Topics

Wood Adhesives & Debonding – Advancing connection technologies and adhesives to enhance the performance and recyclability of wooden structures. Our research aims at optimizing adhesive performance and connection techniques to ensure robust, durable, and environmentally sustainable solutions. We are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to innovate and refine these technologies, enabling smarter and more efficient design processes. By promoting recyclable and efficient systems, we aspire to set new standards in wood construction engineering.

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By harnessing the power of AI, we can address longstanding challenges associated with the complexity of wood. Our specifically designed machine learning algorithms enable improved sorting and grading of both, softwoods and hardwoods through precise predictions of properties and allow an efficient design of novel engineered hybrid wood products. Our AI algorithms have the potential to significantly enhance operations in the wood industry and optimize wood utilization by minimizing waste, rejects, and renovation costs, ultimately improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness throughout the entire value chain.

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We are dedicated to advancing research in hybrid and composite materials. Our focus is on exploring innovative combinations of different wood species and integrating timber with other materials to enhance performance, durability, and sustainability using modern machine-learning algorithms. By investigating the synergies between different species combinations, we aim to develop solutions that address industry challenges and meet the evolving demands of modern construction. Collaborate with us as we push the boundaries of what's possible in material science, paving the way for future applications in the wood industry.

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Resource-Efficient Wood Utilization – Wood is a renewable resource that plays a key role in fighting climate change by storing carbon both, in forests and through wood-based products. But with an expected limited wood supply, it’s more important to make every piece count. That’s why we’re focused on resource-efficient wood utilization, using innovative processes to maximize the value of every log. Our work involves pioneering new ways to tap into underused wood species and qualities, finding value in by-products like sawdust and waste, and pushing recycling and reuse practices to a new level. By leveraging machine learning for smarter sorting and higher yields, we’re redefining what’s possible in wood efficiency.

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Wood’s natural versatility makes it a valuable material, but certain environments place high demands on reliability. Our research focuses on pushing the boundaries of what wood can achieve under rough conditions and specialized applications. We’re developing advanced surface treatments and modifications to boost wood’s performance—whether by improving UV stability, enhancing flame resistance, or increasing protection against termites and fungi. Furthermore, the demand for functional materials based on renewable resources is constantly increasing in the building sector. Functional materials that can respond and adapt to environmental changes offer significant potential to address the energy consumption balance during building operations.

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The construction industry is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, making the development of sustainable building materials essential. Wood is a carbon-negative building material due to tree’s ability to store carbon during growth through the process of photosynthesis. We focus on developing techniques to extend the carbon storage lifespan of wood, enhance its capacity to embed additional carbon and exploit opportunities to actively capture carbon dioxide.

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Modern timber structures can be used in a wide range of applications, including those with high-performance requirements, like tall buildings and large-span hall arenas. They can be made from a wide variety of timber-based products, assembled using different connection technologies, and combined with other structural materials. However, the efficient design of timber structures requires a deep understanding of their mechanical behaviour, durability, reliability, and robustness. We focus on developing solutions to allow timber structures to fulfil any performance requirements, based on testing and modelling structural timber members, components, connections, assemblies, and structures.

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The development of new structural timber and hybrid members and connections has been at the core of the recent growth in timber construction. The development of successful products must be based on a deep understanding of the performance requirements and the available resources, materials, and production and assembly techniques. Changes in available wood species for structural applications, namely hardwoods, developments in connection technologies, and the combination of timber with other materials open new possibilities for the construction industry. We focus on developing new timber-based and hybrid products and connections for structural applications, through testing and modelling, including different loading scenarios, and monotonic, cyclic, dynamic, and fatigue loading protocols.

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Fire safety is a fundamental requirement for the design of buildings. Due to the combustibility of timber, the fire safety of timber buildings has always been a major safety concern for authorities, the building owners, the fire brigades and the designers. We focus on developing on fundamental knowledge for a safe and economic fire design of timber structures. As the current fire resistance framework has been developed for non-combustible structures, which do not contribute to the fire as additional fire load, and current design concepts and models are mostly limited to standard fire exposure, more specific we focus on the global structural behaviour of timber structures exposed to realistic fire conditions and on the fire dynamics in timber buildings, specifically on the interaction between timber structures and fire within the compartment and at the exterior.

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