On-Site Robotics for Sustainable Construction

Although additive and robotic manufacturing, is considered a technology with lots of potentials in the construction industry, its deployment has not yet reached wide applications for on site construction of sustainable architectural structures. This paper focuses on the deployment of a 3D printing technology that combines robotics with natural materials for the construction of environmentally performing small scale buildings. Cable robots are explored for 3D printing with adobe, while drones are explored for real-time monitoring technologies of the construction process. A full scale prototype of the technology has been deployed during 15 days at an international construction fair, demonstrating its potential by producing live a 20 m2 pavilion. The paper describes and discusses the experience, feasibility and limitations of the technology operating on site and in a direct collaboration with human operators and craftsmen. The prototype demonstration presented in the paper has led to the conclusion that there is a significant potential of using the technology for large scale sustainable architectural constructions on-site

Characterisation of the Layer Pressing Strategy for Concrete 3D Printing

International audience3d printing of cementitious material by pressing layers during the extrusion is a strategy that requires a rather low initial yield stress so the material can deform without cracking. It allows to perfectly control the height of the layer and gives freedom in the orientation of the printing head and of the layer allowing for a wider range of printable geometry than the classic so-called "infinite brick" extrusion. This strategy has however some drawbacks as pressing the material on the previous layers may lead to a deformation of the sub-layers and even failure of the structure. In this work; we make a first step into understanding forces involved in such a process and measure their dependency on material fresh properties and printing parameters

Experimental study on 3D printing of concrete with overhangs

The construction industry has been receiving in the recent past years the 3D printing technology as an emerging technology. Several researchers and companies have been reporting a number of case studies that show the possibilities of this technology regarding the dimensions, shape, building time, finishing and the material characteristics. It is commonly accepted that one of the big advantages of 3D printing is its possibility regarding the shape of the printed object since it can be easily changed each time a new piece is printed. This possibility raises some challenges regarding the printing limits, that are needed to the project design, such as to create overhangs. In this sense, a work was carried out to evaluate and optimize concrete printing mixtures and assess the 3D concrete printing of elements with overhangs. This paper presents the work carried out, showing the optimization of mixture composition for the binder/aggregate ratio, cement/fly ash ratio, and amount of superplasticizer and hardening accelerator, and evaluating their printing performance and mechanical properties. Printing of overhangs was possible for angles with the vertical direction till 17.5º.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterising Concrete Mixes for 3D Printing

The 2nd RILEM International Conference on Concrete and Digital Fabrication, Eindhoven, The Netherlands (held online due to Coronavirus outbreak), 6-8 July 2020The construction industry is currently experiencing significant change as building information modeling (BIM), digital design and construction automation are exerting intense pressure on traditional technologies. As an advanced manufacturing technology, three-dimensional (3D) printing has significant potential applications in the construction sector, by utilizing a programmable robotic arm with a nozzle jet, 3D printing can enable us to construct complex concrete structures layer by layer. This new construction technique offers an advanced approach that can potentially accelerate the construction time and improve efficiency. They can work 24/7, even in a hazardous environment while minimising human errors. However, as an advanced cutting-edge technology, there are several remaining challenges to be overcome in comparison to traditional concrete casting, and these include appropriate pumpability, extrudability, buildability, compressive strength and open time for printing concrete. To overcome these challenges this project will investigate the effect of nanoclay to improve the fresh properties of printing concrete. It is considered that by utilizing different amounts of nanoclay and superplasticiser in the mix it will be possible to significantly affect the fresh properties of 3D printed concrete. Printable materials, like any other cementitious materials, flow only when submitted to stresses higher than a critical yield stress. In this project, a shear vane test was used to measure the yield stress of cement-based materials in the lab.University College Dubli

Extended Lattice Model to Simulate the Printing Process of 3D Printed Cementitious Materials

This paper reports an extended lattice model for printing process simulation of 3D printed cementitious materials. In this model, several influencing factors such as material and geometric nonlinearity are considered. Using this model, green strength of cementitious material is investigated, deformation and crack pattern can be derived, which is close to the experimental result. Subsequently, numerical analysis of 3D printing is conducted for the simulation about printing process. Imperfections arising in the printing process can be incorporated and two failure modes including the elastic buckling and plastic collapse can be simulated through this model.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Materials and Environmen

Briefing: UK-RAS white paper in robotics and autonomous systems for resilient infrastructure

This paper presents an extended briefing of the recently published UK-Robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) network Whie Paper in RAS for resilient infrastructure. It aims at setting out a vision of what RAS systems will be able to deliver in infrastructure, what are the current barriers and challenges to achieve that vision and what can the UK Government do to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront in this field

Key Research Priorities for Factories of the Future—Part I: Missions

This chapter investigates research priorities for factories of the future by adopting an approach based on mission-oriented policies to support manufacturing innovation. Missions are challenging from a scientific and technological point of view and, at the same time, are addressing problems and providing results that are understandable by common people. Missions are based on clear targets that can help mitigating grand challenges. Based on the results of the Italian Flagship Project Factories of the Future, this chapter proposes seven missions while identifying the societal impact, the technological and industrial challenges, and the barriers to be overcome. These missions cover topics such as circular economy, rapid and sustainable industrialisation, robotic assistant, factories for personalised medicine, internet of actions, factories close to the people, and turning ideas into products. The accomplishment of missions asks for the support of a proper research environment in terms of infrastructures to test and demonstrate the results to a wide public. Research infrastructures together with funding mechanisms will be better addressed in the next chapter of this book