The Application of 3D Printing Techniques in Civil Engineering
1University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
2Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, UK
3Delft University of Technology, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
The Application of 3D Printing Techniques in Civil Engineering
Description
Over the last decade, 3D printing (formally known as Additive Manufacturing (AM)) has gained great importance in the industrial fields of aerospace and biomedical engineering. The potential of this innovative manufacturing technique resides in the freedom to create any geometrical form with no formal constraint, thereby reducing the amount of material waste while improving performance and outcome. The move towards automation in the construction industry has recently reached some important milestones, namely, the development of the first structures realized by means of robotic arms and 3D printing technology. Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes are nowadays adopted in the construction of structural elements using polymeric materials, concrete, and metals. The application of CAD-integrated software allows these AM processes to create free forms and new architectural shapes. Despite major research efforts devoted to the study of AM techniques in mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering, there is still limited knowledge regarding the uses, applications, and impacts of 3D printed materials in relation to civil structures, both in terms of material properties and structural response.
To cover this topic and to provide a well-documented reference in this field, authors are invited to submit their original research articles and review articles to this special issue.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Additive Manufacturing technology applied to the construction field
- Physical and/or mechanical modeling, mathematical formulations, and numerical simulations of the proposed AM system for construction
- Experimental results on AM (polymers, concrete, and metals) for material properties and structural response
- Practical design provisions for structures realized with AM techniques
- Algorithm-aided design structures realized with AM techniques
- Automation in construction: current tools and future possibilities