A design tool for resource-efficient fabrication of 3d-graded structural building components using additive manufacturing

Fl??vio Craveiro, Helena Maria Bartolo, A. Gale, J. P. Duarte, P. J. Bartolo

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    Abstract

    The construction sector is under increasing pressure to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, reducing environmental impacts, material use and costs. A computational tool was developed to design and fabricate functionally graded building components. The material composition was defined based on voxel determination in order to design building elements with varying material stiffness. A cement-based conceptual building wall was investigated with a varied material composition, using two different lightweight aggregates, a granulated cork one and the other with expanded clay. This functionally graded material concept applied to lightweight building components will allow producing resource-efficient graded building components tailored to specific loading conditions, minimizing waste generation, emissions and resource consumption.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)75-83
    Number of pages8
    JournalAutomation in Construction
    Volume82
    Early online date17 Jul 2017
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2017

    Keywords

    • Additive manufacturing
    • Building automation
    • Digital fabrication
    • Functionally graded materials
    • Resource-efficient fabrication

    Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

    • Manchester Institute of Biotechnology

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