The Viability and Simplicity of 3D-Printed Construction: A Military Case Study

Jeneé Jagoda,Brandy Diggs-Mcgee,Steven Schuldt,Megan Kreiger

doi:10.3390/infrastructures5040035

Abstract

In November 2019, U.S. Marines, Air Force, and Army Corps of Engineers personnel demonstrated the viability and simplicity of three-dimensionally (3D)-printed construction in a controlled environment at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center—Construction Engineering Research Laboratory in Champaign, Illinois. The tri-service exercise spanned three days and culminated in the construction of three 1 m × 1 m × 1 m (3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft) concrete dragon’s teeth (square pyramid military fortifications used to defend against tanks and armored vehicles) and several custom-designed objects. The structural components were printed using a custom-built, gantry-style printer called ACES Lite 2 and a commercially available, proprietary mortar mix. This paper examines the viability of using 3D-printed construction in remote, isolated, and expeditionary environments by considering the benefits and challenges associated with the printing materials, structural design, process efficiency, labor demands, logistical considerations, environmental impact, and project cost. Based on the results of this exercise, 3D-printed construction was found to be faster, safer, less labor-intensive, and more structurally efficient than conventional construction methods: the dragon’s teeth were printed in an average of 57 min each and required only two laborers. However, the use of commercially procured, pre-mixed materials introduced additional cost, logistical burden, and adverse environmental impact as compared to traditional, on-site concrete mixing and production. Finally, this paper suggests future applications and areas of further research for 3D-printed construction.

Highlights

IntroductionThree of the most common methods of 3D-printed construction are contour crafting, a wet extrusion method that uses two trowels to shape the top and side of the material layers as they are being extruded; concrete printing, a wet extrusion method used to print both the perimeter and infill of structures without incorporating trowels for surface finishing; and powder bed fusion, a dry method that uses a binder, laser, or electron beam to fuse powdered material together [2,3,4]
In November 2019, U.S Marines from the 7th Engineering Support Battalion (7th ESB), an Air Force officer from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and researchers from the Army Engineer Research and Development Center—Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) demonstrated the viability and simplicity of three-dimensionally (3D)-printed construction in a controlled environment at ERDC-CERL in Champaign, Illinois
This section examines the viability of using 3D-printed construction in a remote, isolated, or expeditionary environment by considering the benefits and challenges associated with the printing materials, structural design, process efficiency, labor demands, logistical considerations, environmental impact, and project cost as compared to conventional construction

Summary

Introduction

Three of the most common methods of 3D-printed construction are contour crafting, a wet extrusion method that uses two trowels to shape the top and side of the material layers as they are being extruded; concrete printing, a wet extrusion method used to print both the perimeter and infill of structures without incorporating trowels for surface finishing; and powder bed fusion, a dry method that uses a binder, laser, or electron beam to fuse powdered material together [2,3,4] These methods are typically used to either print the structure itself or to print molds and formwork subsequently filled with conventional concrete [1]

Methods

Results

Conclusion