Today, an increase of the energy efficiency in the industry is typically achieved by separate, parallel measures, primarily on the level of the individual machines. Energy efficiency can be improved by a holistic, integrated approach, which links the machines, the production process, the technical infrastructure and the building and its envelope. The subject of this paper is the development of a new prefabricated element for fa��ades and roofs, which was developed and built in the context of a research project called eta-Fabrik (i.e. energy-efficient factory, www.eta-fabrik.de) at TU Darmstadt, Germany. The element consists of purely mineral materials (concrete) and can be energetically activated by capillary tubes integrated in the surface layer. This surface layer consists of a micro-reinforced, ultra-high-performance concrete (mrUHPC) to achieve a low component thickness due to its high mechanical capacity, resistance against thermal changes, surface quality and low permeability. The core of the element is responsible for insulation. For this, a mineralized protein foam (MF) is used. It provides very good thermal insulation properties due to its eminently low density allowing low heat transfer coefficients. The final fa��ade element thus combines limiting, bearing, insulating and thermal activation using concrete.

Journal of Facade Design and Engineering, Vol. 3 No. 3-4 (2015): Facade Design and Engineering