Additive manufacturing technology for the continuous production of precision concrete elements

Abstract

Abstract This work reports about a combined additive manufacturing technology – concrete spraying and extrusion – for a continues production of precision concrete elements for modular civil construction. In order to achieve the goal, a fine‐grained concrete mix was developed that covers the technical production properties for both spraying and extrusion. In a next first step, a spray‐extrusion multi‐tool nozzle was developed and tested for spraying and extrusion of the fine‐grained concrete mixture. In addition to complete the robot‐assisted flow production process, force transmission elements were developed, which can be automatically integrated into the extruded concrete matrix in the non‐cured green state in accordance with the load. This holistic automated production technology opens new fields of application in the construction industry that were previously not possible with classic methods.