A

Technical Seminar Report

On

A STUDY ON CONSTRUCTION BY USING 3D PRINTING

TECHNOLOGY
Submitted to
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
CIVIL ENGINEERING

By

T. VENKATA PRAVINAY
(17BF5A0113)

Under the guidance of

Mr. J. HARISH, M.Tech.
Assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

SRI VENKATESWARA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
(APPROVED BY AICTE, NEW DELHI & AFFILIATED TO JNTUA, ANANTHAPURAMU)
KARAKAMBARI ROAD, TIRUPATI – 517 507 (A. P) INDIA.
2019 – 2020
 DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
SRI VENKATESWARA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
(APPROVED BY AICTE, NEW DELHI & AFFILIATED TO JNTUA, ANANTHAPURAMU)

KARAKAMBADI ROAD, TIRUPATI – 517507 (A.P) INDIA.

Certificate

This is to certify that the technical seminar report entitled “A STUDY

ON CONSTRUCTION BY USING 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY” a

bonafide record of the Technical Seminar done and submitted by
T. VENKATA PRAVINAY (17BF5A0113) in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the award of the degree of BACHELOR OF
TECHNOLOGY in CIVIL ENGINEERING of JNTUA,
Ananthapuramu during the year 2019-2020.

Dr. M. CHITTARANJAN Mr. J. HARISH

Professor & Head, Guide,
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Dept. of Civil Engineering,
S.V. College of Engineering, S.V. College of Engineering,
Tirupati – 517507. Tirupati – 517507.

EXTERNAL EXAMINER 1 : EXTERNAL EXAMINER 2 :

A STUDY ON CONSTRUCTION BY USING 3D
PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

(i)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my profound gratitude and indebtedness to my guide, Mr.

J. HARISH, M.Tech, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, S.V College
of Engineering, Tirupati for his valuable advice and inspiring guidance which has played a
vital role in carrying out this investigation.

My profound thanks to Dr. M. CHITTARANJAN, M.Tech, (Ph.D), Head of the

Department, Civil Engineering, S.V College of Engineering, Tirupati and all faculty
members for providing various facilities and for their kind words of encouragement during
the course of work.

I express my sincere thanks to our Principal Dr. N. SUDHAKAR REDDY, Ph.D,

S.V College of Engineering, Tirupati for providing all the facilities and support to
complete my thesis successfully.

I express my sincere thanks to our Chairman Sri A. GANGI REDDY, S.V College of
Engineering, Tirupati for providing all the facilities and support to complete my thesis
successfully.

I express my sincere thanks to my family members and friends who are the
constant source of inspiration and encouragement throughout the work.

Finally I like to thank one and all who directly or indirectly helped me in making
the work a reality.

T. VENKATA PRAVINAY
(17BF5A0113)

(ii)
 ABSTRACT

Construction 3D Printing technology is emerging in present days. It is because of

various advantages such as Faster, Cheaper, Safer and lot more things. Construction 3D

Printing (C3Dp) or 3D Construction Printing (3DCP) refers to various technologies that

use 3D printing as a core method to fabricate buildings or construction components.

Early construction 3D printing development and research have been under way since

1995. Two methods were invented, one by Joseph Pegna and the other by Behrohk

Khoshnevis. There are a variety of 3D printing methods used at construction scale, these

include the following main methods: Extrusion (concrete/cement, wax, foam, and

polymers), Powder Bonding (polymer bond, reactive bond, sintering) and Additive

Welding. 3D printing at a construction scale will have a wide variety of applications within

the private, commercial, industrial and public sectors. Potential advantages of these

technologies include faster construction, lower labour costs, increased complexity and/or

accuracy, greater integration of function and less waste produced.

In this Technical Seminar, I’m going to present the complete details about the

Construction 3D Printing which includes: History, Methods, Present Trends, Companies

Dealing, Cost of Construction, Equipments used and its Parts, Advantages and Limitations

in 3D Construction Printing. Some houses and building models constructed using this 3D

printing Technology also mentioned in this Seminar.

This Seminar finally concludes that Construction 3D Printing is the majorly adoptable

technology in Future Constructions.

