Generative Design Lab

Additive manufacturing methods are opening up new shaping possibilities in many industries. Although later than in other sectors, this technology is also gaining a foothold in the building materials industry. The construction sector, with its immense demand for highly individualized components, appears to be a worthwhile field for the widespread establishment of such manufacturing methods. In the traditional process for aerated concrete, the gassing process first takes place in large molds, after which the large blocks are cut into workable bricks and then hardened in an autoclave under pressure and heat. The thesis is supported by Rodgauer Baustoffwerke, a manufacturer that owns one of the most modern aerated concrete plants in Europe and is very interested in the improvement of its manufacturing processes.

The aim of the thesis is to investigate the suitability of 3D printing of specialized formwork shapes for the production of individualized aerated concrete elements. This includes the theoretical development of special components and associated formwork strategies, their experimental production and a subsequent scientific evaluation of the experiments.

The increasing demand for environmentally friendly construction methods also has an impact on façade design. The establishment of plants in the building envelope is often even expressly desired. Aim of the Work The purpose of the study is to develop ceramic building components, which are able to host plants in a façade. To achive this, several different geometric designs have to be made, each with a scale 1:1 prototype. Also, suitable plants need to be found, to be planted into the Bricks. In a second step, the prototypes have to be investigated over a 4-week period to evaluate them growing roots. Finally, statements have to be formulated on how a massproduction of the developed designs could look like.

3D printing technology is making its way into the construction industry. While other sectors have already seen widespread market adoption, our industry‘s need for large-format components presents additive manufacturing with its own unique challenges. The research and development of such components often still takes place on a trial-and-error basis and thus requires an enormous effort, as 3D printing processes often take hours or even days. A novel approach(1) links the geometry to be printed with the rheological properties of the raw material and tries to predict their printability in a process with tree degrees of freedom, using finite element methodology. This approach has already been verified in terms of feasibility.

The purpose of the study is to first adapt the existing methodology to the research on additive manufacturing of clay and ceramic components carried out at the TU Darmstadt. In a second step the methodology needs to be developed further, to enable the simulation of a printing-process six degrees of freedom. Finally, predictions have to be made which kinds of geometries could be possible to print with this evolved process, and which limitations of it might have.

The construction sector is, due to the sheer size of buildings as its final roducts, one of the largest emmiters of waste in the European Union. For much of this, the demolition of buildings is to be held accountable, but also during production of building components a significant quantity of surpluses and waste appears. While novel approaches attempt to recylcle shredded ceramics into new bricks, other leftovers still remain unused. The purpose of the study is to first explore the different kinds of wastes and surpluses, that occur during brick production. Also, their yearly occurence needs to be quantified. In a second step, different strategies need to be formulated to up-, down- or recycle these leftovers. Further, depending on the formulated strategies, experiments have to be carried out als a proof-of-concept for some of the strategies. Last, predictions have to be calculated on how much economic and environmental impact the up-, re- or downcycling of the production leftovers could have.