Research at the school of Civil and Environmental Engineering

The research of civil and environmental engineering is concentrated across the institutes in the research topics:

  1. Construction in and on water
  2. Digitalization and automation
  3. Sustainability and infrastructure
  4. Water, environment, climate and adaptation

On a superordinate organizational level, these research topics are reflected in various research foci. In addition, there is an interdisciplinary bundling with other topics in the research fields of the TUHH.

Research topic “Engineering Structures in and by the Water“

Societal challenges: Sustainable and low-emission construction, adaptation of coastal infrastructure to climate change impacts, sustainable use of coastal waters, resilient infrastructure in the face of extreme events

Input of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (selection): Structural health monitoring in the marine environment, maintenance and retrofitting of building structures and materials under extreme conditions, structural optimization for CO2 reduction, research into the effects of climate change on engineering structures in and adjacent to water, development of adaptable structures.

Institutes and cooperation partners: The Institutes of Digital and Autonomous Construction, Hydraulic Engineering, Geotechnics and Construction Operations, Solid Construction, Metal and Composite Construction, Structural Dynamics, Geohydroinformatics, Design and Strength of Ships, Fluid Dynamics and Ship Theory, Plastics and Composites, Control Engineering and Microsystems Technology of the TUHH, other scientific cooperation partners and the Hamburg Port Authority.

The research topic is being addressed in the research focus areas Civil Infrastructure Systems, Cyber-Physical Systems and Environmental & Energy Systems.

The research topic is an essential part of the interdisciplinary research fields Logistics, Mobility & Infrastructure, Cyber-Physical & Medical Systems and Environmental & Energy Systems

The following degree programs address contents of the research topic: Civil Engineering (M.Sc.), Water and Environmental Engineering (M.Sc.), Environmental Engineering (M.Sc.), Civil and Environmental Engineering (B.Sc.)

 

Research topic “Digitalization and Automatization“

Societal challenges: Sustainable and energy-efficient construction; Construction in the face of climate change; Affordable housing; Monitoring and rehabilitation of infrastructure; Resilient infrastructure; …

Input of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (selection): Digitalization and automation; implementation of “Construction 4.0”; Construction robotics; Artificial Intelligence in civil engineering; Cyber-physical systems in architecture, engineering, and construction; Structural health monitoring; Smart infrastructure as well as adaptive and cognitive buildings; Digital road; Concrete printing; Computational structural mechanics; BIM/CAD-integrated design and analysis...

Institutes and cooperation partners: Digital and Autonomous Construction; River and Coastal Engineering; Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Management; Structural Analysis; Concrete Structures; Metal and Composite Structures; Building Materials, Building Physics and Building Chemistry; Geohydroinformatics; local and national construction companies

The research topic is being addressed in the research focus areas Civil Infrastructure Systems, Cyber-Physical Systems and Environmental & Energy Systems.

The research topic is an essential part of the interdisciplinary research fields Logistics, Mobility & Infrastructure, Cyber-Physical & Medical Systems and Environmental & Energy Systems.

The following degree programs address contents of the research topic: Civil Engineering (M.Sc.), Water and Environmental Engineering (M.Sc.), Environmental Engineering (M.Sc.), Civil and Environmental Engineering (B.Sc.)

Research topic “Sustainability and Infrastructure“

Societal challenges: Conceptualization, planning, design, construction of buildings under consideration of maintenance, demolishment and recyclability within the framework of a circular economy. Durability and extended lifetime of new buildings and maximizing the remaining lifetime of existing buildings as well as low primary energy consumption of material processing and of buildings in service, innovative maintenance and repair methods, adaptivity of structures and use of artificial intelligence implemented by digital control, sophisticated measuring technology and sensing are on the research agenda.

Input of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (selection): Understanding construction damage processes and their prevention, effective test procedures for building materials and constituents, research on particularly endangered and dangerous buildings, research on binders, advanced technical building equipment and thermal insulation, development of nano-, micro- and macrostructured hybrid materials, early detection and localization of defects in constructions using acoustic methods, contributions in standards committees.

Institutes and cooperation partners: Building Materials, Building Physics and Building Chemistry; Concrete Structures; Digital and Autonomous Construction; Metal and Composite Structures; Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Management; Structural Analysis. Contribution to the DFG Priority Programs (SPP) 2020 and 2388 as well as to the DFG Research Training Group (GRK) 2462, cooperations with national and international universities and research institutions (e.g. Hemholtz-Zentrum Hereon), services for governmental institutions, companies and associations.

The research topic is being addressed in the research focus areas Civil Infrastructure Systems and Advanced Materials.

The research topic is an essential part of the interdisciplinary research fields Logistics, Mobility & Infrastructure, Environmental & Energy Systems und Advanced Materials & (Bio-)Processes.

The following degree programs address contents of the research topic: Civil and Environmental Engineering (B.Sc.), Civil Engineering (M.Sc.), Water and Environmental Engineering (M.Sc.).

 

Research topic “Water, Environment, Climate Change and Adaptation “

Societal challenges:
Sustainable resource management, Soil health, Food security, Mitigate and counteract the impacts of climate change on environmental and hydrologic processes & water management (quantities, qualities, demands).

Input of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (selection):
Developing predictive and quantitative tools, methods and solutions capable of addressing a variety of challenges related to soil, water and climate using a wide range of experimental and theoretical tools including but not limited to artificial intelligence, high resolution imaging, thermal imaging, field measurements, smart sensing, hydrological modelling, satellite remote sensing and big data analysis. These efforts contribute, among other things, to identifying and managing the risks of climate change impacts on sustainable resource management including the provision of safe drinking water and healthy soil which is a necessity for life on earth.

Institutes and cooperation partners:
Institutes of the TUHH as well as numerous national and international cooperation partners

The research topic is being addressed in the research focus areas Civil Infrastructure Systems and Environmental & Energy Systems.

The research topic is an essential part of the interdisciplinary research fields Logistics, Mobility & Infrastructure and Environmental & Energy Systems.

The following degree programs address contents of the research topic: Civil and Environmental Engineering (B.Sc.), Water and Environmental Engineering (M.Sc.), Environmental Engineering (M.Sc.).