3D concrete printing (3DCP) technology is already known to offer a more efficient approach to constructing buildings.new type However, 3DCP is said to be even better, resulting in walls claimed to be 72% lighter than their traditional counterparts.
On most 3DCP construction sites, a robot-operated extruder nozzle moves linearly parallel to the ground, building a mold of the wall one layer at a time. When the hollow centers of these molds are filled with rebar and concrete, the walls are completed.
According to Dr. Mania Aghaei Meibodi of the University of Michigan’s DART Institute (Digital Architecture Research Technologies) and colleagues, such setups use more concrete than necessary and also limit the building’s architectural features to fairly simple shapes. To do. That’s where the university’s shell wall system will come into play.
Dirt Institute
It begins with creating a computer model of the structure based on the most efficient distribution of materials needed to provide the required strength to each part of the building. That is, it contains nothing where it is not needed.
Guided by that model, the print nozzle builds layered wall elements consisting of curved vertical structured ribs and thin curved membranes spanning the spaces between them. A layer of concrete is deposited non-planar. That is, it does not necessarily run parallel to the ground. As each element is constructed, the vertical section of rebar is inserted inside the hollow ribs and the insulation is placed inside the hollow membrane.
Dirt Institute
Small-scale tests have shown that compared to a conventional wall of the same size constructed of solid concrete, shell wall elements offer 72% weight savings while providing the same structural strength. rice field. A full-scale technical test at an actual construction site is currently being planned.
You can see part of the model in print in the video below.
Taubman College groundbreaking project involving novel 3D concrete printing method
Source: University of Michigan
