PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IN CIVIL ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES

Coordinator: Jorge de Brito

Thematic Strand 1 (TS1), Product Development in Civil Engineering Industries, aims to leverage R&D activities to drive the development of innovative products tailored to the civil engineering industry and services. The goal is to enhance industry efficiency and competitiveness by addressing the diverse challenges faced by civil engineering sectors worldwide. While in some countries, there is a great need for methods of production based on standard technologies; other countries face strong competition and increasingly demanding eco-efficiency and high-performance requirements.

In this multifaceted landscape, the sustained growth of the sector hinges significantly upon the cultivation of innovation in product development. Such innovation is envisioned to be facilitated through the establishment of robust and symbiotic relationships between industry stakeholders and research entities.

The bulk of research efforts are of an applied nature, spanning various Technology Readiness Levels, and are guided by a strong “idea-to-business” focus. There is a close collaboration with the industry, ensuring relevance and applicability. Interdisciplinary collaborations, spanning both within and beyond the confines of CERIS, serve to enhance the research landscape by facilitating the development of comprehensive solutions to industry challenges. Notably, the Portuguese Technological Platform for Construction (PTPC) stands as a significant partner in this endeavour.  

R&D activities developed within TS1 focus are aligned with the CERIS strategic objective 3, “Transfer of knowledge to society”, that cross-cuts all CERIS research groups and hubs, addressing sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, in particular, SDG 1-Poverty Eradication, SDG 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13-Climate Action, and SDG 17-Partnerships for the Goals.

R&D responses to the civil engineering industry’s needs consist of development of four different types of products:

• New products or prototypes consisting of entirely novel solutions or enhancements to existing products
• New materials with enhanced properties such as durability, strength, flexibility, or resistance to various hazards
• Software solutions encompassing the development of specialised software applications
• Special testing techniques to rigorously assess the efficacy and reliability of both software solutions and physical products

TS1 encompasses diverse types of innovative development from different fields of civil engineering. These endeavours include Products: e.g Cementless concrete pavement blocks bound with alkali-activated municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ashes; Materials: e.g. Eco-efficient bio-based carbon fibre laminates for structural strengthening and rehabilitation; Software: e.g. FreeHyTE, DAM 4.0; Testing techniques: e.g. Sensors for soil suction measurement test, dynamic pile loading test, and bridge static and dynamic testing, among others.