3D Concrete Printing

3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) provides the potential to increase the productivity and reduce the environmental impact of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. The 3DCP research group adresses the scientific challenges to develop the technology towards safe and sustainable structural applications of 3D printed concrete. 

The 3DCP research group runs various MSc, EngD and PhD projects, in collaboration with (inter)national academic and industry partners. On this page, you can find an overview of our research activities, staff, and recent publications. Interested to collaborate? Contact our researchers directly or via 3Dconcreteprinting@tue.nl.

Performing high-end research on concrete printing

The goal of the TU/e 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) research program is to establish concrete printing as a viable new method to manufacture concrete elements and buildings, and to fundamentally understand its processes. The research group operates and develops its own 3D Concrete Printing facility at the Department of the Built Environment. The research facilities consist of a large-scale gantry printer, as well as numerous large- and small-scale industrial robot arms. The research group has access to a wide range of (non-)destructive experimental facilities to characterize printable materials, as well as numerical tools to analyze the process and design printable structures. 

Milestone

In April 2021, the first tenant of a Dutch 3D-printed concrete home received their key. The house in Eindhoven – the first of five within ‘Project Milestone’ – fully complies with all of the strict building requirements of The Netherlands. Uniquely, the project partners have realized a home with an entirely original design thanks to extensive R&D that enlarges the freedom of form in concrete printing. Project Milestone is a joint construction and innovation project of Eindhoven University of Technology, Van Wijnen, Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix, Vesteda, the Municipality of Eindhoven and Witteveen+Bos.

Photo: Bart van Overbeeke

Our research themes

Functional and sustainable materials

Development of sustainable and (multi-)functional materials for additive manufacturing. This includes the continuous improvement of the 3D printing facility, to enable on-demand printing of graded concrete.

Structural design and optimization

Parametric modelling and structural optimization strategies are used to design efficient and (multi)functional structural elements with minimized material use. Optimization algorithms are improved to consider the possibilities and limits of the 3D printing technology and novel materials.

Reinforcement strategies

Various robotic reinforcement strategies are under development, which include the automatic entrainment of reinforcement cables, on-demand 3D printing of fiber reinforced mixtures, as well as the application of discrete reinforcement.

AI in construction

AI based decision-making strategies are integrated in the printing process, which (re)act upon both numerical modelling of the material behaviour (model-driven), as well as on-line non-destructive measurements and sensoring (data-driven).

Valorization projects

Large scale valorization projects are realized in a triple or quadruple helix, showcasing the potential of 3D concrete printing for the built environment. Extensive structural testing is performed to prove compliance to safety regulations.

3D Printed bridge

Officially opened in September 2021, the 3DCP research group contributed to a unique 3D printed bicycle bridge in the city of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The bridge, with a total length of 29 meters and characterized by its curved shapes, was designed by Michiel van der Kley. The role of the TU/e research group was the validation of the structural system and it's printability, through extensive testing. This project was a collaboration between Rijkswaterstaat, TU/e, Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix, BAM, Witteveen+Bos, and Summum Engineering. 

Photo: Municipality of Nijmegen

 

Meet some of our Researchers

Doctoral Candidate

Naomi van Hierden

Former Doctoral Candidate

Lauri Hass

Doctoral Candidate

Idil Gümrük

Assistant Professor

Rob Wolfs

Doctoral Candidate

Derk Bos

Doctoral Candidate

Arjen Deetman

Dean

Theo Salet

Doctoral Candidate

Ricardo dos Santos Alferes Filho

Assistant Professor

Sandra Simaria de Oliveira Lucas

Doctoral Candidate

Karsten Nefs

Doctoral Candidate

Carolina Maciel Rangel

Digital Concrete 2020

From 6 to 9 July 2020, TU/e hosted Digital Concrete 2020 – 2nd RILEM International Conference on Concrete and Digital Fabrication as a full online conference. The highlights of the event, such as the opening & closing ceremonies, the keynote lectures, invited talks, and Science Meets Industry episodes, are publicly available via a YouTube Playlist.

Project Related Publications

Our most recent peer reviewed publications

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