Keywords: Construction, 3d, printing, technology, buildings, components, waste, time, cos

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary
Chapter Title Page No
 Title ......................................................................................(i)
 Acknowledgement ................................................................(ii)
 Abstract ................................................................................(iii)
 Contents ................................................................................(iv)

Chapter: 1 Introduction 1

1-1 Introduction to Construction 3D Printing 1

1-2 History of C3DP 2
1.2.1 Seeding Technologies 1950 - 1995 2
1.2.2 Early Developments 1995 - 2000 2
1.2.3 First Generation 2000 - 2010 3
1.2.4 Second Generation 2010 - Present 3
1-3 Process & Principle of C3DP 3
1-4 Comparison between C3DP & Other Technologies 4

Chapter: 2 Literature Review 5

2-1 Introduction 5
2-2 Literature Review 5

Chapter: 3 Stability Of 3D Printed Concrete 7

3-1 Printing Methods 7

3-2 3D Printed Reinforced Concrete Design 8

Chapter: 4 Advantages of C3DP in Construction Sector 12

4-1 Cost Reduction 12

4-2 Labor Efficiency 15

Chapter: 5 Implementation Examples 16

Chapter: 6 Conclusions & Recommendations 20

References………………………………………………………………………… 21

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Chapter – 1 Introduction

CHAPTER - 1

INTRODUCTION
For so long, the construction commerce has been isolated from technological
advancements. As other industries research ideas to innovate and optimize their performance,
the construction industry has lagged behind in this regard. Its traditional construction methods
have made it difficult to adopt emerging technology. One steadily rising technology is 3D
printing. The introduction of this technology has already caught the attention of many
enterprisers who have accelerated in designing and printing tons of objects using a wide
variety of materials. Therefore, introducing 3D printing to the construction industry is the
focus of many pioneers who acknowledge the potential of this technology as a new strategic
challenge. Automated printing with layers allows for flexibility and freedom of architectural
design and more accurate applications, in addition to saving tons of material that would
otherwise to go waste in a conventional construction site.

The purpose of this seminar is to review the literature on the available approaches of
introducing 3D printing to civil engineering to review work already taking place, and to
comment on other applications of this technology. An optimistic finding would be to create a
recognizable difference between traditional and new optimal methods of construction, to
display economical improvements that can be achieved by applying this technology. This
paper summarizes literature found on research that focuses mainly on this topic. Major
literature topics have been collected and organized according to the factors of the research and
insights it provides. Finally, a conclusion is presented, and further recommendations on this
topic are acknowledged.

1.1 Introduction to Construction 3D Printing:

3DCP refers to various technologies that use 3D Printing as a core method to fabricate
building or construction components. It is also known as:

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Chapter – 1 Introduction

 Rapid prototyping

 Additive manufacturing.

1.2 History of Construction 3D Printing (C3DP):

1.2.1 Seeding technologies 1950–1995

Robotic bricklaying was conceptualized and explored in the 1950s and related
technology development around automated construction began in the 1960s, with pumped
concrete and isocyanine foams. Development of automated fabrication of entire buildings
using slip forming techniques and robotic assembly of components, akin to 3D printing, were
pioneered in Japan to address the dangers of building high rise buildings
by Shimizu and Hitachi in the 1980s and 1990s.

1.2.2 Early Developments 1995-2000

Early construction 3D printing development and research have been under way since
1995. Two methods were invented, one by Joseph Pegna which was focused on a sand/cement
forming technique which utilized steam to selectively bond the material in layers or solid
parts, though this technique was never demonstrated.

The second technique, Contour Crafting by Behrohk Khoshnevis, initially began as a

novel ceramic extrusion and shaping method, as an alternative to the emerging polymer and
metal 3D printing techniques, and was patented in 1995. Khoshnevis realized that this
technique could exceed these techniques where "current methods are limited to fabrication of
part dimensions that are generally less than one meter in each dimension". Around 2000,
Khoshnevis's team at USC Vertibi began to focus on construction scale 3D printing of
cementitious and ceramic pastes, encompassing and exploring automated integration of
modular reinforcement, built-in plumbing and electrical services, within one continuous build
process. This technology has only been tested at lab scale to date and controversially and
allegedly formed the basis for recent efforts in China.

