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Nailing of Layers: A Promising Way to Reinforce Concrete 3D Printing Structures
A Perrot1, Y Jacquet1, D Rangeard2
1Univ. Bretagne Sud, UMR CNRS 6027, IRDL, F-56100 Lorient, France.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 1, 2020
Summary
Steel nails can reinforce 3D printed concrete structures, addressing challenges in construction. This additive manufacturing method shows promise for improving the flexural strength of concrete elements, especially under tension loads.
Area of Science:
- Construction Engineering
- Materials Science
- Additive Manufacturing
Background:
- Extrusion-based 3D concrete printing offers potential cost and time savings in construction.
- Current 3D concrete printing methods face challenges in reinforcing structures, particularly for tension loads.
- Conventional reinforced concrete techniques are not directly applicable to the layer-wise additive manufacturing process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the reinforcement of 3D printed concrete structures using steel nails.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of steel nails in enhancing the mechanical performance of printed concrete.
- To explore the impact of nail inclination and spacing on flexural strengthening.
Main Methods:
- Steel nails were inserted through deposited layers of fresh concrete during the 3D printing process.
- Three-layer and 10-layer concrete samples were prepared.
- Nails were incorporated with varying angles and spacing to assess their influence on reinforcement.
Main Results:
- Steel nails effectively reinforced the 3D printed concrete structures.
- Inclined nails demonstrated the ability to provide flexural strengthening in multiple directions.
- The study confirmed the feasibility of using nails as an alternative reinforcement method.
Conclusions:
- Steel nail reinforcement is a viable strategy to enhance the flexural performance of 3D printed concrete.
- This method addresses the limitations of traditional reinforcement in additive manufacturing of concrete structures.
- Further research can optimize nail placement for improved structural integrity in 3D printed concrete applications.
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