, will be demonstrating the innovative force behind composite applications in the building industry.

Example – Dennert Poraver: Dennert manufactures this lightweight expanded glass granulate filler from recycled glass using a patented process. It is used as an aggregate in solid wall systems, in plaster, mortar, tile adhesives, textured wallpaper and façade profiles. Poraver is light, pressure-resistant, chemically stable, free of hazardous substances and is suitable for use as thermal and sound insulation. It is therefore used by the building industry for various purposes including reaction resin grout, polymer concrete, kitchen work surfaces and mineral foams. Roughly one million cubic metres are produced each year.

Use of Poraver in acoustic boards in a multi-purpose hall in Ochtendung in Rhineland-Palatinate (photo: Dennert Poraver)

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