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Chapter – 1 Introduction

1.2.3 First Generation 2000-2010

In 2003, Rupert Soar secured funding and formed the freeform construction group at
Loughborough University, UK, to explore the potential for up-scaling existing 3D printing
techniques for construction applications. Early work identified the challenge of reaching any
realistic break-even for the technology at the scale of construction and highlighted that there
could be ways into the application by massively increasing the value proposition of integrated
design (many functions, one component). In 2005, the group secured funding to build a large-
scale construction 3D printing machine using 'off the shelf' components (concrete pumping,
spray concrete, gantry system) to explore how complex such components could be and
realistically meet the demands for construction.

1.2.4 Second Generation 2010-Present

On January 18, 2015 the company gained further press coverage with the unveiling of
2 further buildings, a mansion style villa and a 5 storey tower, using 3D printed
components. Detailed photographic inspection indicates that the buildings were fabricated
with both precast and 3D printed components. The buildings stand as the first complete
structures of their kind fabricated using construction 3D printing technologies.

1.3 Process & Principle of C3DP:

Construction 3D Printing is a modern technology using all over the world almost at
present and also in future. This Process includes the imagination as the first step to imagine
the type of structure and the purpose of structure. And then it follows modeling of the
imagined structure in a computer or through any digital component. Later it will be started to
print accordingly as given input structure modeled before. And finally the structure finished
will have to be finished for smoothness and atmospheric whether protection.

The general principle present in here is:

1. Imagining
2. Modeling
3. Printing
4. Finishing

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Chapter – 1 Introduction

1.4 Comparison between C3DP and Other technologies:

C3DP Other technologies

1. Environmental impact
1. Major environment friendly

2. Waste Reduction 2. More waste production

3. Plastics, resins, metals, ceramics are 3. Plastics, Ceramics are not used in
used some technologies

4. No Pollution 4. Causes Polluction

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Chapter – 2 Literature Review

CHAPTER - 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

For this thesis, on Construction 3D Printing (C3DP), I went through lot of journals,
reports and publications which is all about how to use 3d printing in construction for building
different types of building components and buildings itself on the site as well as in workshop.
So, I had mentioned some of the authors and a brief explanation of what they did in their
thesis in the below reviews.

2.2 Literature Review

Jake Kidwell (2016), The literature collected on this topic concerns a wide range of
observations on this topic. In this part we shall overview some of the literature on this matter.
Jake Kidwell (2016) provides general insight on important topics concerning 3D printing in
construction. First, his research discusses the ongoing applications of 3D printing in civil
engineering. He discusses details on an interview he had with Project Manager of Truebeck
Construction, the author notes that their company has been employing special 3D printers to
construct sizable duplicates of its intended projects.

(Jake Kidwell, 2016), “These mockups are all created in house by their Virtual Design
and Construction team which not only helps facilitate quick and easy communication between
the contractor, architect, and owner, but also saves the time and money by eliminating long
lead time from third-party mockups.”

Another application of 3D printing is the construction of prefabricated building parts

offsite, such as interior brick walls and sound separators. Brand Technology is one of the
leading firms in this area. In fact, prefabricating interior walls is a practice by many businesses
in this field, as this research will show when discussing other literature on this topic.

In addition to the applications of 3D printing, technical examination should be

performed on the nature of the concrete at hand, thus the stability and freshness of mixed
concrete must be analyzed. Luckily some researchers have created real experiments with 3D

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Chapter – 2 Literature Review

printers and have provided their results as well. In ‘Construction-Scale 3D Printing: Shape
Stability of Fresh Printing Concrete’, the authors designed an experiment to create a one story
building concrete structure using a 3D printer.

(Ali Kazemian, 2017), In their research, the authors examine the settling and
hardening time of concrete as the printing proceeds. The challenge with 3D printing a concrete
structure is balancing the printing and settling time between layers, such that the first layer
gains enough strength to be able to carry the second layer above it, and at the same time not
deform greatly in a visible way that affects the overall strength of the structure.

