Design and Fabrication of a Non-standard, Structural Concrete Column Using Eggshell: Ultra-Thin, 3D Printed Formwork

Burger, Joris; Lloret-Fritschi, Ena; Taha, Nizar; Scotto, Fabio; Demoulin, Thibault; Mata‐Falcón, Jaime; Gramazio, Fabio; Köhler, Matthias; Flatt, Robert J.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49916-7_105

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The concept of simultaneous formwork fabrication and concrete casting pushes this idea a step further and can prove to be a powerful tool in on-site construction. 80 Depending on what happens to the formwork once the concrete cures, two main categories can be defined: remov-able and stay-in-place. Five further subtypes are discussed in Table 2 in relation to a series of example projects and the concreting method.…”

Section: Classification Of 3d Printed Formwork Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concept of simultaneous formwork fabrication and concrete casting pushes this idea a step further and can prove to be a powerful tool in on-site construction. 80 …”

Section: Classification Of 3d Printed Formwork Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The formwork only has the role of supporting the concrete for the first few centimeters, after which the fast structural buildup is eliminates the hydrostatic stress. 80 …”

Section: Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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3D Printed Formwork for Concrete: State-of-the-Art, Opportunities, Challenges, and Applications

Jipa

Dillenburger

2022

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing

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Concrete is the most used human-made material in the world, and it is responsible for around 8% of the total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Hence, efficient concrete construction methods are one of the main foci of research in architecture, civil engineering, and material science. One recent development that promises to achieve this goal is the use of digital fabrication for building components. Most investigations focus on direct extrusion 3D printing with concrete, which has already been covered in several review articles. Conversely, this article reviews a different approach, which focuses on the indirect digital fabrication of concrete through 3D printed formworks. This approach is under investigation for structural and nonstructural, as well as for onand off-site applications, with a number of projects having already been built, but a comprehensive review of 3D printed formworks has not yet been compiled to synthesize the findings. This article provides a comprehensive map of the state-of-the-art of five different 3D printing technologies used for the fabrication of formworks so far. The aim is to serve as a fundamental reference for future research, provide a basis for consistent language in this field, and support the development of construction standards. The article further discusses the new geometric possibilities with 3D printed formworks and their potential for making concrete construction more sustainable. In addition, the opportunities and challenges of 3D printed formworks are evaluated in the context of other traditional and digital fabrication tools. A synthetic classification in five functional typologies is proposed and illustrated with 30 representative case studies. Finally, the article concludes with a brief reflection on the role of 3D printing in the broader context of formwork innovation and a possible outlook for this technology.

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Section: Classification Of 3d Printed Formwork Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concept of simultaneous formwork fabrication and concrete casting pushes this idea a step further and can prove to be a powerful tool in on-site construction. 80 …”

Section: Classification Of 3d Printed Formwork Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

3D Printed Formwork for Concrete: State-of-the-Art, Opportunities, Challenges, and Applications

Jipa

Dillenburger

2022

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing

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“…The reactor presented in this study is built upon a previous system used for the robotic slip forming of façade mullions installed in the DFAB HOUSE, Empa Dübendorf (Switzerland) [ 14 , 15 ] as well as for casting in the 3D-printed Eggshell formwork with variable cross section, further described in [ 14 ]. The system relies on a retarded mix, which was pumped in sequential batches (discontinuously) into a mixer placed above a formwork, in which an accelerator was added.…”

Section: Background and Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Additive Digital Casting: From Lab to Industry

Lloret-Fritschi

Quadranti²,

Scotto³

et al. 2022

Materials

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Concrete construction harms our environment, making it urgent to develop new methods for building with less materials. Structurally efficient shapes are, however, often expensive to produce, because they require non-standard formworks, thus, standard structures, which use more material than is often needed, remain cheaper. Digital fabrication has the potential to change this paradigm. One method is Digital Casting Systems (DCS), where the hydration of self-compacting concrete is controlled on the fly during production, shortening the required setting time and reducing hydrostatic pressure on the formwork to a minimum. This enables a productivity increase for standard concrete production. More importantly, though, it enables a rethinking of formworks, as the process requires only cheap thin formworks, thus, unlocking the possibility to produce optimised structural members with less bulk material and lower environmental cost. While DCS has already proven effective in building structural members, this process faces the challenge of moving into industry. This paper covers the next steps in doing so. First, we present the benchmark and expectations set by the industry. Second, we consider how we comply with these requirements and convert our fast-setting self-compacting mortar mix into a coarser one. Third, we present the next generation of our digital processing system, which moves closer to the industrial requirements in terms of size and the control system. Finally, two prototypes demonstrate how DSC: (a) increases standard bulk production by 50% and (b) can be cast into ultra-thin formworks. We discuss the results and the short-term industrial concerns for efficiency and robustness, which must be addressed for such a system to be fully implemented in industry.

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“…However, breakage occurred in the 45°m odel after filling to 100 mm in height. 34 A later study showed that it was also possible to print and fill volumes of a smaller diameter with an overhang of 65°by changing the printing speed based on the angle between layers. 35 In case of a larger overhang, one can print more slowly while keeping the flow rate constant to deposit more material in one place and create a stronger bond between layers.…”

Section: Process Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eggshell: Ultra-Thin Three-Dimensional Printed Formwork for Concrete Structures

Burger

Lloret-Fritschi

Scotto

et al. 2020

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing

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Concrete is a material favored by architects and builders alike due to its high structural strength and its ability to take almost any form. However, to shape concrete structures, heavy-duty formwork is usually necessary to support the fresh concrete while curing. To expand geometrical freedom, three-dimensional (3D) printed concrete formwork has emerged as a field of research. This article presents one possible application, a novel fabrication process that combines large-scale robotic fused deposition modeling 3D printing with simultaneous casting of a fast-hardening, set-on-demand concrete. This fabrication process, known as ''Eggshell,'' enables the production of nonstandard concrete structures in a material-efficient process. By casting a fast-hardening concrete in a continuous process, lateral pressure exerted by the fresh concrete is kept to a minimum. In this way, a 1.5-mm-thin thermoplastic shell can be used as a formwork, without any additional support. Geometries of different scales are tested in this article to evaluate the feasibility of the Eggshell fabrication process in an architectural context. An array of printing materials are also tested, and several different reinforcement concepts are analyzed. The findings are used to produce a full-scale architectural demonstrator project. This article shows that a wide range of concrete geometries can be produced in a material-efficient fabrication process, paving the way toward mass customization and structural optimization within concrete architecture.

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Design and Fabrication of a Non-standard, Structural Concrete Column Using Eggshell: Ultra-Thin, 3D Printed Formwork

Cited by 18 publications

References 11 publications

3D Printed Formwork for Concrete: State-of-the-Art, Opportunities, Challenges, and Applications

3D Printed Formwork for Concrete: State-of-the-Art, Opportunities, Challenges, and Applications

Additive Digital Casting: From Lab to Industry

Eggshell: Ultra-Thin Three-Dimensional Printed Formwork for Concrete Structures

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