Performance Analysis of 3D Concrete Printing Processes through Discrete-Event Simulation

Abstract

Three-dimensional concrete printing is a technique that has been growing constantly, presenting advantages such as reduced completion times and a decreased environmental impact by eliminating the use of formworks. To carry out the process, the printing path of the extruded material and the movement of a robot must be programmed. Thus, the present research simulated these 3D concrete printing processes in a small 2-floor building of 309.06 m2 and then in a 12-floor building of 10,920 m2. To analyze the 3D printing process, discrete-event simulation was used while considering different variables such as extrusion speed and the locations of a robot mounted on tracks. The results show that when comparing the time taken for a conventional construction system to construct concrete walls and the maximum duration for 3D-printed walls, this method is 45% faster than traditional construction for a small building, but for a big building, there is a difference of 40% in favor of conventional construction; however, this was when using only 1 robot for the whole building. After running the same analyses but using 3 robots instead of 1, the total 3D concrete printing time for the big building was 80% faster in favor of the 3D concrete printing process.