Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP
Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP

Building materials

We develop the building materials of the future

Since time immemorial, people have always used building materials to construct dwellings and other structures such as bridges or dams. Whereas natural stone, clay and wood were utilized in earlier times, materials such as cement, concrete, brick or plasterboard made from natural raw materials dominate the construction industry today.

We see ourselves as a competent partner for applied research and the development of primarily inorganic building materials. Our expertise ranges from mass-produced concrete, through special building materials such as aerated concrete and other lightweight building materials, right up to fiber-reinforced composites and cement-free materials such as geopolymers. To conduct extensive research & development on building materials, we have a number of laboratories at our disposal - including a building materials laboratory, a solid-state analytics laboratory and a durability laboratory. In order to conduct research specifically on aerated concrete, we have our own pilot plant with a saturated steam autoclave similar to the ones used in industry.

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Concrete

After water, concrete is the most widely-used material worldwide in terms of volume. Once a simple three-material mix of cement, aggregates and water, these days concrete is a high-tech building material composed of cement, aggregates, water, air, admixtures and additives. Thanks to our expertise, experience and technical equipment, we have all it takes to handle this complex material.

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Aerated concrete

Aerated concrete, also known as gas concrete, is a lightweight, inorganic building material with excellent thermal insulation properties that is ideal for building durable structures. We have the know-how and technical capabilities required to produce aerated concrete on a pre-industrial scale.

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Lightweight materials

Lightweight materials are building materials with a bulk density of less than 2000 kilograms per cubic meter. These low bulk densities are achieved by using porous aggregates or by foaming the material.

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Binders

Binding agents significantly affect the mechanical properties of a building material. Whether it’s Portland or calcium aluminate cement, based either on gypsum or lime: we have the necessary skills to develop building materials from them.

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Fiber-reinforced building materials

Fiber-reinforced composites are building materials strengthened with fibers. Not only can the tensile strength of building materials be improved by using fibers, but other properties - such as sound absorption - can also be specifically influenced and optimized.

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Geopolymers

Geopolymers, or alkali-activated binders, are still relatively unexplored binding agents which possess a huge potential for tomorrow’s building materials. Based on our research and developments, we want to establish these cement-free binders in the construction industry in the long term.