3D Concrete Printing of Thin-Walled Load-Bearing Reinforced Structures

This study investigates the feasibility of 3D printing thin-walled two-dimensional concrete structures such as trusses, taking into account the challenge of integrating steel reinforcement. Based on preliminary tests, a series of truss-like thin-walled bending members are printed and loaded in three-point bending tests to failure. By analyzing the loading and failure mechanisms, conclusions can be drawn about the material behavior and the suitability of the reinforcement strategy. The recorded data is compared to the FEA done in advance to optimize the layout of the integrated rebars and component design models. Accordingly, these findings allow both the cross-section design and the reinforcement strategy to be optimized in further test series.