Fire performance of innovative 3D printed concrete composite wall panels – A Numerical Study

• Published in: Case Studies in Construction Materials 2021-12, Vol.15, p.e00586, Article e00586
• Main Authors: Suntharalingam, Thadshajini, Gatheeshgar, Perampalam, Upasiri, Irindu, Poologanathan, Keerthan, Nagaratnam, Brabha, Corradi, Marco, Nuwanthika, Dilini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3D printed concrete composite wall panels; Finite element modelling; Fire performance; Insulation fire rating
• ISSN: 2214-5095; 2214-5095
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cscm.2021.e00586

•Fire performance of different 3DPC wall configurations (solid, cavity, and composite) under standard fire conditions was investigated.•A suitable heat transfer finite element models were developed and the validation showed a good agreement with fire test data.•Extensive finite element parametric analyses were undertaken for ten different 3DPC wall configurations with five different densities.•Significant improvement of fire performance was identified with the increase of material density and the increase of thickness of the 3DPC walls.•Solid wall configuration showed better fire performance compared to the cavity wall configurations and 3DPC wall with rockwool insulation for better fire performance was proposed. The 3-Dimensional (3D) printing technology in the construction sector has seen an accelerating growth owing to its potential advantages. For this layer-based construction, a detailed investigation on fire performance is necessary. However, there are limited research studies for 3D Printed Concrete (3DPC) walls exposed to fire. Therefore, this paper investigates the fire performance of different types of 3D printed concrete walls using validated Finite Element Models (FEMs). Validated heat transfer FEMs were extended to investigate the fire performance of a range of 3DPC wall configurations (solid, cavity, and composite) under standard fire conditions. The results show that 3DPC non-load bearing cavity walls underperform when subjected to standard fire compared to solid 3DPC walls. The novel composite 3DPC walls with the use of Rockwool as cavity insulation offers superior fire resistance.