Deconstruction and decommissioning of conventional and nuclear buildings

The research work of the Department of “Deconstruction an Decommissioning of  Conventional and Nuclear Buildings” is not only integrated into the KIT's large-scale research area with a professorship and working group at the “Institute for Technology and Management in Construction” (TMB) at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences, but is also integrated into the university sector.

Decommissioning of conventional buildings:

In the conventional field, the aim is to standardize the deconstruction of buildings. This includes, among other things, the pollutant cleanup by means of automated procedures, including the possibility of remote handling and further development of current machine technologies. This minimizes the risks to the operating personnel when dealing with pollutants.

The following research topics are being dealt with:

1. Standardization of the deconstruction of buildings
   • Pollutant remediation in conjunction with an automation or remote handling of hazardous substances such as asbestos, artificial mineral fibers or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
   • Disposal and recycling of waste streams, taking into account the necessary separation accuracy
2. Deconstruction of buildings and technical installations
3. Environmentally friendly demolition procedures
    

Decommissioning of nuclear facilities:

The focus of the nuclear decommissioning area is the development of practice-related new decommissioning technologies (pilot projects) for unresolved problems and large-scale testing.

The following research topics are being dealt with:

1. Standardized decommissioning of nuclear facilities
2. Technologies and procedures for the dismantling of steel, stainless steel and reinforced concrete
   • Reduction of secondary waste
   • Automation and remote control of the procedures
   • Performance optimization of existing technologies
   • New development of methods and technologies
   • Management methods for the decommissioning
   • Retrieval technologies for repositories

Further information on the research field of the Department of Demolition can be found at: https://www.tmb.kit.edu/english/concept.php. Current and completed projects of the Department of Demolition can be found at: https://www.tmb.kit.edu/english/ResearchProjects.php.