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Reinforcing concrete with 3D printed polymer lattices

Published on October 30, 2020 by Aysha M.

Concrete is one of the most widely used man-made building materials and one of the world’s most consumed substances, second only to water. It is cheap, abundant, and capable of heavy loads, but, it is also brittle and tends to crack. Therefore, concrete needs to be reinforced. Recently, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a novel way to reinforce concrete with 3D printed polymer lattice structures – a way that improves concrete’s ductility while reducing the material’s carbon emissions.

In fact, engineers have been reinforcing concrete with polymer fibers for six decades, so the concept isn’t new in itself. However, the technique was different: fibers were typically mixed into concrete before it was poured, which meant the fibers were not  distributed evenly. As a result, one part of a structure would have a high concentration of fibers, while another had almost none, leaving a path for cracks to form. Enter 3D printing. The benefit of a 3D printed lattice reinforcement is that a series of trusses stops cracks before they grow too large.

concrete with 3D printed polymer

All image credits: UC Berkeley

Previous lattice reinforcements were two-dimensional and had a limited capability to support complex concrete designs. So the researchers wanted to manufacture a 3D design that could support heavy loads from all directions. For that purpose they used the octet truss for the lattice structure. Popularized by the architect Buckminster Fuller in the 1950s, the octet truss is known for being strong but also light at the same time.

As for the reinforcing material, the team tested two different polymers: polylactic acid (PLA), which is easy to 3D print but more brittle than other polymers, and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), which is tougher than PLA. The researchers discovered that switching from PLA to ABS made no significant difference in compressive tests, as all of the lattice-reinforced concrete samples scored high in strain density values. The engineers also experimented with the amount of lattice reinforcements used in the concrete. One sample was thinner, with the polymer making up 19.2% of a sample’s volume. The other made up 33.7%. But, the amount of polymer didn’t significantly change the structure’s overall mechanical properties – the samples with less polymer were just as tough as those with more.

Yet, there are some instances where larger amount of polymer does have significant benefits. Manufacturing cement, the main ingredient in concrete, produces 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Reinforcement material makes up less than 5% of most concrete structures. So, increasing the amount of polymer and reducing the amount of concrete could cut down on a structure’s overall carbon emissions. You can learn more about the UC Berkeley method by reading the research paper, HERE.

concrete with 3D printed polymer

The Berkeley team used a 3D printer to build octet lattices out of polymer, and then filled them with ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC).

What do you think about the innovative way to reinforce concrete with 3D printed polymer lattice structure? Let us know in a comment below or on our Facebook and Twitter pages! Sign up for our free weekly Newsletter, all the latest news in 3D printing straight to your inbox!

The 3 comments

Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.

  1. Ramsundar says:

    Good idea, what is the maximum compressive strength of Concrete

  2. 3D Polymer chemist says:

    The overall idea is very impressive. Yet, a number of important questions remains. Regarding the relatively slow speed of printing process, to what extent does the addition of 3D lattice increase cost?
    The purpose of this study was to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete production. We know that polymer synthesis and printing bears significant carbon dioxide emission. How many overall percents of carbon dioxide emission was reduced after all?
    The study highlights that the addition of 3D scaffold does not offset the compresive performance of the hybrid composite. How about changes in the shear modulus, and extensional stresses?
    Any progress on improving the concrete-polymer interface interactions?

    Thank you

  3. hashem says:

    Do 3D printer will change our world?
    i say yes. The 3D printer will change our world in different ways:
    1-Technology:
    the 3D printer will spread technology all around world and will help developing counter get to better place in technology level and there for better quality of life.
    2-better life quality
    this technology will help, even house hold lady print necessary tools that need to run his every day life directly without need of going out of house and spend much money.
    3-bring more equlity
    the 3 D printer will help the all soical classes to freely let thire dream of jobe they like without too much connection wihtout going to banks or capital market
    to obtaine what they need. this ended up to more equality in social classes.
    thre muh more……

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