Biranchi Panda

Bio: Biranchi Panda is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. The author has contributed to research in topics: Materials science & Compressive strength. The author has an hindex of 28, co-authored 78 publications receiving 3241 citations. Previous affiliations of Biranchi Panda include University of Lisbon & National Institute of Technology, Rourkela.

3D printing trends in building and construction industry: a review

Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) printing (also known as additive manufacturing) is an advanced manufacturing process that can produce complex shape geometries automatically from a 3D computer-aided design m...

Anisotropic mechanical performance of 3D printed fiber reinforced sustainable construction material

Abstract: Around the globe, ground breaking projects and case studies are being presented to showcase the potential of digital fabrication with concrete, better known as 3D printing of concrete. With these explorations, underway, the key quest in 3D concrete printing is for structural stability by means of high strength and ductility. This need could be avoided by designing printable fiber reinforcement concrete or concrete with in-process ‘printed’ reinforcement. Therefore, in this paper, an experimental investigation was carried out by reinforcing short glass fiber (GF) of different lengths (3 mm, 6 mm and 8 mm) and percentages (0.25%–1%) in a custom-made sustainable construction material developed for 3D printing application. Thixotropic GF/geopolymer mortar was printed using a 4-Axis gantry system and later loaded in different directions for measuring the mechanical properties. Our experimental results revealed, improved properties of the printed specimens with increase in fiber percentage up to 1% and an obvious directional dependency behaviour, caused by the layer wise deposition.

Fresh and hardened properties of 3D printable cementitious materials for building and construction

Abstract: The main advantage of 3D concrete printing (3DCP) is that it can manufacture complex, non-standard geometries and details rapidly using a printer integrated with a pump, hosepipe and nozzle. Sufficient speed is required for efficient and fast construction. The selected printing speed is a function of the size and geometrical complexity of the element to be printed, linked to the pump speed and quality of the extruded concrete material. Since the printing process requires a continuous, high degree of control of the material during printing, high performance building materials are preferred. Also, as no supporting formwork is used for 3DCP, traditional concrete cannot be directly used. From the above discussion, it is postulated that in 3DCP, the fresh properties of the material, printing direction and printing time may have significant effect on the overall load bearing capacity of the printed objects. The layered concrete may create weak joints in the specimens and reduce the load bearing capacity under compressive, tensile and flexural action that requires stress transfer across or along these joints. In this research, the 3D printed specimens are collected in different orientations from large 3DCP objects and tested for mechanical properties. For the materials tested, it is found that the mechanical properties such as compressive and flexural strength of 3D printed specimen are governed by its printing directions.

Additive manufacturing of geopolymer for sustainable built environment

Abstract: This paper evaluates the potential of fly ash based geopolymer cement for large scale additive manufacturing (AM) of construction elements. Geopolymer is considered as a green construction material and its use in AM may contribute towards sustainable environment since in AM process material is only deposited whereby it is necessary. As part of this research, an industrial robot was employed to print geopolymer mortar in layer-by-layer manner directly from 3D computer-aided design (CAD) model. The characteristic of raw materials and fresh properties were examined by rheology, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical tests such as compression, flexural and tensile bond strength were conducted on the printed geopolymer in different printing directions and their performance was compared with casted samples. It was found, from the experimental results, that the mechanical properties of 3D printed geopolymer are mostly dependent of loading directions due to anisotropic nature of the printing process and retains intrinsic performance of the material.

Measurement of tensile bond strength of 3D printed geopolymer mortar

Abstract: The structural capacity of construction joints in concrete bridges, deck and pavements mainly depends on the bond strength between the old substrate and new overlaid concrete. Sometimes, a mismatch in the properties of old and new concrete may lead to early age failure and shortened service life. Since in 3D concrete printing (3DCP), the whole object is made by layer by layer, bond strength is considered as one of the key parameters to ensure stability in the structure. For understanding bond mechanism, it is essential to measure bond strength at the interface between new and old layer and investigate significant parameters affecting this property. In this direction, our current work targets to analyse tensile bond strength of 3D printed geopolymer mortar with respect to printing time gap between layers, nozzle speed and nozzle standoff di stance. A novel formulation of fly ash based geopolymer was made and printed using four-axis automated gantry system. Experimental findings reveal that the bond strength is a function of state of interface material between two nearby layers which can be influenced by material strength development rate and 3D printing parameters.

