3D printing concrete with reinforcement

Recent years have seen a rapid growth of additive manufacturing methods for concrete construction. A recurring issue associated with these methods, however, is the lack of ductility in the resulting product. In cases this is solved by combining printing with conventional casting and reinforcing techniques. Alternatively, this paper presents first findings on the development of a system to directly entrain a suitable form of reinforcement during printing. A device is introduced to apply the reinforcement. Several options for online reinforcement medium are compared for printability and structural performance, based printing test runs and 4-point bending tests respectively. It is shown that high-performance steel cables can provide suitable reinforcement characteristics, although improved bond would allow better use of the cable capabilities. Significant post-cracking deformations and post-cracking strength can be achieved. Further research into optimal reinforcement placement and configuration is recommended.