Woven Concrete: developing weaves for use in textile/concrete hybrid wall panels.

该项目源于阿尔斯特大学高级研究员Patricia Belford和建筑学教授Ruth Morrow的合作项目“Girli Concrete”（名称已注册，目前正在寻求知识产权）。“女孩混凝土”将混凝土和纺织技术结合在一起，测试了混凝土作为纺织品和纺织品作为结构的想法。“女孩混凝土”旨在创造创新的“软”室内产品，挑战纺织品仅作为结构“装饰”的观念，而是将纺织技术融入墙板的生产中。“女孩混凝土”源于一种更大的动力，即将传统的“硬”建筑产品（仅由技术性能定义）转变为解决技术和人类性能的产品。Girli Concrete将创造性和社会思维应用于传统技术建筑产品，从而将低技术，低成本的材料转化为高触感，美学和高价值的产品。在过去的6个月里，在与混凝土制造商的磋商中，“女孩混凝土”取得了重大进展。我们正在寻求AHRC资助的“编织混凝土”项目已经发展出来，并将通过开发专门设计的嵌入混凝土板的专门编织织物来支持Girli混凝土的持续发展。到目前为止，Girli混凝土项目已经使用了许多现成的编织织物，但我们现在希望利用该领域的研究助理的专业知识来设计和开发编织。同时，该项目将由内部纺织品技术人员进行观察，他将对所得样品的物理特性提出建议。该项目由Girli Concrete的共同开发者之一P Belford领导，他将能够确保“Girli Concrete”项目迄今为止的进展通知并指导“编织混凝土”的成果。该项目还将作为一个自主项目，为Donna Campbell提供机会，研究使用金属和天然纤维组合的编织结构的变化；腐蚀和控制变形技术对织物性能的影响。该项目分为5个阶段。第一阶段：纱线试验这一阶段将包括使用组合纱线生产样品。“女孩混凝土”项目的重点是使用天然纤维，因此这些纱线试验将主要是天然纤维，但也将引入“控制”聚丙烯纱线。会产生一系列的样本和控制样本。第二阶段：试验和选择结果编织这一阶段包括通过将第一阶段的样品放入模板和浇筑混凝土来测试样品，然后在实验室条件下进行一段时间的受控养护。过程和最终的固化样品将由PI，编织专家，和材料化学家——织物与混凝土的粘合——确定任何需要解决和/或利用的材料缺陷，以及——美学品质（符合女孩混凝土项目）从样品中确定某些织物（大约5-6个织物），用于腐蚀（腐蚀织物的化学过程）和控制变形（将物理过程整合到织物中，使织物变形）。第三阶段：织物的试制（扭曲和侵蚀）这一阶段包括选定织物的试制，并加入侵蚀和控制扭曲技术。第四阶段：试验和选择结果编织（扭曲和侵蚀）这一阶段是第二阶段的重复，但在第三阶段产生了样品。第五阶段：制造全尺寸样品。在第四阶段测试中最成功的样品将被制造成适合“女孩混凝土”面板规模的尺寸。

This project develops out of a collaborative project 'Girli Concrete' (name trademarked and currently seeking IPR) between Patricia Belford, Senior Research Fellow and Ruth Morrow, Professor of Architecture, both based at the University of Ulster. 'Girli Concrete' brings together concrete and textile technologies, testing ideas of concrete as textile and textile as structure. 'Girli Concrete' aims to create innovative 'soft' interior products, challenging the perception of textiles as only the 'dressing' to structure and instead integrate textile technologies into the production of wall panels. 'Girli Concrete' is borne out of a larger drive to transform traditionally 'hard' building products, defined by technical performance only, into products that address both technical and human performance. Girli Concrete applies creative and social thinking to traditionally technical building products and in so doing transforms a low tech, low cost material into highly tactile, aesthetic and high value products. Over the last 6 months 'Girli Concrete' has progressed significantly in consultation with a concrete manufacturer.This project 'Woven Concrete' for which we are seeking AHRC funding has developed out of and will support the continued development of Girli Concrete through the development of specialised woven fabrics specifically designed to be imbedded into concrete panels. To date Girli Concrete project has used a number of ready-made woven fabrics but we now wish to design and develop weaves using the expertise of a fellow research assistant who specialises in the area. At the same time the project will be observed by an inhouse textiles technologist who will advise on the physically characteristics of the resultant samples. The project is led by one of the co-developers of Girli Concrete: P Belford, who will be able to ensure that the progress to date in the 'Girli Concrete' project informs and guides the outcomes of 'Woven Concrete'. The project will also act as an automonous project offering Donna Campbell the opportunity to investigate variations in weave structures using combinations of metal and natural fibres; the effects of erosive and controlled distortion techniques and the properties of the resultant fabrics. The project is subdivided into 5 stages. Stage 1: Yarn trialsThis stage will involve the production of samples using a combination of yarns. The project 'girli concrete' has focused on the use of natural fabrics and hence these yarn trials will be predominantly natural fibres but will also introduce the 'control' yarn polypropylene. There will be a series of samples and control samples generated.Stage 2: Trialling and Selection of Resultant WeavesThis stage involves testing the stage 1 samples by placing into formwork and pouring concrete, followed by a period of controlled curing in lab conditions.The process and resultant cured samples will be observed by the PI, weave specialist, and materials chemist in terms of - bonding of weave to concrete- identification of any material flaws to be resolved and/or exploited and- aesthetic qualities (in line with girli concrete project)From the samples certain of the weaves (approx 5-6 weaves) will be identified for application of devoré (chemical process that erodes fabric) and controlled distortion (physical process integrated into weaving that distorts fabric). Stage 3: Trial Manufacture of Weaves (distorted and eroded)This stage involves the trial manufacture of selected weaves with the addition of devoré and controlled distortion techniques. Stage 4: Trialling and Selection of Resultant Weaves (distorted and eroded)This stage is a repetition of Stage 2 but with the samples generated in Stage 3Stage 5: Manufacture of full size samples The most successful of the samples tested in Stage 4 will then be manufactured to a size that suits the scale of the "girli concrete" panels.