Title:
Digital Construction: An Ongoing Exploration on Design and Development of Printable Mixture and Printing Process
Author(s):
Maryam Hojati
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
10/25/2020
Abstract:
Additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing uses advanced processes such that 3D shapes and structures can be created by printing successive layers of material using a sliced digital model of the structure. In the construction industry, engineers and architects can significantly benefit from AM in the production of fast, cheap, and complex architectural models. AM allows increased formal freedom, higher precision, safer working conditions, faster manufacturing process, and lower costs of construction. Over the past few years, several remarkable advancements have been made in 3D printing of concrete. However, challenges related to AM of concrete slow down the adoption of 3D printing technologies in the construction industry. These challenges are related to problems faced when scaling up AM processes, adjusting the fresh properties of concrete, potential formation of cold joints between layers, smoothing of the finished surface of the printed-concrete objects, and he use of reinforcement and/or fibers. Given these challenges, 3D printing will not be expected to be an effective replacement for conventional cast-in-place or pre-cast prefabricated construction in the very near future. On the other hand, the many advantageous attributes of this technology make it uniquely qualified for certain applications where conventional reinforced concrete may not be feasible or economical. This is particularly the case where indigenous materials must be used in hard-to-reach or contaminated sites on earth or in future planetary habitat construction. Penn State University started an interdisciplinary research on digital construction of concrete structures in 2016. This project studies developing the 3D printing machine consisting of a robot arm and pump-driven printer, designing and developing printable (either cement or cement free) concrete, and designing a toolpath and controlling printing process.