Charakterisierung und nachhaltige Verbesserung von Bestandsgründungen

Characterization and sustainable improvement of existing foundations

When deconstructing a building, foundation elements often remain in the ground, as their removal and reuse are technically and economically challenging. However, on-site reuse offers ecological and economic benefits. A prerequisite for this is a detailed characterization of the existing foundations in terms of their structural integrity, potential damage, and remaining load-bearing capacity. Limitations arise, particularly due to the immutable reinforcement arrangement, which restricts the load-bearing capacity for new structures. Strengthening or supplementing the existing foundations may be necessary, which is often associated with high greenhouse gas emissions. Bio-cementation through bacterial calcium carbonate precipitation offers a sustainable alternative, but its mechanical properties and bonding effect with existing foundations still need to be investigated. The use of wastewater for bio-cementation through ureolysis, as well as the alternative path of denitrification, are promising with regard to cost reduction and efficiency improvement, but have so far been largely unexplored. This paper describes two sub-projects of the SFB 1683: B04, which deals with the characterization of foundations using inverse identification methods, and A04, which investigates bio-based adaptations of existing foundations for sustainable reuse.