Artículos científicos

HISTORICALLY, THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY HAS EXHIBITED SLOW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER INDUSTRIES. HOWEVER, DURING THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, INVESTIGATIONS RELATED TO AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED, SUCH AS ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING IN CONCRETE. THIS STUDY AIMS TO DELVE INTO THIS TOPIC, PROVIDING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BIM-DESIGNED ELEMENTS AND ITS ADDITIVE CONCRETE MANUFACTURING, WITH THE HELP OF AN ARTICULATED ROBOTIC ARM. THEREFORE, THE PAPER ADDRESSES THE PREPARATION OF COMPUTER CODE THAT ALLOWS SUCH BIM?ROBOT COMMUNICATION, CHECKING THE PARAMETERS UTILIZED, AND ANALYZING THE RESULTS OF TESTS WITH THE EQUIPMENT INVOLVED.

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.