{"id":158654,"date":"2021-01-19T20:23:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T17:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-lobsters-can-help-make-stronger-3-d-printed-concrete\/"},"modified":"2021-01-19T20:23:50","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T17:23:50","slug":"how-lobsters-can-help-make-stronger-3-d-printed-concrete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-lobsters-can-help-make-stronger-3-d-printed-concrete\/","title":{"rendered":"#How lobsters can help make stronger 3-D printed concrete"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#How lobsters can help make stronger 3-D printed concrete<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"Bio-inspired:
\n Concrete 3-D printed in patterns inspired by the internal structure of lobster shells. Credit: RMIT University
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New research shows that patterns inspired by lobster shells can make 3-D printed concrete stronger, to support more complex and creative architectural structures.<\/p>\n

Digital manufacturing technologies like 3-D concrete printing (3DCP) have immense potential to save time, effort and material in construction.<\/p>\n

They also promise to push the boundaries of architectural innovation, yet technical challenges remain in making 3-D printed concrete strong enough for use in more free-form structures.<\/p>\n

In a new experimental study, researchers at RMIT University looked to the natural strength of lobster shells to design special 3-D printing patterns.<\/p>\n

Their bio-mimicking spiral patterns improved the overall durability of the 3-D printed concrete, as well as enabling the strength to be precisely directed for structural support where needed.<\/p>\n

When the team combined the twisting patterns with a specialized concrete mix enhanced with steel fibers, the resulting material was stronger than traditionally-made concrete.<\/p>\n

Lead researcher Dr. Jonathan Tran said 3-D printing and additive manufacturing opened up opportunities in construction for boosting both efficiency and creativity.<\/p>\n

“3-D concrete printing technology<\/a> has real potential to revolutionize the construction industry, and our aim is to bring that transformation closer,” said Tran, a senior lecturer in structured materials and design at RMIT.<\/p>\n

“Our study explores how different printing patterns affect the structural integrity of 3-D printed concrete, and for the first time reveals the benefits of a bio-inspired app<\/a>roach in 3DCP.<\/p>\n

“We know that natural materials like lobster exoskeletons may have evolved into high-performance structures over millions of years, so by mimicking their key advantages we can follow where nature has already innovated.”<\/p>\n

New research shows that patterns inspired by lobster shells can make 3D printed concrete stronger, to support more complex and creative architectural structures. Credit: RMIT University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3-D printing for construction<\/b><\/p>\n

The automation of concrete construction is set to transform how we build, with construction the next frontier in the automation and data-driven revolution known as industry 4.0.<\/p>\n

A 3-D concrete printer builds houses or makes structural components by depositing the material layer-by-layer, unlike the traditional approach of casting concrete in a mold.
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With the latest technology, a house can be 3-D printed in just 24 hours for about half the cost, while construction on the world’s first 3-D printed community began in 2019 in Mexico.<\/p>\n

The emerging industry is already supporting architectural and engineering innovation, such as a 3-D printed office building in Dubai, a nature-mimicking concrete bridge in Madrid and The Netherlands’ sail-shaped “Europe Building”.<\/p>\n

The research team in RMIT’s School of Engineering focuses on 3-D printing concrete, exploring ways to enhance the finished product through different combinations of printing pattern design, material choices, modeling, design optimisation and reinforcement options.<\/p>\n

Patterns for printing<\/b><\/p>\n

The most conventional pattern used in 3-D printing is unidirectional, where layers are laid down on top of each other in parallel lines.<\/p>\n

The new study published in a special issue of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing<\/i> investigated the effect of different printing patterns on the strength of steel fiber-enhanced concrete.<\/p>\n

Previous research by the RMIT team found that including 1-2% steel fibers in the concrete mix reduces defects and porosity, increasing strength. The fibers also help the concrete harden early without deformation, enabling higher structures to be built.<\/p>\n

The team tested the impact of printing the concrete in helicoidal patterns (inspired by the internal structure of lobster shells), cross-ply and quasi-isotropic patterns (similar to those used for laminated composite structures and layer-by-layer deposited composites) and standard unidirectional patterns.<\/p>\n

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\"Bio-inspired:
\n The natural strength of lobster shells inspired the research team. Credit: Florian Elias Rieser, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
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Supporting complex structures<\/b><\/p>\n

The results showed strength improvement from each of the patterns, compared with unidirectional printing, but Tran said the spiral patterns hold the most promise for supporting complex 3-D printed concrete structures.<\/p>\n

“As lobster shells are naturally strong and naturally curved, we know this could help us deliver stronger concrete shapes like arches and flowing or twisted structures,” he said.<\/p>\n

“This work is in early stages so we need further research to test how the concrete performs on a wider range of parameters, but our initial experimental results show we are on the right track.”<\/p>\n

Further studies will be supported through a new large-scale mobile concrete 3-D printer recently acquired by RMIT\u2014making it the first research institution in the southern hemisphere to commission a machine of this kind.<\/p>\n

The 5\u00d75m robotic printer will be used by the team to research the 3-D printing of houses, buildings and large structural components.<\/p>\n

The team will also use the machine to explore the potential for 3-D printing with concrete made with recycled waste materials such as soft plastic aggregate.<\/p>\n

The work is connected to a new project with industry partners Replas and SR Engineering, focusing on sound-dampening walls made from post-consumer recycled soft plastics and concrete, which was recently supported with an Australian Government Innovations Connections grant.\n <\/p>\n\n

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Recycled concrete could be a sustainable way to keep rubble out of landfills<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n More information:<\/strong>
\n Luong Pham et al, Influences of Printing Pattern on Mechanical Performance of Three-Dimensional-Printed Fiber-Reinforced Concrete, 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing<\/i> (2021). DOI: 10.1089\/3dp.2020.0172<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n
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\n RMIT University
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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Bio-inspired: How lobsters can help make stronger 3-D printed concrete (2021, January 19)
\n retrieved 20 January 2021
\n from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news<\/a>\/2021-01-bio-inspired-lobsters-stronger-d-concrete.html<\/p>\n

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