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    Designing actuation concepts for adaptive slabs with integrated fluidic actuators using influence matrices
    (2022) Nitzlader, Markus; Steffen, Simon; Bosch, Matthias J.; Binz, Hansgeorg; Kreimeyer, Matthias; Blandini, Lucio
    Previous work has shown that floor slabs make up most of the material mass of building structures and are typically made of reinforced concrete. Considering the associated resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, new approaches are needed in order to reduce the built environment’s impact on the ongoing climate crisis. Various studies have demonstrated that adaptive building structures offer a potential solution for reducing material resource consumption and associated emissions. Adaptive structures have the ability to improve load-bearing performance by specifically reacting to external loads. This work applies the concept of adaptive structures to reinforced concrete slabs through the integration of fluidic actuators into the cross-section. The optimal integration of actuators in reinforced concrete slabs is a challenging interdisciplinary design problem that involves many parameters. In this work, actuation influence matrices are extended to slabs and used as an analysis and evaluation tool for deriving actuation concepts for adaptive slabs with integrated fluidic actuators. To define requirements for the actuator concept, a new procedure for the selection of actuation modes, actuator placement and the computation of actuation forces is developed. This method can also be employed to compute the required number of active elements for a given load case. The new method is highlighted in a case study of a 2 m × 2 m floor.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Investigation of a large‐scale adaptive concrete beam with integrated fluidic actuators
    (2022) Burghardt, Timon; Kelleter, Christian; Bosch, Matthias; Nitzlader, Markus; Bachmann, Matthias; Binz, Hansgeorg; Blandini, Lucio; Sobek, Werner
    As the world population keeps growing, so does the demand for new construction. Considering material resources are limited, it will be unfeasible to meet such demand employing conventional construction methods. A new resource‐saving approach is provided by adaptive structures. Using sensors, actuators and control units, structures are enabled to adapt to loads, for example, to compensate for deformations. Since deformations are dominant in the design of bending‐stressed load‐bearing structures, adaptivity enables such structures to be realized using less material and achieving the same load‐bearing capacity in comparison to conventional designs. This article presents a concrete beam of typical building dimensions that compensates deflections by means of integrated fluidic actuators. These actuators offer the possibility of reacting optimally to general loading. The investigation is carried out on an approximately 4‐m‐long beam with integrated hydraulic actuators. To ensure the overall functionality, accurate dimensioning of the beam as well as the hydraulic system is mandatory. Analytical design of the beam and actuation system are carried out for predimensioning. Experimental testing validates the function and demonstrates that the adaptive beam works as predicted. A fully compensation in deflection is possible. Therefore, a significant increase in load‐bearing capacity is possible with the same material input compared to conventional beams.
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    An actuator concept for adaptive concrete columns
    (2021) Steffen, Simon; Nitzlader, Markus; Burghardt, Timon; Binz, Hansgeorg; Blandini, Lucio; Sobek, Werner
    The building industry accounts for half of the global resource consumption and roughly one third of global CO2 emissions. Global population growth and increasing resource scarcities require engineers and architects to build for more people with less material and emissions. One promising solution are adaptive load-bearing structures. Here, the load-bearing structure is equipped with actuators, sensors, and a control unit which allows the structure to adapt to different load cases, resulting in substantial material savings. While the first prototypes use industry standard actuators to manipulate deformations and stress states, it is essential to develop actuator concepts which fit the specific requirements of civil engineering structures. This paper introduces new concepts for linear actuators, developed within the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1244 Adaptive Skins and Structures for the Built Environment of Tomorrow, which can be used as adaptive concrete columns. The concept of an actuator which actuates a concrete column by external compression through hydraulic pressure is discussed in further detail. This concept allows for controlled axial extension while also increasing the compressive strength of the concrete column.
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    Investigation of pressure chambers for integrated fluidic actuators in adaptive slabs
    (2024) Bosch, Matthias J.; Nitzlader, Markus; Bachmann, Matthias; Binz, Hansgeorg; Blandini, Lucio; Kreimeyer, Matthias
    A high proportion of the CO 2 emissions worldwide are caused by the construction sector or are associated with buildings. Every part of the industry needs to reduce its share of emissions, so the building sector must also do its part. One possible solution for achieving this reduction in the field of load-bearing structures is the use of adaptive structures. This research focuses on adaptive slab structures, which require specific actuators to be integrated into the system. Conventional actuators are not suitable due to the prevailing requirements, namely installation space and performance. For this investigation, the actuator is divided into different functional components. A rough description of the requirements for one component, namely the energy converter, is given. Different concepts are developed, tested, and compared with numerical results. Due to the requirements, the concepts are limited to hydraulics. The authors then present a comparison of different simulation strategies for the energy converter. Overall, this paper provides a new contribution to the design of energy converter concepts for integrated hydraulic actuators in slabs, along with experimental verification of the working principle of the energy converters to meet the requirements. A simplified numerical model is proposed to estimate the behavior of the energy converter during the early design phase.