New materials and technologies applied to sustainable building construction

Abstract

[ES] TFG cuyo objetivo es la investigación de materiales innovadores en proyectos de construcción a fin de reducir el impacto ambiental y el consumo energético y de agua. En la primera sección del proyecto, en sintonía con la sostenibilidad, se aportan ideas sobre cómo reducir el impacto mediombiental de los materiales en el proceso constructivo desde la extracción como materias primas hasta su reutilización. En la segunda sección del trabajo, se presentan tecnologías por las cuales ciertos materiales puedan tener propiedades autolimpiables con el uso de un material fotocatalizador "dióxido de titanio". Otras propiedades como la purificación del aire o antibacterianas son demostradas. Para finalizar, se incluye una encuesta sobre sostenibilidad, entregada a empresas constructoras, así como a estudios de arquitectura, para tener idea si están aplicando prácticas sostenibles en el desarrollo de sus proyectos.

[EN] The present Bachelor's Thesis has the main objective of investigating about some of the most innovative/new materials that are recently begun to be applied on construction projects with the goal of reducing the environmental impact created by the building and improving certain important qualities such as reduction of energy and water consumption. In order to introduce the concept of sustainability, a first section "state of the art" has been created to give some examples on how to reduce the environmental impact produced by the different materials used in a construction process, from the raw materials' extraction to their reuse once expired. Following to the next section, a technology by which materials can get to obtain self-cleaning properties on their surface is explained, by using the semiconductor materials "Titanium Dioxide" as a photocatalyst. Other properties apart from self-cleaning are also obtained as for example air-purification, anti-bacterial effect (...). Since insulation materials are some of the most important ones concerning the thermal performance and the conservation of energy of our buildings, in section three, a group of innovating insulation materials is shown by comparing some of their properties (thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, U-value, fire resistance...) Finally, the last section of the project is made up of a questionnaire on sustainability which has been delivered to different construction companies and construction sector in order to get a better idea of whether firms are incorporating sustainable construction practices to their day to day project.