Applicability of using the 3D concrete printing technology in Sudan

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) Printing is an advanced manufacturing process that has been applied to many fields. Recently, the 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) has been employed for construction due to its ability to produce complex shapes easily, with less human intervention and with minimum material wastage. However, there are challenging issues regarding the cost of construction and the components of concrete mixture which are not fully explored. The aim of this paper is to review the 3DCP technology and investigate the possibility of applying it in Sudan, specifically for low-cost housing. In order to meet this aim, a comprehensive review has been done to study the projects implemented worldwide using 3DCP technique. Then, some concrete mixtures have been reviewed analyze the amount of materials used in each mix. The necessary tests to ensure the, workability, Extrudability and buildability have also been specified. Then the 3DCP technique has been compared with three common construction methods in Sudan for low-cost housing those were 40 square meters area in plan. These methods are the cement blocks, the Ferrocement and the graded sand mixture.. The comparison has been made in terms of construction cost, construction duration and the man-force required. The results have shown that the 3DCP model needed the least number of construction days. However, it was the highest in terms of the cost and the second best in terms of the used labors. It has been concluded that applying 3DCP technology in Sudan is possible and could be effective in the low-cost housing projects.