CBI presents: Institute for Building Materials Research at RWTH Aachen University

After the brief introductions of the individual members, the Center Building and Infrastructure Engineering (CBI) would like to introduce the university institutes of the four initiators. The four founding institutes are part of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at RWTH Aachen University, which consists of a total of 23 professorships in the fields of civil engineering, environment, and infrastructure. Another important step in interdisciplinary research in the field of civil engineering was taken by the institutes for solid construction, building research, road construction, and steel construction with the foundation of the CBI as part of the Construction Cluster on the RWTH Aachen Campus. In the CBI, you bundle your professional competencies and research infrastructure and thus enable members from industry to convert current trends into market-relevant technologies faster and more efficiently. The new presentation series “CBI presents” continues today with the: Institute of Structural Concrete (STB).

One of the four founding institutes of the CBI is the ibac – the Institute for Building Materials Research, which combines the specialist areas of building maintenance and polymer composites, headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Raupach, and construction materials and environmental compatibility, headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing.  Since its foundation in 1948, the institute has developed into an internationally leading and recognized platform in the field of building materials research.

The research fields of building materials research are diverse and changeable concerning the current problems, developments, and needs of the construction industry and society. While the recycling of war wreckage was still a central research topic at the time the institute was founded, the focus today is on non-destructive testing methods and monitoring systems for reinforced concrete structures, steel and corrosion, protective systems and durability, polymer materials, preservation of historical building materials and masonry, but also novel construction materials and environmental compatibility. The institute contributes to making current contents from basic and applied scientific research with high practical relevance accessible to the expert public in the form of committee work and teaching.

As an internationally operating research and testing institute, many standardized or individual and innovative testing services are provided. These can be in the fields of material development, material testing, chemical analysis, measurement technology, and building diagnostics.