Project description
Retrofitting old buildings to reduce energy consumption without compromising safety
Old buildings in seismic-prone areas are increasingly vulnerable to earthquakes. They are also high energy consumers due to their outdated energy designs. Existing retrofitting methods for old buildings treat structural and energy issues separately, disregarding a holistic approach. An integrated retrofitting system using innovative composite materials can increase building resilience and energy performance. Recent generations of fibre-reinforced composite materials for structural retrofitting operations are very effective. However, they are expensive and not always appropriate. The EU-funded THORAX project intends to develop the next generation of sustainable fibre-reinforced composite materials suitable for the combined structural and energy retrofitting of old buildings, providing safety to the residents and reduced energy consumption.
Objective
Owing to the poor seismic design and the absence of strict energy performance regulations, the vast majority of the existing old building stock in seismic-prone areas is not only highly vulnerable to earthquakes, but also energy demanding. Currently, structural and energy retrofitting of buildings is treated separately with no established holistic approach. An integrated retrofitting system using advanced composite materials combined with thermal insulation can improve the seismic and energy performance of buildings and offer savings in application costs (>25%).
During the last two decades, the use of fibre-reinforced composite materials for structural retrofitting applications has gained popularity. The recent generations of advanced composites for construction have proven to be very effective in seismic retrofitting of structures. However, they are often expensive, lead to incompatibility issues, and promote the use of cement-based binders, of which the production largely contributes to the global CO2 emissions (5% of global man-made CO2 emissions).
The main objective of THORAX is to develop the next generation of sustainable fibre-reinforced composite materials to be used for the combined structural and energy retrofitting of buildings, protecting the residents during earthquakes, whilst increasing their energy performance.
The efficiency of this novel retrofitting system will be investigated through a multi-scale experimental campaign accompanied with a detailed numerical investigation. The host organisation has a leading expertise in the fields of fibre-reinforced composites and seismic retrofitting techniques. This project, along with training schemes available at the host university and secondment at a word-class research centre, will create great opportunities for the Fellow to develop his career as an independent researcher.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology civil engineering structural engineering earthquake engineering base isolation
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
382 21 VOLOS
Greece
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.