A collection of literature focuses mainly on the 3D printing technology in terms of

high-resolution mesh, material use optimization, and analysis of cement behavior in 3D
printers. A total number of twenty two research papers are available on this subject. To obtain
this literature, two database bases were mainly used, first IKU e-library, second YOK Thesis
Database center. The results were obtained by searching for “3D Print” on the database, then
filtering the publications in civil engineering and constructions building technology.
Obviously, the number of publications in other fields is much greater than the construction
field.

(Ibrahim Engin Ozturk, Eurasion Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture),

In fact, there are a total of 3998 publications on 3D printing in over 100 different fields, so the
ratio of civil engineering publications to total available publications is only 0.55%, compared
to 18,1% for Materials Science Multidisciplinary. This should hopefully encourage more
research on 3D printing in the civil engineering field.

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Chapter – 3 Stability of 3D Printed Concrete

CHAPTER - 3

STABILITY OF 3D PRINTED CONCRETE

3D printers create sequential layers. The advantage of this process is that it allows easy
manufacturing process and freedom in design and application. Researches are facing
challenges with scaling up the printing of these structures to meet the demand of the actual
elements a standard building would require. One way to tackle this problem is called Contour
Crafting. (Ali Kazemian, 2017)CC (designation for Contour Crafting) is a subsequent 3D
printing method introduced in the early 1980’s by Iranian engineer Behrokh Khoshnevis, a
professor and pioneer at the University of Southern Carolina. The method he created involves
a crane controlled by computer program, linked to a nozzle at the bottom of the crane, to do
the printing. It’s an effective method because it reduces the labor cost dramatically, since it
only requires one personnel to check the process and make sure the printer doesn’t stop
printing. Behrokh Khoshnevis is one of the first pioneers to introduce 3D printing technology
in scaled applications in civil engineering. (Annenberg Foundations Puts Robotic Disaster
Rebuilding Technology on Fast Track).

3.1 Printing Methods

Ideal CC printing machines have typical dimensions of 5 meters by 8 meters by 3

meters. When compared to today’s engineering techniques, 3D printing is more advantageous
because continuous printing reduces time and labor cost of a project. However, researchers
haven’t been able to implement a scale automated construction method yet. Many challenges
with using concrete as a printing material arise as a result. For example, researchers have not
yet been able to obtain a concrete mix with high mold stability during the early workability
phase after pouring (i.e. printing). This is essential for end result of the concrete after 28 days
workability analysis.

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Chapter – 3 Stability of 3D Printed Concrete

Another technique developed to print concrete is known as Concrete Printing (CP). It’s
similar to CC printing in ejection phase of concrete, on the other hand, it differs from CC
because it contains a unique feature: it is able to achieve better 3D printing, thanks to its
resolution of deposition, which is smaller in size compared to CC printing, as it provides
larger freedom printing internally and externally. (R.J.M Wolfs, 2015) The CP method not
only enables a production of both high compressive and tensile strength concrete mixture, 110
MPa and 10 MPa respectively, but improves the overall workability, extrusion and onsite
construction methods. These challenges were upheld by further literature and experiments to
design a fiber reinforced mixture that in content obtained high workability and strength
through the introduction of super plastics. (Le, et al., 2011)

Other printing methods include D-Shape printing and Emerging Objects (OE). These
methods also include the use of fiber reinforced cement mixture with fine aggregates, which
results in higher overall concrete strength. These methods were developed as an attempt to
optimize concrete strength while decreasing its cost and minimizing printing time at the same
time.

3.2 3D Printed Reinforced Concrete Design

With all the major advancements on printed concrete, the main challenge remains: how
to apply reinforcement to printed concrete? One story buildings may withstand without
reinforcements built within the concrete, however, to scale this 3D printing into a multi floor
structure, reinforcement is a necessity. Keeping in mind that constructors will not accept
projects without reinforcement, not only because it’s technically unacceptable, but because it’s
formidably not allowed according to constructions codes and laws in most countries. Few
technical research has taken place on this subject, for many engineers are still in the process of
pioneering one story 3D printed structures. However, a few literatures obtained from open
database provide insight on materialistic approaches to add reinforcement to 3D printed
concrete. ‘3D Printing of Reinforced Concrete Elements: Technology and Design Approach’
is an excellent example. Performed by students from the Department of Civil Engineering at

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Chapter – 3 Stability of 3D Printed Concrete

the University of Pavia, Italy, their main goal was to develop a technique to add reinforcement
to 3D printed concrete using Additive Manufacturing Technology (AM). The research begins
with section analysis of the concrete segment where reinforcement may be introduced, and
analysis of the design of the reinforcement is performed. For the sake of the experiment, the
authors decided to apply external steel rebar reinforcement along the length of beam, by
connecting the steel elements together. Since the beam is hollow, for the purpose of saving
material and reducing weight of structure, the steel bars can be connected through predesigned
holes.

