Digital design computing and modelling for 3-D concrete printing

A novel computational framework of 3D concrete printing (3DCP) process is proposed in this paper to capture layer-by-layer buildability and failure modes of complex triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) Gyroid and Primitive blocks. The proposed computational framework is conducted using toolpath dataset converted from Gcode as input source, which is extracted from virtual model created by 3D printing slicing software. The newly developed computational framework is validated by experimental outcomes of a hollow cylinder printed using nano-clay cement mix. The framework can predict various failure modes of the printed hollow cylinder, and its outcomes agree well with the experimental results. The 3DCP process of the TPMS blocks is then modelled by using the selected printing material from the experiment. The Gyroid structure is demonstrated numerically to have a lower buildability in comparison with the Primitive counterpart. Further, parametric and sensitivity analyses are conducted to reveal the effects of printing speed on buildability and its vertical deformation in the concrete printing process.