Innovative precast panels for Integrated SEismic and Energy upgrading of existing buildings envelopes

There is an urgent socio-economic and environmental need in Europe for sustainable and effective solutions for integrated seismic and energy upgrading of existing buildings as recently adopted by the Green Deal-Renovation policy.

Although the field of integrated seismic and energy upgrading has received great attention in the academic community in the last five years, further research is required towards faster, and eco-friendly integrated retrofitting solutions.

This project, i-SeePanel, goes several steps beyond the state-of-the-art which still lacks of the real applications of integrated retrofitting solutions, via the development of Innovative externally bonded precast panels, in accordance with Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) principles, for integrated seismic and energy upgrading of existing buildings envelopes.

The proposed precast panels combine the promising seismic strengthening solution TRM (composite material consisting of fibre-textiles reinforcement embedded into an inorganic matrix) with insulation materials providing several advantages compared to cast-in-place solutions by guarantying the effectiveness of the solution (quality-controlled) with high aesthetic and geometry adaptability potentials, and by reducing the time of the intervention, the inconveniences for the inhabitants and the labor effort due to simplifier installation procedure.

The research activities of this project include the experimental work for the production and characterization of the matrix material and of the precast panel, pilot laboratory applications on full-scale masonry-infilled RC frames, and the developing design guidelines for proposed applications.

The outcomes obtained from this project will encourage the renovation of existing buildings and will aid the authorities in funding upgrading interventions, while at the same time the use of the proposed solution will be beneficial to enhance the resilience and the sustainability of existing building stock.