- Folker
H. Wittmann
- Dr. rer. nat. Dr.-Ing. E.
h.
Research areas
Sustainability
of building materials and structures
- Prediction of service life of reinforced
concrete structures by means of probabilistic models
- Optimizing energy consumption and
environmental pollution with respect to designed service life of
reinforced concrete structures
- Use of industrial by-products such as lime
to produce high performance low energy building
materials
- Reduction of mass flow in construction
industry
Durability
and Preventive Measures to Protect Reinforced Concrete and Concrete
Structures
- Chloride penetration by capillary suction
during exposure to sea water in the tidal zone and salt solutions,
prediction of service life of reinforced concrete
structures
- Observation of chloride penetration depth
in old reinforced concrete structures and comparison with
prediction models
- Investigations into the effectiveness of
surface impregnation of concrete with water repellent agents
(silanes and siloxanes)
- Effectiveness of integral water repellent
treatment as a chloride barrier
- Durability and service life under combined
mechanical and environmental loads
Strain
hardening cement-based composites (SHCC)
- Optimization of strain hardening
cement-based composites with respect to crack formation and
durability
- Characterization of strain hardening
cement-based composites under imposed strains for realistic
design
- Potential for applications in
practice
Shrinkage
of concrete
- Drying and moisture gradients, crack
formation
- Mechanisms of shrinkage of nano-porous
materials such as hardened cement paste
- Shrinkage of water repellent treated
concrete
Mechanics
of composite materials
- Simulation of the structure of composite
materials
- Determination of fracture mechanics
parameters by means of inverse analysis
- Damage of composite structures under
combined mechanical and environmental loads
- Size effect on fracture mechanics
parameters
- Influence of surface energy on strength and
strain softening