3D Printed Wall Reinforcement with Perforated Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional concrete reinforcement methods, such as using reinforcement bars, hinder the 3D printing process by blocking the path of the building material, making it challenging to construct stable building walls using 3D printing.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using a 3D positioning device with a print head to apply a specially designed building material in horizontal layers, while incorporating elongate reinforcing elements with through-openings that allow the building material to bond across the reinforcement, ensuring stability without obstructing the printing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conventional reinforcement bars are used in formwork, then stability of building wall is improved, but 3D printing process is hindered due to blocked material path
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the reinforcement function from traditional solid bars and implements it through a mesh structure with through-openings. The mesh is positioned within the printed wall, and building material is pressed through the openings to bond with the substrate on the other side, achieving reinforcement without blocking the 3D printing material path.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement mesh is designed with through-openings that allow building material to pass through. This porous structure enables the material to be pressed through the mesh during or after printing, creating bonds with the substrate while maintaining the continuity of the printed wall structure.
2Strength
If building material is pressed through through-openings of reinforcing elements, then bonding across reinforcement is improved, but printing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the reinforcement element placement and building material deposition into a single integrated process. The reinforcing elements are positioned within the formwork before printing, and the building material is deposited directly through the through-openings, combining reinforcement installation with wall construction in one operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The 3D printing system itself performs the function of pressing material through the reinforcement mesh. The print head deposits material with sufficient pressure to force it through the openings, eliminating the need for separate reinforcement installation steps and allowing the printing process to serve multiple functions simultaneously.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the flexible and automated construction of stable building walls with advantageous properties, such as improved stability and potential for enhanced thermal insulation and acoustic performance, while maintaining the efficiency of the 3D printing process.
Implementation Method 1
The building material is applied in horizontal layers that can bond to a substrate or to previously applied building material
Implementation Method 2
supplying building material that is initially plastically deformable and then hardens to the print head
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for constructing a building wall using 3D printing comprises: providing a 3D positioning device with a tool holder to which a print head is attached; supplying the print head with a building material that is initially plastically deformable and then hardens;and that the building material is applied by means of the print head along a predetermined or predefinable print path by moving the print head along the print path using the 3D positioning device and thereby dispensing the building material. The print path runs in several horizontal layers that are vertically parallel to each other and, to form a first wall surface of the building wall, comprises a respective first section in each of the aforementioned layers. The method further comprises: that at least one elongated reinforcement element is provided, which extends along a longitudinal direction, has a first side and a second side opposite to it perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and has at least one through-opening that connects the two sides;that at least one reinforcement element is fixed vertically oriented on a substrate in such a way that it intersects the respective first section in at least some of the layers, so that a first subsection of the first section abuts one of the two aforementioned sides of the reinforcement element and a second subsection of the first section abuts the other of the two aforementioned sides of the reinforcement element; and that in at least one of the layers, after it has been moved along the first subsection towards the respective side of the reinforcement element and has dispensed building material, and/or before it has been moved along the second subsection away from the respective side of the reinforcement element and has dispensed building material, the print head presses building material through the at least one through-opening onto the respective other side of the reinforcement element.