Research and Development

Our work as a departmental research institution typically involves working on current practice-related research issues with a view to long-term developments and future-proof solution strategies. Many questions can only be answered in an interdisciplinary context. Our advantage at the BAW is that our expertise covers the entire field of waterways engineering with its classic disciplines of civil engineering, geotechnical engineering and inland and maritime hydraulic engineering.

We undertake broad-based research projects in the field of infrastructure. Examples include the development of new methods designed to support objective decision-making or innovative monitoring systems for the early detection of critical building conditions. We carry out research into sustainable building materials, the acceleration of planning and implementation processes or increasingly accurate predictions of the impact of hydraulic engineering measures.

One focus is climate- and resource-friendly construction. This poses a huge challenge in view of the massive construction of hydraulic structures, such as locks and weirs, for which large volumes of concrete and steel are required. Research is needed on concrete construction bearing in mind the uncertain future availability of technically proven building materials, such as flue ash or granulated slag, as well as mineral aggregates from natural resources. In the future, building materials and construction methods will have to have a lower carbon footprint, although no experience is yet available for the use of such methods in hydraulic engineering. Test methods and test criteria for assessing the usability of new building materials are still rudimentary and urgently need to be further developed. The use of recycled building materials must be examined to ensure that resources are used more efficiently in the future.