After consecutive experiments on the compressive strength of different concrete

mixtures, a final stage was to assemble reinforcements on the beam they had printed. The
length of the beam was 3m long, and included an interior architectural hollow cylinders printer
prior to the test for the sake of analyzing the compression forces along x, y axis. Figure 2.1(a)
shows the beam design after printing, and figure 2.1(b) shows the design of the additional
reinforcement external to the beam. The steel reinforcement depicted in the figures below was
intentionally positioned on the outer layer of the beam, to allow the design of a stainless steel
thread rod to connected metal bars alongside the hollow segments, finally bolted to the edge of
the beam consecutively. Each rod has a diameter of 12mm, to ensure minimum ultimate
strength of steel used in concrete (Domineco Aspron, 2018). The final model of the structure
was the result of connecting metal segments to the beam along the x-axis, and reinforcing it
with external rebar model for extra reinforcement. The characteristics of this final attempt are
as follows:

 An upper section perpetual concrete bowstring aims at withstanding external

compressive pressures generated by flexural behavior.
 A lower section stainless steel wire to provide external support and reinforce the
concrete to withstand compressive and tensile forces.
 Strut Design to support diagonal compressive strength and opposite side with the steel
section in lateral segments to withstand shear forces.

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Chapter – 3 Stability of 3D Printed Concrete

The end result was a 54% reduction in total weight, the hollow section and diagonal-
bearing design proofed effectively efficient, even though the cross section of the beam would
be the same of that of a solid section: 0.2m-0.45m (Domineco Aspron, 2018)

Figure 2.1 (a) Hollow architectural design of concrete beam

Figure 2.1 (b) Steel reinforcement scheme

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Chapter – 3 Stability of 3D Printed Concrete

After assessment of the performance of the structure under tension and yielding stress
tests, the system showed dramatic cracks and failures at some part of the concrete. This is due
to the fact that the steel reinforcement were on the outside of the concrete, not the inside. The
authors emphasize that such an attempt presents potential use of AM technology to develop
effective yet complex reinforced concrete designs, which is how most 3D printed concrete
fabrications should be designed in the future. The hollow and diagonal design proofs effective
in reduction of concrete volume and mass, and it eliminates complicated formwork system
since the printer is capable of performing all the complex design on its own, in addition to the
easiness of transportation, merging and installment of structure.

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Chapter – 4 Advantages of 3DP in Construction Sector

CHAPTER - 4

ADVANTAGES OF 3DP IN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

In order to scale the application of 3D printing, real advantages must be inspected.

Throughout the data collected on this topic, the advantages fall into two main categories:
Design flexibility and Cost reduction. 3D printing enables users to print complicated designs
that would have been costly by traditional formwork. Four out of the twenty two publications
on this topic analyze the limitations of 3D printing in other industries, and compares them to
the envisioned application in construction. The benefits of 3 dimensional printing can be
summarized as follows:

1) Labor Efficiency
2) Time and Costs Savings
3) Environmental/ Economical Aspects
4) Design Complexity

A few case studies will be presented in this research on implementations of companies

that developed products that may contribute to show the effectiveness of these advantages.

