This axis focuses on the development of new design methods focused on the optimization of the multi-material structure in a fully integrated approach, minimizing consumption and maximizing the performance of existing materials, as well as introducing and promoting the use of noble or recycled materials.
In this approach, eco-design can be a key lever to reduce material consumption while giving products and constructions their functional role and durability. This is the challenge taken up by the approach proposed in this research, which aims to initiate a new design approach in the field of engineering sciences.
The scientific approach consists in integrating in the calculations the parameters completely ignored in the current design codes, which led to oversized and more material consuming elements. Approaches based on artificial intelligence will be used to clarify the complex relationships between macroscopic properties and chemical constituents of the initial materials. This approach, if generalized, will certainly have a “revolutionary” impact on the economy of natural resources. The application areas targeted by this research are: reinforced concrete, mixed concrete-wood constructions, composites and mechanically and pressurized tensioned membrane structures.