Developing 3D Printable Lightweight Functional Cementitious Composite

Provoked by recent advancements in additive manufacturing, 3D printable concrete has been explored as an alternative method to construct concrete structures. 3D printing of cementitious materials has the potential to address several major challenges faced by the current concrete industry: (i) it eliminates the use of formwork (mold) and vibration that are typically necessary for consolidating wet concrete, which can in turn significantly reduce material and labor costs involved in the formwork construction; (ii) the highly automated construction process can reduce the material waste, cut down construction time, and reduce human error; in addition, (iii) it allows a new approach for concrete design–the composition and property of printed material can be parametrically varied from one location to another, tuning to the optimal structural performance and functionalities. In the last decade, some showcase examples have became available–e.g., WinSun, XTree, TotalKustom, Smart Dynamic Concrete, as this new construction technology becomes more commercially and economically feasible.