4.1 Cost Reduction

The biggest impact 3D printing has is its effect on cost. The printing process
dramatically reduces cost in terms of labor, material, and time. The following subscript is
taken from the publication by Jake Kidwell (2016)in his essay ‘Best Practices and
Applications of 3D Printing in the Construction Industry’:
1.) Labor efficiency: Construction sites are becoming larger, taller and less safe for
construction workers. In addition, the construction industry has begun facing a
shortage of skilled labor, who either don’t have the necessary skills to work in such
complicated structural environment or would not risk their lives. The construction
industry is very labor intensive, and 3D printing technology can help to eliminate that.
It will reduce the safety risks and require less personnel working at one time, since the
3D printer only requires few personnel to manage the printing process and make sure

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Chapter – 4 Advantages of 3DP in Construction Sector

the printer has not been cut off by external factors. New generation labors will have
better education on modernized technology than old generation workers.
2.) Time and Cost Reduction: Application of 3D printing is projected to effectively reduce
the overall expenditures of construction projects. This has already been proven in other
industries, such as the medical industry. Companies have implemented 3D printing to
reduce the material cost by almost half of the original cost. Prefabrication of concrete
structures such as walls, floor panels and roof system can experience dramatic
reduction in overall cost, given the hollow design nature of the structure which has the
potential to reduce weight by 54%, thus reducing material volume. 3D printers also
save time by providing continuous printing service that can only be stopped when
desired. Structures that would typically take months to construct can be built within
days of project initiation date.
3.) Environmental & Economic Impact: Emerging 3D printing firmssuch as Winsun and
CyBe are developing new innovations to increase the usage of cheaper and recycled
resources, such as mixed clay and fly ash, to create optimized concrete. This doesn’t
only help save the environment by consuming less mass manufactured materials, but
can appeal to developed nations where material cost is very high. Literature survey
show a noticeable reduction in cement to water ratio usage, which means less cement
is needed, which in turn can reduce energy usage for cement manufacturers. Gradual
application of 3D printing can have a big overall impact on large scale production.
4.) Design Complexity: Many architectural projects are rejected either because of
excessive cost or design complexity, but with the use of 3D printing this may not be
the case. No longer bounded by the form work capabilities of traditional construction
methods, 3D printing will introduce an array of complex and haling designs that are
only limited by the designer’s imagination and the computer design capabilities.
Designs can be easily programmed and achieved by 3D printing.

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Chapter – 4 Advantages of 3DP in Construction Sector

Figure 2.2 displays the cost of conventional versus 3D printing construction. If applied on a
full scale, countries can save more than 50% on materials and labor costs.

Figure 2.2 Material and Cost Savings

Another example that presents the cost reduction can be taken from the publication
called ‘Cost Viability of 3D Printed House in UK’. The publication performs an economical
examination on the expenses of building a semi- detached house in London, based on the data
acquired from a project on site. Table 2.2 shows the total cost of one unit of housing

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Chapter – 4 Advantages of 3DP in Construction Sector

4.2 Labor efficiency

Based on the statements information given by Winsun, assuming that 3D printing can
reduce labor and material expenditures 90% to 50% respectively, the opportunity cost savings
are projected at £19,000 labor wise and £7,400 material wise, adding up to a total of £26,400
per unit house. (AL Mohd Tobi, IOP 2016)The data shows that labor costs is even greater than
material cost, which can be cut drastically if we use 3D printing.

Table 2.2 Building costs per unit house holding

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Chapter – 5 Implementation Examples

CHAPTER - 5

IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLES

There are already about 13 companies competing to optimize 3D printing in

construction. Based in different regions of the world, each company has adopted a different
method of 3D printing. Winsun, based in Shanghai, is amongst the biggest companies in this
field. In 2013, this company successfully constructed a total of ten offsite fabricated houses in
less than twenty four hours. (Davidson N, 2015). Every unit had a net area of twenty meters
squared, each costing $4800 to construct. To 3D print these houses, an enormous 6m (H) x
12m (W) x 36m (L) 3D printer was used in the process. The material used to create this
building was a unique combination of the following materials:

 Concrete
 Cement
 Glass fiber reinforced gypsum
 Fiber reinforced plastics

Those materials, in addition to the introduction of an additive to speed the curing

process, resulted in a 50% reduction in material usage.(Millsaps, 2016). The authors claim that
the vital method to obtain a balanced mixture is to calculate equal ratios of materials to ease
the rate of flow to build ability in the concrete mixture. This way, it goes on, expensive
formwork will eventually not be required, while also sustaining high compressive strength of
concrete. Dated data shows that Winsun developed a mix design composed 1.28 ratio of fine
aggregate to cement, a ratio of 2 for fine aggregate to sand ratio, and w/c of 0.49. (Hachem et
al., 16). The proposed combination ratios produces a concrete mix that has compressive
strength up to 55 N/mm2, which is more than the minimum requirement of 17N/mm2
according to construction codes. (IBC Concrete Manual, 2017).

