3D concrete printing to develop sustainable building components

Project description

Since the use of 3D printing technology in construction industry with the potentials to fabricate customised building elements without formworks, with high speed and low material waste, an increasing trend has emerged in the investigation of 3D printing to address various engineering potentials and challenges of 3D printed concrete (3DPC). Yet, despite its major benefits, concrete mixes with a higher content of Portland cement (PC) are mostly printable and have sufficient rheological properties. Such large quantity for PC can result in augmentation of greenhouse gas emissions and also increase the costs associated with 3D printing. To avoid this, and provide favourable printability properties, the effect of supplementary cementitious materials on rheological, mechanical, and shrinkage properties of 3DPC is investigated.

Supervisors research focus

I have extensive experience in research on the development of sustainable construction/building materials and technologies. I worked in ARC-Training Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing (ARC-CAMPH) at the University of Melbourne and have been project manager and research leader of three research projects in $2.7M Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) round 8. Research Interests: - Infrastructure Materials Engineering: *Recycling waste materials, industrial by-products and natural fibres for the development of sustainable construction materials *Cementitious composites containing nanomaterials *Smart and multi-functional materials for construction *3D printable concrete for automated construction *High performance and ultra-high performance composite *Fibre-reinforced concrete composite *Constitutive and finite element modelling of fibre-reinforced concrete - Structural Engineering: *Behaviour, performance and design of civil infrastructure *Assessment and management of deteriorating civil infrastructure *Infrastructure resilience and sustainability *Construction, repair and rehabilitation practices for civil infrastructure

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