Research Areas in CARE

The Research Areas (RAs) within CARE serve as repositories of essential methodologies and theoretical principles, bringing together expertise from various disciplines. They encompass the three key aspects of construction: Building Materials (RA1), Structural Design (RA2), and Manufacturing Technologies (RA4). Additionally, two cross-sectional areas will facilitate the envisaged breakthroughs towards CARE’s objectives: Digital Methodologies (RA4), Integrated Sustainability Frameworks (RA5).

RA1: Building Materials

Four panels illustrate the state of the art and the research approaches in RA1. The state of the art shows carbonated concrete and corroded reinforcement. Topic 1 "Novel Resources" illustrates the capture of CO₂ as a resource for materials, produced using green energy, and its conversion into a new material. Topic 2 "Material Circularity" demonstrates the cyclic use of a material – it is assembled into a new composite and later broken back down into the original material. Topic 3 "New Functionalities" shows the generation of electrical energy through the Seebeck effect. — State of the art in building materials (left) and the research focuses of RA1 (right).

Climate-neutral and circular building materials are the foundation for reaching CARE’s goals.

RA1 explores circular and CO₂-neutral composites for use as multifunctional building materials by utilizing innovative raw materials. It focuses on developing durable, high-performance composites through customized CO₂-neutral fibers and matrices, alongside new recycling methods for recovering and reusing components. The goal is to create materials that not only meet structural demands but also offer functions like crack detection and energy generation. RA1 is divided into the following three Research Topics.

RA1-1 Novel Resources

Developing a method to obtain reactive mineral-based binders, ensuring carbon neutrality and using green energy throughout the process
Identifying and developing methods to use CO₂ as an effective reactant for producing modern building materials
Developing strategies to fully exploit the huge potential of secondary raw materials

RA1-2 Material Circularity

Icon of the research topic RA1-2: Circular materials – material cycle

Developing methods to achieve a fully circular use of cementitious binders
Enhancing strength and durability of earth-based materials while maintaining their potential for circularity
Achieving circular high-performance fiber reinforcements and polymers

RA1-3 New Functionalities

Detecting and assessing critical cracks
Building materials to sense and discriminate moisture and critical media
Developing approaches to capture energy using building materials

RA2: Structural Design

Four panels illustrate the state of the art and the research focuses in RA2. The state of the art shows massive concrete structures such as high-rise buildings and bridges with bulky structural elements. Topic 1 "Material Minimization" presents a filigree, lightweight structure; "Structural Circularity" shows a modular design in which individual components can be replaced; and Topic 3 "Extended Use of Structures" features a bridge equipped with integrated structural monitoring, such as temperature and traffic load sensing. — State of the Art für Gebäude und Brücken (links) und die Forschungsthemen der RA2 (rechts)

Novel design and construction principles are essential for developing resource-saving, resilient, and adaptable structural systems with a net-zero carbon footprint.

RA2 focuses on enhancing sustainability in structural design through material minimization using digital fabrication methods. It explores circular design principles for reusing building components and challenges traditional practices of structural down-cycling. Additionally, RA2 investigates innovative techniques for rehabilitating existing structures and develops monitoring-based approaches for predictive lifetime management, extending material use and structure lifespan.

RA2-1 Material Minimization

Exploration of novel design principles for material minimization using generative AI inspired by historic role models, other engineering disciplines, and nature
Optimizing structural topology inside internally resolved flat components
Characterizing the impact of emerging circular automated fabrication techniques on mechanical performance of innovative mineral-based components

RA2-2 Structures for Circulartiy

Icon of the research topic RA2-2 Structural Circularity – modular structure with interchangeable modules

Facilitating reuse – Strategies for integrating building components recovered from existing structures into new structural contexts
Developing a design framework based on a tessellation optimization algorithm for precast and recovered building components
Exploring high-performing detachable connections compatible with robot-assisted assembly and disassembly

RA2-3 Extended Use of Structures

Enhancing structural longevity: minimally invasive robot-assisted strengthening methods for extending the service life of existing structures
Transforming existing structures into smart, data-informed systems that autonomously report on their structural condition, remaining service life, and necessary maintenance procedures

RA3: Manufacturing Technologies

Four panels illustrate the state of the art and the research focuses in RA3. The state of the art shows the physically demanding task of placing fresh concrete. Topic 1 “Circular Automated Construction” depicts intelligent machines operating on a construction site. Topic 2 “Cognitive Production Systems” shows a person analyzing and controlling a production process using VR goggles. Topic 3 “CARE Process Ontology” presents a construction site where machines, workers, and analysis tools are interconnected. — State of the art in concrete construction (left) and the research focuses of RA3 (right)

Manufacturing technologies will provide innovative solutions for automating construction processes to boost productivity and address labor shortages.