Three years later, the same company achieved its next scaled project by constructing
the first of its kind accessible office building for the United Arab Emirates National
Committee, authorized by the governor of Dubai to mark this building as its headquarter for

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Chapter – 5 Implementation Examples

the DFF. Figure 3 shows the 3D printed external view of the office. The entity had a total area
of 250m2and was prefabricated and assembled onsite. The office took only 17 days to finish
and had a total expenditure of $140,000.

Figure 3 DFF office building in Dubai (2016)

Another unique example is the world’s first reinforced concrete printed bridge, which
was installed in the small village of Gemert, Netherlands. The bridge was printed at the
Eindhoven University of Technology, by a team of researchers and students. The bridge spans
8 m long, 3.5m in width. The bridge was even tested by applying a 5 ton load on the bridge,
with no failure, which is a lot more than the bridge can withstand, since it was designed to
support pedestrians and cyclists for at least 30 years. The important detail is that the
researchers were able to build this reinforced concrete bridge by developing a method to run a

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Chapter – 5 Implementation Examples

stainless steel wire along the nozzle of the printer to make sure that steel reinforcements
existed between every layer of concrete printed, thus providing extra reinforcement to the
system. This method could hopefully be a start to more research and development on 3D
printed reinforcement concrete, which is what all constructions companies will be searching
for in any investment in such technology. (Business & Technology insight form, 2017)

Figure 4Installation of 1st reinforced concrete bridge

The Chinese Company YingChuang specializes in a different form of 3D printing.

Their aim is to build lightweight concrete walls for constructions buildings. Since walls
(except for shear walls) usually require no steel reinforcement, the company has developed
methods to build cost efficient walls that are prefabricated offsite then installed. They use their
own unique designed 150x10x6.6 m 3D printer to prefabricate large scale blocks offsite. Their

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Chapter – 5 Implementation Examples

method is regarded obsolete to that of CC, where the inner and outer layers are assembled
respectively,thereafter by diagonal internalformations.

Their technique has allowed the company tocreate not only single story building
structures, but multi story buildings, leading the industry in this regard. Their latest project
was the completion of a five story apartment block and a 100m2 mansion building built in
Yinchuan. (Yingchuan 2015)

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Chapter – 6 Conclusions and Recommendations

CHAPTER - 6

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The aim of this paper was to research the available literature on 3D printing techniques
with its applications in the civil engineering sector. A total of 22 research publications have
been found using the database on the internet, with topics ranging from technical details on the
concrete properties of the printers to the application and methods of 3D printing concrete and
reinforced concrete structures. The main aim of this essay is to establish a future economic
research attempt to optimizing 3D printing in the construction sector, due to frequent demand
by industry because of the lack of research on this topic. It has been established that using this
technology is cost, time and quality efficient, through analyzing many theoretical and practical
examples of 3D printed structures. According to the literature survey that was conducted,
using 3D printing can save up to 80% of manufacturing costs and 40% in material costs.

The overall potential of this technology has been displayed in figures and realized
through detailed research of surveys conducted in this field. Authors of this essay recommend
the study of a case in a closer aspect to the region, mainly in Turkey and the Middle East. For
future work and application, detailed economic analysis must be conducted to show the
reduction potential of 3D printing, and its impact on the full scale economy of the country, by
applying any of the methods previously mentioned companies use in their work. We recall that
the Middle East and the Turkish Republic are projected to lead the energy industry in the next
thirty years, and by reducing energy inputs on traditional construction methods, significant
scaled reductions can be obtained that would benefit the overall economy of Turkey, given the
fact construction industry has an index of 26.4 in the country. Real experiments must be
conducted to proof the material, labor and energy reduction. Literature on this topic is plenty,
and requires the efforts of those interested to scale this topic to a manageable size for further
investigation.

Department of Civil Engineering, SVCE Page 20

 References

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