ReBuMat

The objective of this collaborative project ReBuMat is to promote research and the development of building materials and construction methods for energy-efficient, resource-saving and generally sustainable construction in Vietnam. Through international networking and on the basis of interdisciplinary problem analysis, fundamental research and creative practice orientation, ReBuMat aims towards the transfer of scientific results and knowledge-based standards into practical construction and planning in the regions of the world with dynamic construction activities in tropical climates.

Three main topics are discussed in this project.

• Bio-based building materials
• Recycled building materials
• Resource-efficient and recycable building systems

These approaches will be combined through structral integration and the development of adapted structures for durability and sustainable building physical performance.

The development into an energy-efficient construction practice with today's comfort and quality standards is still in its infancy in many regions of the world. Due to demanding climatic conditions, extensive structural and physical questions have to be clarified for sustainable construction. The parallel german-Vietnamese project "Climate-adapted material research for the socio-economic context in Vietnam - enabling research and development for sustainable buildings in the socio-economic context of Vietnam" is currently working in this field.

At the same time, however, the raw material requirements and the immense consumption of resources by the construction industry threaten the ecological functions, biodiversity and, in many cases, the local economic livelihood. For this reason, the ReBuMat project presented here focuses on "resource-efficient construction with sustainable building materials" in a tropical climate.

ReBuMat promotes the development of German innovation capabilities abroad and, together with its research partners, the global knowledge society as a contribution to solving global challenges.

(1) Bio-based building materials – contribute to climate protection by substituting mineral building materials to reduce resource consumption and by sequestration of CO2 emissions. In view of the competition to the increasing food demand, agricultural waste (e.g. rice straw, spelt), fast-growing plants (e.g. reeds, bamboo) and plants of remediation, protection and conversion areas (e.g. Typha) are particularly suitable. This field of work will deal with the development and research of bio-based building materials, such as the use of Typha for wall-forming construction products, rice straw as an aggregate, organic ash as a binder and straw bales as building material.

(2) Recycled building materials – Currently, mainly mineral building materials, such as concrete and broken bricks, are recycled to a reduced quality level (e.g. filling material, aggregates for low-strength concretes). Sustainable circular management of material flows is counteracted by material technical, process engineering and economic obstacles, as well as the lack of market acceptance in Germany and Vietnam. In the present climates, different material requirements (hygrothermal behaviour, frost resistance) and also the quality of the available regained materials are relevant. This field of work will deal with the development and research of recycled building materials under the respective market conditions. Mass building materials, such as concrete and brick material, as well as the use of other material streams, such as foam glass, are investigated and evaluated.

(3) Resource-efficient and recyclable building systems – In addition to the use of bio-based building materials and recycled building materials, primary raw materials must be used in a sustainable construction practice in such a way that resources are conserved, and future circular management is technically and economically possible. Construction systems must be developed in such a way that they are process-related and compatible with optimum performance and functional performance and their components for reuse on a high level of quality. Resource efficiency is also achieved through the durability and adaptability of construction systems. A particular challenge in this field of work are the demanding conditions in the tropical climate in Vietnam.

ReBuMat is scheduled for a project duration of 36 months. It is organized in the following ten scientific, application- and transfer-oriented work packages:

The German partners are:

• University of Stuttgart (Stuttgart, Germany), and
• Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (Stuttgart, Germany).

The Vietnamese partners are:

• Vietnam Institute of Building Materials (Hanoi, Vietnam),
• National University of Civil Engineering (Hanoi, Vietnam), and
• Ton Duc Thang University (HCMC, Vietnam).

The ReBuMat project is funded under the CONNECT programme "CONNECT Education-Research-Innovation" of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with the funding code 01DU20001.