3D concrete printing is a technique that shows a great potential for the construction sector. The RAAK-mkb KONKREET project, which ended in 2018, provided many insights in the field of 3D concrete printing for the Research Group Industrial Design and the partners involved. (van Beuren & Vrooijink, 2018)
One of these insights is that by layer building the object with 3D concrete printing, reinforcement can still be seen as a challenge. After all, if the reinforcement is already there when the print head passes, it is in the way of the print head, and when it has to be applied later, the concrete may already have hardened. This “reinforcement problem” ensures that reinforcement from the printing surface cannot be realized in situ. Within RAAK-mkb KONKREET project, a solution with technical textiles has been devised to reinforce this. The formable textile can hereby be pressed against the surface during the printing process.
The partners of this project, Lectoraat Sustainable& Functional textiles, Ter Steege -consultancy & innovation, Vertico XL printing and Robusta, want to prove that by further developing the concept an important threshold of 3D concrete printing can be removed. The aim is to develop a method to realize in-situ reinforcement in the form of technical textiles with 3D printed concrete. This requires a creative solution.
We started with the first experiments. Binding of textile to the concrete without leaving air inside is essential for the mechanical properties of the construction.
The challenge in this project is not only finding a suitable way to apply textiles onto concrete but also finding the criteria related to the choice of suitable textiles.
First tests showed that the adhesion of textiles is much better than just applying it with pressure. Results can be seen in the gallery below. Our next steps will be in the direction of applying textile along the geometry, not only between the layers.
[1]Published: 18 januari 2019: https://www.bouwwereld.nl/bouwkennis/methoden-en-technieken/3d-betonprinten-volop-in-ontwikkeling-2/
Appication of textile onto 3d printed concrete requires a specific print head design. Max van de Riet investigated several designs that could ensure multilayer textile positioning integral to the concrete flow.
3D concrete print at Saxion 