RA3 explores circular and automated fabrication and construction methods to enable sustainable, resilient, and climate-neutral building. Key innovations include robotic de- and reconstruction, autonomous transport and handling, and additive manufacturing with circular and recycled materials. Integrated cognitive systems with sensor-based monitoring and machine learning, drive progress toward flexible, efficient new construction and rehabilitation using carbon-neutral materials.

RA3-1 Circular Automated Construction

Exploring scalable construction technologies with climate-neutral materials by automating control systems for heavy-payload construction machines
Achieving high-quality circular reuse through automated deconstruction
Enabling novel construction principles using autonomous multi-agent systems with a heavy payload

RA3-2 Cognitive Production Systems

Enhancing adaptive process chains in prefabrication through automated process monitoring and quality control systems
Exploring requirements for cognitive robots to enhance resilience, flexibility, and safety in construction
Establishing adaptive, resilient, technical cognition-based methods for rehabilitation to extend infrastructure utilization

RA3-3 CARE Process Ontology

Holistic, real-time, seamless data integration into prefabrication, (de-)construction, and reconstruction processes via process ontologies
Integrating ontologies into process control for human cyber-physical construction systems (HCPCS) to achieve efficient and adaptive machine control
A leap in construction process control via multi-modal data integration

RA4: Digital Methodologies

Digitalization enables climate-neutral construction through data-driven semantic modeling, geometric design optimization, and enhanced data interoperability.

RA4 leverages multi-modal data to improve interoperability in design, automated construction, and sustainability assessment. Novel algorithms and data models will predict material properties and environmental impacts, while generative models and geometric optimization transform design and manufacturing. As the digital backbone of CARE, RA4 follows a data value chain from raw data to integrated insights for resource-efficient construction.

RA4-1 Data Acquisition, Integration, and Representation

Leveraging new sensors and data acquisition techniques for material and structural design at different scales
Semantic integration and fusion of heterogeneous data sources based on an open and federated data space

RA4-2 Data Analysis

Leveraging geometric data analysis for material and structural design
Enriching 3D geometries and models based on non-geometric data analysis

RA4-3 Data Synthesis

Supporting structural circularity and extended use through geometric operations on structure-scale 3D models
Generative models and reinforcement learning for structural and material design

RA5: Integrated Sustainability Frameworks

Sustainability frameworks advance construction for future generations through comprehensive life cycle assessments, circularity, and human-centric insights.

RA5 aims to advance Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) in the construction sector by integrating circularity, a resource nexus approach, and spatial-temporal dimensions into digital tools for sustainable practices. Human factors are addressed through psychological studies on stakeholder perceptions to enhance acceptance and trust in innovative building solutions. Furthermore, a methodological framework will be developed to help the construction industry meet the criteria for sustainable finance.

RA5-1 Sustainability Assessment

Enhancing the LCSA approach by enhanced digital methodologies to create sustainability requirements and thresholds to drive a sustainable construction sector
Increasing relevance of Sustainability Assessment to interested parties by delivering more robust results in different regional and temporal circumstances
Developing a method to assess the main actual social impacts in the entire value chain on sustainability while minimizing trade-offs

RA5-2 Circularity and Resource Nexus

Characterizing the resource nexus implications, functions, and measurement approaches to achieve full circularity
Developing circularity criteria addressing circular materials, and new and reused building components
Leveraging human factors to ensure acceptance, prevent implementation barriers, and promote circularity in construction

RA5-3 Human-centered Sustainability Factors

Understanding stakeholder perceptions of new materials, designs, and construction techniques, and optimization for subjectively perceived sustainability
Optimizing participatory and decision-making processes in construction projects to amplify stakeholder engagement and favor sustainability
Developing a comprehensive methodological framework to address the main sustainability indicators and methods for the construction industry, considering directives such as European Taxonomy

RA1 develops innovative, CO₂-neutral, and circular building materials with multifunctional properties that combine sustainability and performance. RA2 creates sustainable, resource-efficient structural concepts through material minimization, modular construction, and extends the service life of existing and new structures using intelligent monitoring systems. This approach builds on the multifunctional properties of the new materials. Finally, the technologies and systems from RA3 enable efficient, automated, and connected construction processes that optimally utilize these new materials and structural concepts, making the entire construction process more sustainable and future-proof.

RA4 will create algorithms that enable groundbreaking advances in RA1-RA3 and lead to a fundamental digital transformation of the entire value chain. RA5 will guide disruptive transformations by directing the explored solutions towards the goal of sustainable and resilient construction.

The following graphic shows the holistic interconnection of the five Research Areas in CARE and their respective research topics.