Building Materials

Preservation of energy and limitation of the environmental impact while providing a healthy and comfortable indoor and outdoor environment are essential requirements for the built environment

Developing concepts and materials to build more and better with fewer materials.

Building Materials (BM) is a research group within the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) Building Physics and Services (BPS) unit. Through a scientifically and technically driven design and production methodology, the goals are to obtain more sustainable, durable and functional materials and products. The group focuses on solving practical problems, answering scientific questions, examining new raw materials and developing innovative products in order to achieve ‘more with less’.

Research interests include:

• Development of new building materials. They can be composed of the binders cement, gypsum, hemi-hydrate and quicklime and cementitious by-products, such as concrete, cement-wood composites, autoclaved aerated concrete and stabilized waste.
• Fundamental physical and chemical know-how. Through experimental and theoretical approaches and implementation in numerical design tools, research is conducted into particle packing, physical transport phenomena, and (de-)hydration reactions, for example.  

A scientifically and technically driven design and production methodology is followed to obtain more sustainable, durable and functional building materials and products. They are designed, applied, produced and tested on their physical, mechanical, chemical and sensory properties, for both indoor and outdoor applications. These innovations are encouraged by the changing regulations and standards that are becoming more performance-based rather than prescription-based.