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

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Automation in construction 2017-10, Vol.82, p.75-83
Main Authors: Craveiro, F., Bartolo, H.M., Gale, A., Duarte, J.P., Bartolo, P.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Additive manufacturing
Building automation
Building components
Buildings
Cement
Clay
Construction materials
Cork
Digital fabrication
Energy efficiency
Environmental impact
Functionally graded materials
Functionally gradient materials
Granulation
Lightweight
Resource-efficient fabrication
Software
Stiffness
Weight reduction
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Summary: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. •A new software tool to design functionally graded building components is proposed.•Resource-efficient walls were generated using concrete with cork or expanded clay.•Lightweight walls with improved thermal performance were designed.
ISSN:0926-5805
1872-7891
DOI:10.1016/j.autcon.2017.05.006