Posted May 30, 2017

 

PARIS – Composites’ use in building and construction will be highlighted at JEC Group’s newest event dedicated to this specific composites industry next month in Chicago.

 

The Future of Composites in Construction, co-located with Techtextil North America, will take place June 20-22.

 

The numerous and diverse benefits that these innovative materials bring to the building industry will help overcome coming challenges such as urbanization, increase of natural disasters (floods, storms, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc.), along with the decrease of non-renewable raw materials and the high standard levels set by the society in terms of lightness and fluidity.

 

Composites materials bring answers and opportunities to tackle those issues in sustainable, durable and reliable manners. Solutions include ease of fabrication (Owens Corning), structures durability (Biteam), anti-seismic reinforcement (DowAksa), use of end-of-life products such as recycled bottles of water (Premier Composites Technologies), aerial forms (Optima Projects Ltd) or again energy saving (Armageddon Energy).

 

Following its strategy to address every composites end-user, the JEC Innovation Awards will reward these six composites innovators in building & construction that will change the way we build.

 

If the majority of submissions relied on glass fibers, which is common in the construction field, we see an increased interest in carbon fibers, especially for structural applications. And similarly to all sectors of the composite industry, thermoplastics are gaining in importance in construction.

 

Therefore, to promote the growing use of composites as a construction material, six categories are awarded, covering a large panel of applications and possibilities.

 

The JEC Innovation Awards ceremony will take place at McCormick Place on Tuesday June 20 at 6 p.m.

 

‘Composites Champions’ winners of the JEC Innovation Awards

 

BUILDING – Owens Corning (France)

GFRP for urban renewal challenge

 

CIVIL ENGINEERING – Biteam (Sweden)

Highly integrated ductile reinforced carbon composite I-beam

 

STRUCTURAL CLADDING – Premier Composite Technologies (United Arab Emirates)

Ultra-High Performance Concrete in mould finish for FRP panels

 

REPAIR – DowAksa Advanced Composites (Turkey)

Full-Scale Site Testing of Seismic Retrofit

 

DESIGN – Optima Projects Ltd (United Kingdom)

Free-form Structural FRP Roof without moulds

 

ENERGY – Armageddon Energy (United States)

SolarClover Advanced Solar Panels

 

Source: JEC Group