Experimental Study on the Thermal Performance of 3D-Printed Enclosing Structures

Abstract

Three-dimensional printing, or additive manufacturing, is one of the modern techniques emerging in the construction industry. Three-Dimensional Printed Concrete (3DPC) technology is currently evolving with high demand amongst researchers, and the integration of modular building systems with this technology would provide a sustainable solution to modern construction challenges. This work investigates and develops energy-efficient 3D-printable walls that can be implemented worldwide through energy efficiency and sustainability criteria. Numerical research and experimental investigations, bench tests with software packages, and high-precision modern equipment have been used to investigate the thermal performance of 3DPC envelopes with different types of configurations, arrangements of materials, and types of insulation. The research findings showed that an innovative energy-efficient ventilated 3DPC envelope with a low thermal conductivity coefficient was developed following the climatic zone. The annual costs of heat energy consumed for heating and carbon footprint were determined in the software package Revit Insight to assess the energy efficiency of the 3D-printed building. The thermal properties of the main wall body of the tested 3D-printed walls were calculated with on-site monitoring data. The infrared thermography technique detected heterogeneous and non-uniform temperature distributions on the exterior wall surface of the 3DPC tested envelopes.

3D printing for energy optimization of building envelope – Experimental results

“…Similarly, Nemova et al [ 30 ] conducted theoretical and experimental investigations to assess the thermal efficiency of 3D-printed concrete (3DPC) envelopes featuring different configurations, material arrangements, and insulation types. Suntharalingam et al [ 31 ] and Cuevas et al [ 32 ] studied different topological wall variants to identify the most energy-efficient configurations.…”

Structural Performance of Additively Manufactured Cylinder Liner—A Numerical Study

“…Recently, additive manufacturing technologies have gained a lot of attention and have great potential in the engine manufacturing industry [23]. The main advantage of AM over traditional manufacturing processes is the ability to freely shape complex parts without using traditional manufacturing methods such as extrusion, forging, casting and secondary machining processes [24][25][26][27]. The near net shaping capability makes AM a cost-effective technique because it minimizes waste [25].…”

“…The main advantage of AM over traditional manufacturing processes is the ability to freely shape complex parts without using traditional manufacturing methods such as extrusion, forging, casting and secondary machining processes [24][25][26][27]. The near net shaping capability makes AM a cost-effective technique because it minimizes waste [25]. In addition, AM offers great flexibility in terms of the type of raw materials [21].…”