Photo: Ruben Paul Borg – 3D Concrete Additive Manufacturing using the first Concrete Printer at the University of Malta, constructed by the Construction Materials group at the Faculty for the Built Environment
Additive Manufacturing – 3D printing of concrete elements has the potential to produce smart construction elements which can be applied in different applications in advanced construction systems, improving efficiency.
The objective of the SMACORT project (3D manufacturing of sustainable components for building retrofitting and energy efficiency) is to address energy efficiency and provide sustainable solutions to satisfy ever-increasing building energy demands. Energy efficiency measures are considered in general as more cost-effective than producing energy through renewable sources. Thermal insulation in the building envelope is important to improve building performance and energy efficiency.
The project focuses on a passive solution, by providing thermal insulation products based on novel, eco-friendly geopolymer mortars. The mortars are produced entirely from Construction and Demolition Waste-based materials, incorporated with stable phase change materials (PCMs) and fillers for ultimate optimized performance.
The product is developed for existing and new buildings which will significantly benefit from the advantages of smart 3D-Additive Manufacturing processing technology. The goal of the research is to leverage additive manufacturing (AM) technologies with a view to enable production of innovative concrete mixtures for custom applications. 3D printing is a smart manufacturing method, which often involves a layer-by-layer deposition of material to build 3D structures. Additive Manufacturing in concrete element production has the potential to reduce material waste and labour intensity, with lower costs in production, higher safety and increased construction efficiency and greater flexibility.
The products developed in the project are intended to improve thermal, mechanical and acoustic properties of concrete structures, in a Mediterranean environment. The overall objective is to optimise the 3D printing process, in manufacturing cladding elements based on green sustainable concrete based on recycled materials with reduced embodied carbon.
The Project is financed through the Malta Council for Science and Technology, TUBITAK Programme and includes a collaboration between researchers in Concrete and Advanced Materials Engineering, in Malta and Turkey. For further information contact the project Principal Investigator Prof. Ruben Paul Borg, Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta.
