3D Printing Tech To Cut Concrete Use By 75% Developed By IIT-Guwahati Researchers

Guwahati: A 3D printed urban furniture has been developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati using construction material made from local industrial wastes.

Concrete 3D printing is gaining a foothold in the construction and building industries.

This latest state of the art technology has the potential to bring about a paradigm shift in the practice of construction.

Recent developments made in this sector such as 3D printed modular houses, pedestrian footbridges, office buildings, public schools, low-cost toilet units further solidify this claim.

Specially-developed printable concrete containing industrial wastes as binders were used by the group of IIT Guwahati researchers in order to build 3D printed furniture, having a seating height of 0.4 m, a width of 0.4 m, and arch-shaped support that was modelled and sliced using SolidWorks and Simplify3D, respectively.

The entire unit, which was printed layer by layer in a meticulous manner, had a speed of 80 mm/s and each layer has a height of 10 mm.

The unit was covered by moist gunny bags for a week to cure after the completion of the printing process.

These structures were traditionally mold cast, demanding more concrete material, labor and formwork preparation.

Optimized designs are printed with 75 percent less concrete and without the need for mold with 3D concrete printing.

Dr. Biranchi Panda, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Guwahati said in a statement that they showcased how material-efficient structures can be produced in their lab-scale 3D printer.

He also added that their goal is to design high-performance concrete mixes made from industrial wastes for printing such complex structures.

The research team is now exploring the possibility of developing underwater concrete printing along with the possibility of printing functional reinforced concrete using low carbon materials..

IIT Guwahati Director Prof. T. G. Sitharam said that 3D printing of concrete can be a technological solution for reducing carbon footprint in the building and construction industry.

"From the Indian context, the techno-economic analysis must be carried out that takes into account not only the environmental sustainability but also aspects relating to cost, quality, labour, and maintenance associated with 3D printing," added the IIT Guwahati Director.

The research team are of the view that the on-demand, on-site 3D concrete printing will definitely have a global impact on versatile construction applications and multi-billion-dollar markets worldwide.

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