FREEINBTP Chair : education in research and innovation for the construction industry – FREEINBTP

Following on from the ANR B-HYBRID LabCom, the ANR FREEINBTP Chair is developing an integrated cooperative approach between the R&D teams of partner companies and the Chair's academic staff. Following validation of their suitability by industrialists, the new constructive systems are the subject of experimental characterization campaigns, which serve to calibrate advanced numerical models used both to develop a detailed understanding of the mechanical behavior of the systems developed, and to extend the experimental results with parametric numerical studies. All the information acquired from the experimental and numerical approaches is then used to develop analytical models, a simplified version of which is proposed as a dimensioning method.

After 18 months, the work continues, and interesting results at the end of the project are anticipated.

The constructive systems developed should be able to make an effective contribution to decarbonizing the building sector, while ensuring a quality of construction and execution that exceeds current standards.

1. A. Al Rahim, P. Heng, C. Lepourry, H. Somja, F. Palas. A 3D ductile notched connection for timber-concrete composite beams : experimental investigation. World Conference on Timber Engineering OSLO 2023. Oslo, Norway, 19-22 june 2023. Edited by A.Q. Nyrud, K.A. Malo, K. Nore. ISBN: e-proceedings 9781713873273, doi.org/10.52202/069179-0435
2. A. Al Rahim, P. Heng, C. Lepourry, L. Gerard, H. Somja, Caractérisation expérimentale du comportement statique d’une connexion innovante par encoches pour les planchers mixtes bois – béton. Conférence RUGC 2022, proceedings : Academic Journal of Civil Engineering, 40(1), 157-161, 2022. doi.org/10.26168/ajce.40.1.39

As is true for the society as a whole, the construction industry will soon have to change its practices in order to take into account the environmental impacts in the design process. In the specific field of residential, tertiary and office buildings, this evolution is not prepared enough by industrials although the standard-setting work has been initiated quite a long time ago, and that application guides have been made by CSTB for the application of the life cycle analysis (LCA). This delay can be bounded to the lack of capacity of innovation of the sector, that has been among others pointed out by the report of the mission of information of the National Assembly over the thermal renovation of buildings published in february.
The dynamism of the academic research in civil engineering can offer some answers, and some ways to accelerate the change. The LGCGM lab, supported by some industrial partners, has obtained some interesting results that call for further development towards industrialization : over bio-sourced insulated materials, the use of raw-earth, green cements, wood-concrete construction,thermal break systems, ….
Some initiatives ensure a part of the technological transfer :
- By opening the experimental installations to industrials through PFT GCM;
- Towards lower and higher education through CMQ BdB
- By partenarial research, CIFRE theses and the LabCom B-HYBRID.
In this last case, the benefits of the research is limited by the lack of knowledge and know-how of small and medium companies over the certification process.
In order to contribute to the local dynamism around LGCGM, The FREEINBTP has the following objectives :
- Make some scientific works in order to develop some industrial systems able to lower the environmental impact of buildings;
- Create a doctoral course about the certification processes, and the way to use the scientific proofs to obtain technical agreements;
- To bring support to industrials by opening the initial partnership to new companies.
This objectives can be considered as realistic, because the FREEINBTP project is founded on a partnership between INSA Rennes, INGENOVA, and COHB, that has already brought to certification or industrialization several projects :
- Between 2011 and 2014, a CIFRE doctoral thesis has characterized the cyclic behaviour of the thermal break system for internal insulation SLABE. This work has been determining to obtain the French technical agreement ATEC with use in seismic areas. The slab is until now the only system that has obtained this agreement;
- Between 2015 and 2020, LGCGM and INGENOVA have worked together through the LabCom ANR B-HYBRID about several steel-concrete systems to use in concrete buildings. Three patents have been issued; a new system of U-shaped steel concrete hybrid beam has been characterised and tested on site, and a thermal break system for external insulation, that will be used for the first time on site in 2021 with an ATEXagreement, has been developed.