Feasibility of construction of buildings with the 3D printing concrete from different methods perspectives focusing on economic evaluation

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

3D printed concrete (3DPC) is one of the new and promising techniques in the movement toward the automation of construction processes. As it has been proven, the requirement of industrialization and expansion of technology is its efficiency from different perspectives. Paying attention to the economic evaluation and cost-effectiveness of that method is one of the most important points. The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of building production using the 3DPC method. The evaluation factors of different landscapes including cost, time, quality, labor, safety, and environmental issues have been briefly reviewed. For economic evaluation between different construction methods, based on experimental studies, the direct costs of construction (including frame and internal and external walls) of a typical residential building were determined. The economic evaluation results show that although the cost per cubic meter of 3D printed concrete is more than 2 times the cost of normal concrete, 3D printed concrete has lower direct construction costs than other traditional construction methods so that On average, this method reduces the direct construction costs for such a building by 23%. Its main reason is to eliminate molding, optimal use of materials, and minimum waste of materials. The economic advantage of this method is improved by a significant reduction in time.

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References

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AUT Journal of Civil Engineering
Volume 7, Issue 1
March 2023
Pages 3-12

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