About

The department 3MD focuses on the design, construction and management of civil infrastructures and buildings. A multi-scale research approach is followed, starting at micro-scale (materials), to meso-scale (structures) and to macro-scale (infrastructures/systems).

The department governs the entire life cycle of materials/structures/systems from design, management, maintenance to demolition or reuse. The department has strong competences in modelling and design for both civil infrastructures as well as buildings. Research addressed in the department 3MD is broad in scope, but also deep in approach. The research work is fundamental and applied in nature, and has a mono-, multi- or trans-disciplinary character. The scientific work keeps pace with the highest level in the international scientific community and with the front line of technical innovations. It is connected to high-end utilization in construction practice. For its experimental research the department has access to the state-of-the-art MicroLab. This department works in close connection with the other department in structural engineering Engineering Structures (ES).

Our department is grouped into research groups, each of which has its own field of study. Click on the name of the research group for further information:

Applied Mechanics

Materials and Environment

Integral Design & Management

Microlab

Stories of Science

Students, scientists and engineers of Delft University of Technology are working on clever solutions and innovative research every day. Discover their Stories of Sciences!

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Floating homes for the Philippines

City dwellers in the Philippines are dealing with the consequences of frequent flooding on a daily basis. This is why Phd and Global fellow Pieter Ham has been working on the construction of sustainable, modular floating homes in the Philippines since graduation. Now the pilot home is ready and the first family to test it out has moved in.

The most used material in the world

In his hand lays a small grey object, probably no longer than 10 centimeters. It is made of tiny triangle cross-sections and smells like recently casted concrete. This concrete microstructure was made by 3D printing. Yading Xu’s eyes light up when he talks about why he researches 3D-printing techniques for concrete construction. “Concrete is one of the most used material in the world, that is why it is so fascinating to me.”

Building affordable homes using local biowaste materials

People in rural India traditionally live in so-called ‘mud houses’, houses made of a blend of clay, sand and silt. This material is not water-resistant, and over time, rain causes the walls to crumble. Residents have to replaster their walls after each rainy season. There is currently no affordable alternative. However, with his TU Delft Global Research Fellowship, civil engineer Kulshreshtha hopes to see this change.

The strength of glass

Glass breaks, doesn’t it? It’s wonderfully suited to creating light effects and a sense of spaciousness. But can it be used in a load-bearing capacity, for instance in walls, bridges and pillars? The answer is yes: under pressure glass becomes incredibly tough. TU Delft’s Stevin II laboratory is home to one of the few teams in the world doing research into the suitability of glass as a building material. Here PhDs and professors are finding ways to make glass in construction strong and safe without compromising on transparency.

A cement free concrete canoe

A drum roll sounds in the Stevin II laboratory. 20 students and researchers in blue lab coats and safety shoes are gathered around a 6 meter long canoe mould. They have 15 minutes to properly distribute the mixture in the mould, tamp it down and do the finishing. ‘Faster!’ shouts researcher Marija Nedeljković and the rhythm of the patting hands accelerates.

Self-healing of Concrete by Bacterial Mineral Precipitation

Repairing cracks in concrete structures is a time consuming, costly but necessary business. TU Delft is researching how the self-healing capacity of concrete structures can be improved by using calcite-precipitating bacteria and what conditions are necessary for these bacteria to thrive.