Concrete 3D printing leads to lighter and more sustainable buildings

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Concrete is the most used building material globally as it is durable and produced locally. Still, concrete production emits a large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that has paved the way for innovative concrete materials. Decarbonizing the concrete is a major milestone in addressing climate change. The increasing adoption of green concrete in the construction industry is due to the drawbacks of conventional concrete and the essential benefits of green concrete. Green concrete comes in various forms, such as ultra-high performance concrete, geopolymer concrete, and lightweight concrete. Concrete 3D printing is a green concrete technology that reduces CO2 emissions and saves material.

Construction sites are changing gradually; most of the building work was carried out on construction sites previously, but now structural modules are fabricated in automated conditions and assembled on the site. As digitalization in the construction industry is ongoing, 3D printing can speed up the whole construction process and increase efficiency. Concrete 3D printing is used to fabricate buildings or construction components in new shapes without formwork, and Engineers can print delicate shapes and load-bearing geometries with the help of 3D printing. 

Concrete 3D printing can achieve many goals in the construction industry

• Material Saving: Concrete is majorly used in load bearing and load distribution areas in a structure. Using 3D printed recess units, the material can be saved up to 40% by volume or 50% CO2 equivalents compared to reinforced concrete slabs.
• Lightweight structures: This can be achieved by using foamed concrete that is made by introducing air bubbles into the concrete utilizing protein foam and stabilized. Where concrete must be load-bearing, it must be more thermally insulated to become heavy and dense. Foamed concrete from a 3D printer reduces petroleum-based insulating materials, making the structure lightweight. 
• Concrete 3D printing can achieve high productivity, less wastage and lower need for labor when compared to traditional concrete construction.

Concrete 3D printing comes with challenges, such as high initial investment, limitations in print size, and high technical expertise required for operation and maintenance. A major challenge is the reinforcement of floor slabs with integrated printed concrete elements. The conventional concrete slab is reinforced with steel bars or grids that are geometrically simple. But in the case of printed concrete elements, reinforcement becomes more complex and costly. Recently, one research team successfully added filigree steel reinforcement to the concrete strand from the printer. Hence, it is now possible to include a thin steel cable directly into the printed concrete lines that integrate the reinforcement into the printing process. This way, the 3D printing becomes more resilient and robust. 

Key players operating in the concrete 3D printing space are Sika Group, Korodur, CyBe Construction, COBOD, 3DVinci Creations, and MudBots. COBOD, a Danish concrete 3D printing company, reported its profits were increased 100% in 2020, and it received 200% more orders in the first three months of 2021 than the entire previous year. Concrete 3D printing technology is expected to witness more growth opportunities in the coming years due to its advantages in cost, time, the structure's weight, and especially in addressing climate change. 

To know more and gain a deeper understanding of the global construction industry, click here.