BioSunShade – Natural Fiber-Reinforced Adaptive FRP with PV

BIOSUNSHADE – ADAPTIVE COMPOSITE STRUCTURES BASED ON NATURAL FIBER REINFORCED POLYMERS WITH A PV-FUNCTIONALIZED SURFACE

The research project “BioSunShade” at the University of Stuttgart and the DITF Denkendorf develops adaptive, energy-autonomous shading components made from natural-fiber-reinforced polymers. Building on the partners’ work on compliant, hingeless fiber-reinforced composites for responsive façades, the project replaces conventional glass fibers with renewable flax fibers embedded in a recyclable thermoplastic matrix – a bio-based, lightweight building material with a low carbon footprint.

The core innovation is a novel 3D unidirectional fabric made of thermoplastic flax hybrid yarns, designed to provide high cyclic strength for components that change shape through elastic deformation rather than mechanical hinges. To enable autonomous operation, the responsive modules integrate lightweight photovoltaic elements, and shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators, providing compact, and energy-efficient actuation through joule heating induced shape recovery. Concurrent with the material development, the project characterizes the mechanical properties and creates a design tool that couples them with form-finding algorithms for adaptive components. The findings indicate that the implementation of these strategies enables the development of building envelopes that are both resource-efficient and responsive. The potential applications of these findings extend beyond the realm of architecture, finding relevance in domains such as the automotive and aviation sectors.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS

Dr.-Ing. Larissa Born
University of Stuttgart, Institute for Textile and Fiber Technologies (ITFT)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Götz T. Gresser
University of Stuttgart, Institute for Textile and Fiber Technologies (ITFT)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jan Knippers
University of Stuttgart, Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE)

RESEARCHER(S)

Lisa Weiß (ITFT)
Edith Anahí González San Martín (ITKE)
Hastia Asadi (ITKE)

PARTNER(S)

German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research (DITF) Denkendorf
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Götz T. Gresser, Dr.-Ing. Hans-Jürgen Bauder, Felix Wollenhaupt, Claudia Möhl

FUNDING

The project “BioSunShade” (grant number 01IF23371N) is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) based on a resolution of the German Bundestag, within the Industrial Collective Research (IGF) programme.