Additive manufacturing (3D printing): A review of materials, methods, applications and challenges

Abstract: Freedom of design, mass customisation, waste minimisation and the ability to manufacture complex structures, as well as fast prototyping, are the main benefits of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing. A comprehensive review of the main 3D printing methods, materials and their development in trending applications was carried out. In particular, the revolutionary applications of AM in biomedical, aerospace, buildings and protective structures were discussed. The current state of materials development, including metal alloys, polymer composites, ceramics and concrete, was presented. In addition, this paper discussed the main processing challenges with void formation, anisotropic behaviour, the limitation of computer design and layer-by-layer appearance. Overall, this paper gives an overview of 3D printing, including a survey on its benefits and drawbacks as a benchmark for future research and development.

3D printing using concrete extrusion: A roadmap for research

Abstract: Large-scale additive manufacturing processes for construction utilise computer-controlled placement of extruded cement-based mortar to create physical objects layer-by-layer. Demonstrated applications include component manufacture and placement of in-situ walls for buildings. These applications vary the constraints on design parameters and present different technical issues for the production process. In this paper, published and new work are utilised to explore the relationship between fresh and hardened paste, mortar, and concrete material properties and how they influence the geometry of the created object. Findings are classified by construction application to create a matrix of issues that identifies the spectrum of future research exploration in this emerging field.

FDM process parameters influence over the mechanical properties of polymer specimens: A review

Abstract: Designing and manufacturing functional parts for fields such as engineering and medicine is a major goal of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). These activities should be supported by knowledge on how different settings of process parameters impact the mechanical behavior of the products. However, obtaining this information is a quite complex task given the large variety of possible combinations of materials-3D printers-slicing software-process parameters. Thus, the importance of reviewing the current research on this topic for identifying practical and useful aspects, key process parameters and limitations, but also for understanding to what extent the results of these researches are relevant and can be applied in further studies and real applications. A systematic literature search was performed based on classification according to the type of 3D printing polymer. The most significant process parameters considered as influencing FDM specimens' tensile, compression, flexural or impact strengths are discussed considering the results presented in the literature. A necessary distinction between the mechanical properties of material and testing specimens (as given by producers and by experiments) and the mechanical behavior of a FDM end-part is also made.

3D printing trends in building and construction industry: a review

Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) printing (also known as additive manufacturing) is an advanced manufacturing process that can produce complex shape geometries automatically from a 3D computer-aided design m...

Vision of 3D printing with concrete — Technical, economic and environmental potentials

Abstract: A vision is presented on 3D printing with concrete, considering technical, economic and environmental aspects. Although several showcases of 3D printed concrete structures are available worldwide, many challenges remain at the technical and processing level. Currently available high-performance cement-based materials cannot be directly 3D printed, because of inadequate rheological and stiffening properties. Active rheology control (ARC) and active stiffening control (ASC) will provide new ways of extending the material palette for 3D printing applications. From an economic point of view, digitally manufactured concrete (DFC) will induce changes in the stakeholders as well as in the cost structure. Although it is currently too ambitious to quantitatively present the cost structure, DFC presents many potential opportunities to increase cost-effectiveness of construction processes. The environmental impact of 3D printing with concrete has to be seen in relation to the shape complexity of the structure. Implementing structural optimization as well as functional hybridization as design strategies allows the use of material only where is structurally or functionally needed. This design optimization increases shape complexity, but also reduces material use in DFC. As a result, it is expected that for structures with the same functionality, DFC will environmentally perform better over the entire service life in comparison with conventionally produced concrete structures.